NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 78u-4(a)(3)(A)(i), Seeger Weiss LLP, Frydman & Bergman and Morris and Morris hereby give notice that on February 15, 2001, an amended class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of all persons who purchased 13.125% Retirement Financing Notes due November 30, 2003 (the "Notes"), and who were damaged thereby. The action is captioned Michael Cohen v. John Luciani, et al.; Civil Action No. 00-2691 (AMW), and is pending before the Honorable Alfred M. Wolin in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, located at 50 Walnut Street, Newark, NJ 07101.
Grand Court Lifestyles, Inc. ("Grand Court") was in the business of building and managing assisted living facilities for the elderly. Grand Court is or was affiliated with approximately 53 such communities located across the country.
The amended complaint asserts causes of action for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, as well as conspiracy to violate Section 10(b). The amended complaint alleges that defendants, consisting of certain officers and directors of Grand Court, made false and misleading statements and/or omissions concerning the then existing financial condition and business prospects of Grand Court in connection with the release of a Private Placement Memorandum dated November 10, 1999 ("PPM"). These misrepresentations and omissions included, among other things, that at the time the PPM was issued, Grand Court had enough working capital to maintain its development plan for at least six months at the projected rate of development, when in fact Grand Court did not have such funds and was in the process of retaining bankruptcy counsel. As alleged in the amended complaint, since disclosure of the true facts would have had a chilling effect on their ability to sell the Notes, defendants set out to conceal the truth about Grand Court's condition and ensure that the private placement was successful. The amended complaint further alleges that, as a result of defendants' false and misleading statements, purchasers of the Notes purchased notes that would not have been marketable had the truth been disclosed, and are currently in default.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all Class members and are represented by the law firms of Seeger Weiss LLP, Frydman & Bergman and Morris and Morris. Seeger Weiss LLP maintains offices in New York City and New Jersey, Frydman & Bergman maintains its office in New York City and Morris and Morris maintains its office in Wilmington, Delaware. All three firms are active in major class action and complex commercial litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States.
If you are a member of the Class described above, you may, not later than 60 days from the date of this Notice, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the Class, if you so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, dependent on whether or not you serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain the law firms set forth herein, or any other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
In order to serve as lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements that are identified in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. Sect. 78u-4(a)) (the "PSLRA") and are designed to identify those plaintiffs who are the most capable of dictating the course of the litigation. These requirements include, among other things, that you did not purchase the Notes at issue at the direction of counsel for the purposes of litigation; are willing to be a representative and, if necessary, to testify at deposition or trial; identify whether or not you have served or sought to serve as a representative party in a securities litigation in the past three years, and if so, to identify the cases; and that you will not accept payment for serving as a representative party. In addition, the PSLRA includes the rebuttable presumption that the most adequate plaintiff has the largest financial interest in the relief being sought by the class.
It is important to know that you have the right to move the court for your appointment as lead plaintiff through any counsel of your choice. Alternatively, if you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights or interests with respect to this matter, you may contact the counsel listed below. You should be aware, however, that these counsel already represent plaintiffs in this matter who are themselves seeking to be appointed lead plaintiffs and whose interests might be in conflict with your own.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.
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CONTACT:
David K. Bergman, Esq.
Frydman & Bergman
18 East 48th Street - Tenth Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: (212) 355-9100
E-Mail: dbergman@frydmanbergman.com
Christopher A. Seeger, Esq.
Stephen A. Weiss, Esq.
Seeger Weiss LLP
One William Street
New York, New York 10004
Tel.: (212) 584-0700
E-Mail: cseeger@seegerweiss.com
sweiss@seegerweiss.com
or
Karen L. Morris, Esq.
Morris and Morris
1105 N. Market Street, Suite 1600
Wilmington, DE 19899
Tel: (302) 426-0400
E-Mail: morrisandmorris@compuserve.com