BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 13, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On November 6, 2008 a class action was filed on behalf of persons who purchased Lehman Principal Protection Notes (PPNs) from UBS Financial Services, Inc. Following Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing on September 15, 2008, PPNs are now in default causing the holders of PPNs to become senior unsecured creditors in the Lehman bankruptcy proceeding.
Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari and Co-Counsel recommend investors consider all of their legal options in the wake of Lehman's bankruptcy and the filing of the PPN class action.
"Investors should be aware of the pending class action," said attorney Ryan K. Bakhtiari of Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari. "The class case has certain pitfalls that investors need to be aware of in selecting an attorney. In our opinion, most investors will fare better by filing individual arbitrations."
"In our experience, the truth about the Lehman PPNs was not properly disclosed to the majority of investors who were told that the investments were guaranteed against the loss of principal," said attorney Steven B. Caruso of Maddox Hargett & Caruso in New York City.
The brokers who sold the Lehman PPNs are not targets of the investigation, according to the investors' legal team (www.subprimelosses.com), which includes the firms of Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari, of Beverly Hills, Calif.; Maddox, Hargett & Caruso, P.C., of Indianapolis, Ind. and New York, N.Y.; Page Perry, LLC, of Atlanta, Ga.; and David P. Meyer & Associates Co., L.P.A., of Columbus, Ohio.
Important Facts to Consider Prior to Joining A Lehman Principal Protection Note Class Action
-- The pending Lehman Principal Protection Note class action Class
Period is between May 30, 2006 and September 15, 2008. Investors
who made purchases prior to May 30, 2006 are not represented and
will have no right to recovery in the Class Action.
-- In the case of Lehman Principal Protection Notes, many investors
sought safe, liquid, cash investments but were sold a product that
was, in reality, much different. Such investors will have viable
claims based on the investment's unsuitability. Because a
suitability claim is dependent on an individual's circumstances,
this claim cannot be prosecuted on a class wide basis.
-- Investors with significant losses in PPNs are unlikely ever to be
made whole in a Class Action. Class action representation may be a
attractive where individual losses are small so that any one
investor may not have an economic interest in pursuing the case.
However, investors who have lost more than $100,000 should
strongly consider pursuing their rights on an individual basis.
-- Class actions are filed by attorneys seeking to represent all
investors who have suffered a common wrong or purchased the same
investment. Classes in securities cases are typically represented
by the investor with the largest claim at stake. This often means
that state pension funds or institutional investors will choose
the attorneys and will be the ones who work on the strategy of the
case. The interests of the class representative may not always be
aligned with your interest; a specific example of this potential
conflict is the inability to pursue suitability claims.
-- Class actions sometimes create hurdles to recovery for individual
investors including depositions and motion practice which are
generally not permitted in securities disputes decided before
FINRA. The FINRA arbitration process can be completed in
approximately 12 months, recovery through a class action may take
several years.
More information is available at www.subprimelosses.com or by contacting an attorney.