NEW YORK, March 4, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Harwood Feffer LLP announces that it filed a class action lawsuit on March 3, 2009 on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of General Electric Company (the "Company") (NYSE:GE) during the period January 23, 2009 through February 27, 2009, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Shareholders may obtain a copy of the complaint by calling our offices or emailing us at the e-mail addresses listed below. The action is pending in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The complaint alleges that on January 23, 2009, the Company's Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, stated unequivocally that GE would maintain its quarterly $.31 per share dividend, having sufficient cash on hand and cash flow to achieve that goal. Then on February 27, 2009, GE suddenly announced it was cutting the dividend to $.10 per share. On the first trading day after the dividend reduction announcement, GE shares fell from $8.51 per share the previous trading day to close at $7.60 per share. The shares have continued to plummet, currently trading at $6.30 per share, an almost 30% plunge. During the Class Period, Mr. Immelt sold over 52,000 shares of GE stock at $11.10 per share and other officers of the Company sold over 380,000 shares at that same price. Mr. Immelt then repurchased 50,000 shares after the announcement at between $7.51 and $8.30 per share. As a result, Mr. Immelt and the other officers violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing false and misleading statements or knowingly or recklessly failing to know of those statements, sold GE shares at inflated prices based on those statements.
If you bought GE stock from January 23, 2009 through February 27, 2009, no later than May 2, 2009, you may move the court to appoint you as lead plaintiff, a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members. The court must determine whether the class member's claim is typical of other members' claims, and whether the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to recover is not, however, affected by your decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Harwood Feffer has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in those efforts. The Harwood Feffer website (www.hfesq.com) has 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:
Robert I. Harwood, Esq.
Samuel K. Rosen, Esq.
Daniella Quitt, Esq.
Harwood Feffer LLP
488 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022
(toll free) 877-935-7400
e-mail: rharwood@hfesq.com
srosen@hfesq.com
dquitt@hfesq.com
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