ATLANTA, July 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Chitwood & Harley, LLP announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit, civil action number 03-CV-4757, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Sara Lee Corporation, ("Sara Lee" or the "Company"), (NYSE:SLE), between August 1, 2002 and April 24, 2003, inclusive, (the "Class Period"). The suit is brought against Sara Lee, C. Steven McMillan and Lambertus M. de Kool.
The deadline for filing lead plaintiff papers is July 14, 2003. If you have questions concerning this matter or your rights, please click on Sara Lee on our website, www.classlaw.com where a complaint is available, or email or call Jennifer Morris at jlm@classlaw.com or 1-888-873-3999 ext 6883.
The Complaint alleges that the statements concerning the Company's operations and prospects were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose: (a) that, despite the Company Reshaping program, Sara Lee was still burdened with numerous poorly performing businesses and would have to reevaluate its various businesses. Accordingly, Sara Lee did not have "the right mix of businesses" in that several material businesses were "not growing" or were "in significant decline"; (b) that the Sara Lee's underperforming businesses were causing the Company to experience declining results and, therefore, Sara Lee would not be growing at the rates represented to the market; (c) due to a lack of proper internal or financial controls, Sara Lee failed to identify or recognize those businesses or brands among its portfolio of companies that would need to be "run dramatically differently in the future"; and (d) based on the foregoing, Sara Lee lacked any reasonable basis upon which to project it (i) would experience "double-digit operating income increase" for fiscal 2003 among its "five lines of business" or (ii) have diluted EPS for fiscal 2003 in the range of $1.54 to $1.60.
On April 24, 2003, Sara Lee shocked the market when it issued a press release announcing its financial results for the third quarter, the period ending March 31, 2003. The Company announced that it was reducing earnings for fiscal 2003 to $1.50 to $1.52 per share, significantly below consensus expectations of $1.59. In response to this announcement, the price of Sara Lee common stock closed down $1.94 from the previous day's closing price on extremely heavy trading volume. In addition, the Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Sara Lee insiders sold more than $23 million of their Sara Lee common stock to the unsuspecting public.
The deadline to file lead plaintiff papers, for those class members wishing to serve in this capacity, is July 14, 2003. There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we would be happy to discuss with you. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, please contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free) or by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com. You may also contact us through our website, www.classlaw.com, by clicking on Sara Lee.
Chitwood & Harley, LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley, LLP has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley, LLP. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, which resulted in the highest recovery last year in a securities class action, commented favorably on counsel's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel ... have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented."
For more information about Chitwood & Harley, LLP, please visit our website at www.classlaw.com or contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free), by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com or at 1230 Peachtree Street, Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca