NEW YORK, May 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The law firm Seeger Weiss LLP announced today that on May 24, 2004, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against defendants DaimlerChrysler AG, Daimler-Benz AG and various of DiamlerChrylser's top executives for securities fraud in violation of the federal securities laws. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of non-United States citizens and non-United States residents ("foreign investors") who owned shares of Chrysler that were converted to DaimlerChrysler AG shares during the 1998 merger of the companies and such persons who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of DaimlerChrysler AG, Inc. ("DaimlerChrysler" or the "Company")(NYSE:DCX) during the period from on or about November 17, 1998 through November 17, 2000, inclusive (the "Class Period"), and were damaged thereby.
The lawsuit charges that Defendants misrepresented the nature of the 1998 merger between Daimler-Benz AG and the Chrysler Corporation. According to plaintiffs, defendants framed the transaction as a "merger of equals", rather than an acquisition, in order to avoid paying an "acquisition premium". Plaintiffs' Complaint alleges that Defendants made this representation to Chrysler shareholders in the Registration Statement, Prospectus, and Proxy, leading 97% of Chrysler shareholders to approve the merger. The Complaint further alleges that the Defendants made various misrepresentations after the merger to further their scheme.
In 2000, a separate securities class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of foreign and domestic investors against DaimlerChrysler (the "2000 lawsuit") pertaining to the same allegations at issue in the action that Seeger Weiss LLP filed on May 24, 2004. DaimlerChrysler AG recently settled the 2000 lawsuit for $300 million. Foreign investors were excluded from the class settlement, and therefore will not receive any of the $300 million recovered. Seeger Weiss LLP brought the May 24 action on behalf of these foreign investors.
If you are a foreign investor who bought or otherwise acquired shares of DaimlerChrysler AG over a non-United States based exchange between November 17, 1998 and November 17, 2000 and sustained damages, you may, no later than July 23, 2004, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class member may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Seeger Weiss LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as counsel in this action.
Seeger Weiss LLP is a New York-based firm that is active in major complex litigations and class actions pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Seeger Weiss has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers and others and has recovered millions of dollars for class members. Please contact Seeger Weiss at our toll-free number for more information about the firm. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following attorneys:
Stephen A. Weiss, Esq. Eric T. Chaffin, Esq. Seeger Weiss LLP One William Street New York, New York 10004 E-Mail: sweiss@seegerweiss.com echaffin@seegerweiss.com Tel.: (212) 584-0700 (877) 539-4125
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca