BALA CYNWYD, Pa., June 18, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Central Parking Corporation ("Central Parking" or the "Company") (NYSE:CPC) from November 4, 2002 through February 13, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between November 4, 2002 and February 13, 2003, thereby artificially inflating the price of Central Parking common stock. The Complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (a) that the Company's internal controls were inadequate to record and document the Company's financial results; (b) that the Company was materially understating its bad debt reserve, thereby overstating its earnings; (c) that the Company was materially understating its accounts payable, thereby overstating its financial condition; and (d) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and, therefore, were materially false and misleading.
On February 14, 2003, Central Parking shocked the market when it announced that it would be taking a charge to increase its bad debt reserve and that it would be taking a charge to increase its accounts payables. In response to this announcement, the price of Central Parking common stock dropped from $15.82 on February 13, 2003 to a close of $12.31 on February 14, 2003, or a single-day decline of more than 22%, on more than seven times normal trading volume.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/cgi/signup.cgi.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than August 18, 2003, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.