NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- A securities class action lawsuit was filed on February 4, 2002 on behalf of all persons who acquired Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE:ELN) ("Elan" or the "Company") common stock between January 2, 2001 and January 29, 2002 (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint is available from the Court or from Abbey Gardy, LLP. Please contact us by phone at (800) 889-3701 or by email at JHaas@abbeygardy.com.
The Complaint charges Elan and certain of its officers and directors with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The complaint alleges, among other things, that defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's financial condition. The Complaint alleges that as part of their effort to boost the price of Elan securities, defendants materially overstated Elan's revenues by creating entities that were essentially controlled by Elan for research and development. Elan immediately took back its investment in the form of a license fee which it recorded as revenue. In some instances the joint ventures had no money left for the development of drugs and Elan ended up lending money to the entity.
After the market closed on January 29, 2002, The Wall Street Journal described Elan's accounting as a "charade" and quoted a former SEC accountant as stating that it is like "taking money out of one pocket and putting it in another." On this news the price of Elan's securities dropped from $35.20 to $29.25.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Elan securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transactions or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no later than April 5, 2002.
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. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiffs." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Abbey Gardy, LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact:
Jennifer Haas Nancy Kaboolian, Esq. Abbey Gardy, LLP 212 East 39th Street New York , New York 10016 (800) 889-3701 Jhass@abbeygardy.com or NKaboolian@abbeygardy.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.