BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Feb. 20, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
A securities class action lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York claims that Elan Corporation, plc ("Elan" or the "Company") (NYSE:ELN) misled shareholders about its business and financial condition.
Plaintiff seeks damages for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of all investors who bought Elan Corporation, plc securities between January 2, 2001 and January 29, 2002 (the "Class Period").
Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP has prosecuted shareholder class actions for over fourteen years and has recovered more than $1 billion for investors. If you are a shareholder of Elan Corporation, plc and want to learn more about this lawsuit and about becoming a lead plaintiff, you may visit our Website at www.sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint alleges that the New York-based and certain of its officers and directors violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The complaint further alleges, among other things, that defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's financial condition. Specifically, 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.
If you purchased Elan Corporation, plc securities between January 2, 2001 and January 29, 2002, you may be a member of the class and have until April 5, 2002 to move the court to become a lead plaintiff. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the class, however, you do not need to take any action at this time. Should you decide to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, you may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or retain counsel of your choice.
To learn more about your rights and interests in this case and your ability to potentially recoup your losses, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) directly at 888-299-7706 (toll free) or 610-822-2221, fax number 610-822-0002, e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com or visit our Website at www.sbclasslaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca