LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 26, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Emerson Firm, a securities class action trial law firm, announced today that a class action has been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of purchasers of Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. (Nasdaq:GMST) ("Gemstar" or the "Company") publicly traded securities during the period between August 11, 1999 and April 1, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be obtained from the Firm.
The complaint alleges that Gemstar and certain of its officers and directors violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants caused Gemstar's shares to trade at artificially inflated levels through the issuance of false and misleading financial statements. In its 10-K filed on April 1, 2002, it was stated in part: "During 1997 through 1999, Scientific-Atlanta was under a license agreement with the Company for the incorporation of interactive program guides into Scientific-Atlanta set-top boxes. The license expired on July 23, 1999, however, Scientific-Atlanta continued to ship set-top boxes incorporating IPGs which are the same or similar to the products shipped during the term of the agreement. The Company instituted legal proceedings in federal district court to recover damages, which are probable, based upon the factors described above, to include revenues commensurate with the licensing fees under the expired agreement. The Company has accrued an aggregate of $107.6 million ($58.9 million, $36.5 million and $12.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2001, the nine months ended December 31, 2000 and for the period of July 23, 1999 through March 31, 2000, respectively) in license fees from Scientific-Atlanta."
The 10-K also provided in relevant part: "In April 2001, the Company entered into a nonmonetary transaction with an unrelated company in which $20.8 million of intellectual property was acquired in exchange for $740,000 in cash and advertising having a fair value of $20 million. In addition, the Company received an option to acquire the company in the event that certain performance criteria were met in each of the following two years. The Company determined the fair value of the advertising consideration, all of which was recognized during 2001 as the advertising was aired, based on cash transactions for similar advertising sold to other parties." The stock dropped below $9 per share on this news.
If you bought Gemstar publicly traded securities between August 11, 1999 and April 1, 2002, inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 3, 2002. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action by contacting The Emerson Firm. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through The Emerson Firm or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The Emerson Firm has substantial experience representing investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits such as this. In fact, the Firm was recently appointed by a Court in Houston to the Plaintiffs' Counsel Steering Committee prosecuting the Enron retirement plan litigation. The firm has offices in Texas and Arkansas, but represents investors throughout the nation. If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses, or if you would like to consider serving as one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit, you are encouraged to call or e-mail the Firm.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.