NEW YORK, July 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wechsler Harwood LLP today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of AuthentiDate Holding Corp. ("AuthentiDate") (Nasdaq:ADAT) publicly traded securities during the period between September 29, 2003 and May 27, 2005 (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint can be obtained from the Court or can be viewed on Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The complaint charges AuthentiDate and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. AuthentiDate provides web-based content authentication services that address the verification of digital information in all business processes.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business and prospects, specifically about revenues to be derived from an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service. The Company also concealed certain internal control problems. These false statements caused AuthentiDate stock to trade at artificially inflated levels, reaching as high as $18.69 per share in January 2004. Taking advantage of this artificial inflation, AuthentiDate completed a private placement of its stock in February 2004, raising $69 million in net proceeds. AuthentiDate's CFO and former CEO also took advantage of the inflation, selling 156,000 shares of their AuthentiDate stock for proceeds of $1.7 million.
On April 13, 2005, AuthentiDate announced the dismissal of its accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Later, on April 29, 2005, AuthentiDate filed a Form 8-K with the SEC disclosing it had hired a new accounting firm and also that on April 15, 2005, its CFO had sent a letter to certain members of the Company's Board of Directors, advising them of the existence of corporate governance issues. The Company hired special counsel to investigate the letter.
Then, on May 27, 2005, the Company issued a press release announcing that "its ongoing discussions with the United States Postal Service regarding the status of its Strategic Alliance Agreement had reached a critical stage with the receipt of a second notice from the Postal Service stating that it had failed to attain the performance metrics required by the Strategic Alliance Agreement during the period February 2005 through April 2005." On this news, AuthentiDate's stock collapsed to $2.94 per share on volume of 1.28 million shares.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than August 2, 2005 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. 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 that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members 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 Wechsler Harwood, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. 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: