Contact Information: Contact: Lewis Kahn KGS 1-866-467-1400, ext. 106 email: lewis.kahn@kgscounsel.com
KGS Announces That a Shareholder Securities Fraud Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Coast Financial Holdings, Inc. -- (NASDAQ: CFHI)
| Source: Kahn Gauthier Swick, LLC
NEW ORLEANS, LA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 3, 2007 -- Kahn Gauthier Swick, LLC ("KGS") announces
that shareholders of Coast Financial Holdings, Inc. ("Coast Financial")
(NASDAQ : CFHI ) who purchased the publicly traded securities of Coast
Financial between October 5, 2005 and January 25, 2007, inclusive (the
"Class Period"), may now move for appointment as Lead Plaintiff in a
securities class action lawsuit currently pending in the United States
District Court for the Middle District of Florida. No class has yet been
certified in this action.
UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT PERSONALLY REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL
UNLESS YOU RETAIN AN ATTORNEY.
If you purchased shares of Coast Financial between October 5, 2005 and
January 25, 2007, you are urged to contact Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner,
KGS, toll free 1-866-467-1400, ext. 106, via cell phone at 504-301-7900, or
email to lewis.kahn@kgscounsel.com to learn about your legal rights and how
this action may benefit you. For further information on KGS, please visit
www.kgscounsel.com.
Coast Financial and certain of its officers are charged with making
materially false and misleading statements in connection with the purchase
and sale of securities in direct violation of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934. Specifically, defendants each failed to reveal that, throughout
the Class Period, Coast Financial had materially increased its exposure and
had extended tens of millions of dollars of credit for the construction of
homes in Florida. Given the then-deteriorating condition of the Florida
real estate market, the Company should have increased its loan loss
reserves for this segment of the business but did not.
It was only beginning on January 19, 2007, that investors learned the truth
about Coast Financial after defendants announced that the Company expected
to suffer impairment to its loan portfolio because a major borrower was
going out of business and would not complete many of its construction
projects. In reaction to this news, the price of the Company's stock
collapsed. Coast Financial later disclosed that it would increase its
reserves by $14 million to properly account for its impaired loans. On
January 24, 2007, after the market closed, Coast Financial issued a press
release announcing that it has engaged Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P. to
advise the Company as it reviews strategic alternatives. On the publication
of these disclosures, over the course of several days, shares of the
Company fell from above $16.00 to below $8.00 per share, on very heavy
trading volume.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this case, you must move the
Court no later than May 21, 2007. Any member of the purported class may
move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice,
or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. If you would
like to discuss your legal rights, you may e-mail or call KGS, without
obligation or cost to you. You may contact Managing Partner Lewis Kahn of
KGS direct, toll free 1-866-467-1400, ext. 106, or by email at
lewis.kahn@kgscounsel.com. KGS focuses its practice on securities fraud
litigation, and the firm's lawyers have significant experience working on
securities fraud cases that have resulted in significant recoveries for
shareholders. For more information on KGS, please visit www.kgscounsel.com.
SPECIAL NOTICE: Multiple law firms often file the same class action.
However, courts will generally appoint only one of these firms to prosecute
a securities fraud action on behalf of the shareholders based upon the
amount of losses its "lead plaintiffs" have suffered. Accordingly, while
KGS urges you to sign up with the firm, KGS also encourages you to
carefully evaluate any other firm that may be competing with KGS to
prosecute the Coast Financial class action, should you be considering
another firm. Critical components of a law firm's ability to successfully
prosecute this action and obtain a strong recovery for you include the
resources it will dedicate to prosecution of the case, including the number
of lawyers the firm has available for the Coast Financial action, AND
especially the quality of the firm's work. Interested shareholders are
encouraged to call for consultation and to request more information about
KGS.