NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP (www.pomerantzlaw.com) has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, against Reddy Ice Holdings, Inc. ("Reddy Ice" or the "Company") (NYSE:FRZ) and certain officers of the company for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The class action was filed on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of the Company between August 10, 2005 and August 6, 2008 (the "Class Period").
Reddy Ice is a Delaware corporation which maintains its principal executive office in Dallas, Texas. The company manufactures and distributes packaged ice. The Company is one of very few packaged ice companies operating in the United States. On March 6, 2008, the Company announced that federal officials had executed a search warrant directed by the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice in connection with an investigation into the packaged ice industry. On this news, the Company's shares fell 33.45 percent. Subsequently Home City Ice Company, a competitor of Reddy Ice, pleaded guilty to conspiring with other packaged ice firms to allocate customers and territories in the market.
According to the complaint, the true facts, which were known by the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (1) that the Company had engaged, and continued to engage, in illicit business practices with its competitors in the packaged ice industry; (2) that the company had joined with its competitors in the packaged ice industry in colluding and agreeing to allocate territories and customers in the United States' packaged ice market; (3) that the Company had agreed with competitors in the industry to fix, raise, maintain and stabilize prices for packaged ice in the United States market; (4) that the Company's revenues had been significantly increased through the use of such illicit business practices; (5) that, as a result, the Company's financial statements were false and misleading at all relevant times; (6) that such illicit business practices, when they were revealed, would initiate an investigation by the federal authorities into the Company's business practices; (7) that the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (8) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company's statements about its financial well- being and future business prospects were lacking in any reasonable basis.
If you purchased or acquired the securities of Reddy Ice during the Class Period, you have until October 7, 2008 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff for the class. Lead plaintiffs must meet certain legal requirements. Shareholders outside the United States may join the action. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, to discuss this action, or have any questions, please contact Teresa L. Webb (tlwebb@pomlaw.com) of the Pomerantz Firm at 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number.
The Pomerantz Firm, which has offices in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Columbus, Ohio and the San Francisco Bay area, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at http://www.globenewswire.com/ca/