NEW YORK , March 4, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Attorneys Christopher Gray of the Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. ((212) 838-3221 or gray@cjgraylaw.com) and Louis F. Burke of Louis F. Burke, P.C. ((212) 682-1700 or lburke@lfblaw.com) filed a class action lawsuit on March 4, 2005 on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of defendant eSpeed, Inc. (Nasdaq:ESPD) between August 12, 2003 and July 1, 2004, inclusive. The lawsuit asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated by the SEC thereunder and seeks to recover damages. Any member of the class may move the Court to be named lead plaintiff. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 22, 2005.
The eSpeed class action lawsuit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (500 Pearl Street, New York, New York), Docket No. 05-CV-2601. According to the complaint, defendants made misstatements of material facts and omitted to state material facts in violation of the federal securities laws. Specifically, the complaint alleges that during the Class Period, the defendants touted eSpeed as an unmitigated success story, a company that had achieved record revenues and earnings and, most importantly, had established an infrastructure and business model that made it the market leader in the high-volume automated trading of government securities and foreign exchange. According to the lawsuit, unbeknownst to plaintiff and the class, the true facts were as follows: a) eSpeed was not successfully competing with ICAP, its chief competitor; b) eSpeed's market share was declining; c) eSpeed's products (which it had touted as uniquely innovative) were increasingly fungible and subject to price competition; and, d) eSpeed's pricing model was not succeeding in responding to market conditions, and, in fact was driving customers to ICAP.
The complaint alleges that on July 1, 2004, eSpeed shocked the market by admitting to "erosion of (its) market position" and substantially lowering its projected earnings per share for 2Q 2004 from the $0.19-$0.20 guidance that defendants had reaffirmed as recently as May 4, 2004 to $0.15-$0.16 per share. In reaction to this disclosure, eSpeed's share price plummeted from an opening price $17.73 on July 1 to close at $11.39 on July 6, 2004 -- a drop of over 35% in only three trading days.
The class action lawsuit seeks to recover investors' losses resulting from defendants' alleged misrepresentations concerning eSpeed's business and prospects.
The Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C.'s practice is concentrated in complex litigation, class action litigation, securities arbitration, and trials and appeals in all state and federal courts. Attorney Christopher Gray has represented plaintiffs in several significant securities class actions, including representing shareholders of Excite@Home, American Express Co., and Electronic Data Systems Corp. In 2002, Mr. Gray investigated and filed the first class action complaint alleging accounting fraud against WorldCom. (In re Worldcom, Inc. Securities Litig., S.D.N.Y. Docket No. 02-CV-3288 (DLC)(alleging accounting fraud in April 2002, some six weeks before news of massive accounting fraud broke).
Louis F. Burke, P.C.'s practice is concentrated in securities and commodities litigation and arbitration and class action litigation. Mr. Burke represents investors in several significant class actions including a class action arising out of the demutualization of MetLife, Inc., and a class action alleging manipulation of the price of natural gas futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange ("NYMEX") during the period 2000 through 2002.
Investors who acquired the securities of eSpeed Inc. between August 12, 2003 and July 1, 2004 may contact attorneys Louis F. Burke or Christopher J. Gray at the telephone numbers, addresses or e-mail addresses below with any questions about their investment losses or for more information concerning the eSpeed class action lawsuit.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca