WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Law Office of Mark McNair announces a complaint alleging violations of federal securities laws by Elan Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ELN) has been filed on behalf of purchasers of Elan American Depository Receipts (ADRs) between April 23, 2001 and January 29, 2002.
This lawsuit, like similar lawsuits that have been filed against Elan Corporation, is on behalf of all shareholders who purchased ELN during the Class Period. Thus, it is not necessary for investors who purchased ELN during the Class Period to take any action at this time unless they wish to be the Lead Plaintiff. The deadline for those investors who wish to file a Lead Plaintiff Motion is April 5, 2002.
Congress adopted the Lead Plaintiff provision in 1995 so that judges would put investors with large losses in control of the litigation. Since then, an increasing number of investors with significant losses are stepping forward to become the Lead Plaintiffs and the average size of settlements grown significantly. To serve as Lead Plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements.
The Law Office of Mark McNair recognizes that many investors with significant losses are uncertain about the class action process. Generally, such investors have never participated in a class action case and they are unclear whether they should take an active role in a case. The Law Office of Mark McNair specializes in working with such individuals and institutions and would be happy to review this process with you.
The complaint alleges that Elan issued a series of false and misleading news releases and financial statements that failed to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Specifically, it is alleged that the Company used more than 50 sham joint ventures to keep research-and-development costs off its books, pump up earnings and artificially inflate its stock price. But a January 30, 2002 Wall Street Journal article exposed the Company's activities which resulted in a 16% stock drop. This was just a start of the bad news for Elan investors. After the Company announced a few days later that its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2001 would drop 84%, its ADRs fell 50% in a single day of trading. On February 7, 2002, Elan revealed that it was being investigated by the SEC.
To review the complaint and/or sign up online: http://www.justice4investors.com.
If you have any questions, please contact Mark McNair at 1101 30th Street PN.W. Suite 500, Washington, D.C, 20007 by telephone at (877) 511.4717 or (202) 872.4717, via e-mail at mcnair@justice4investors.com or visit our Website www.justice4investors.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca