NEW YORK, May 31, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C. announces that a class action lawsuit was filed on May 29, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of all purchasers of the securities of Allied Capital Corporation (NYSE:ALD) ("Allied Capital" or the "Company"), between November 14, 2001 and May 16, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court or the Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C. Please visit our website at www.bernardmgross.com or contact us by phone at 866-561-3600 (toll free) or by E-mail at susang@bernardmgross.com.
The action is pending in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, located at 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York against defendants Allied Capital Corporation, William L. Walton and Penni F. Roll.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between November 14, 2001 and May 16, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of Allied Capital securities. Throughout the Class Period, as alleged in the Complaint, defendants issued numerous statements and filed quarterly and annual reports with the SEC which described the Company's investments and their valuations. The Complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (i) that the Company was overstating the value of its investments in companies such as Velocita, Inc. and the Loewen Group, Inc; (ii) that the Company was improperly delaying the write-down of its impaired investments; and (iii) that as a result, the value of the Company's private finance portfolio and total assets was materially overstated at all relevant times.
On May 16, 2002, the last day of the Class Period, when concerns were raised by a money manager about the Company's long-term prospects and its accounting practices and management, shares of Allied Capital fell $2.79 per share, or approximately 10%, to close at $23.20 per share, after reaching an intra-day low of $20 per share, on volume of more than 14 million shares traded.
If you bought the securities of Allied Capital between November 14, 2001 and May 16, 2002, you may, no later than July 16, 2002, 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 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 Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C., or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of Class members and, are represented by the law firm of Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C. having significant experience and expertise in prosecuting class actions.
We have also filed a securities fraud class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders of Adelphia Business Solutions (ABIZQ.PK-OTC) between January 6, 2000 and March 27, 2002, lead plaintiff petitions due July 9, 2002.
If you wish to discuss this action or any other action we recently filed or have any questions concerning this Notice or rights or interests with respect to these matters, PLEASE CONTACT:
Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C.
Deborah R. Gross, Esquire
Susan Gross, Esquire
1515 Locust Street, Second Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Telephone: 800-849-3120(toll-free)
866-561-3600 (toll-free)
or 215-561-3600
E-mail: susang@bernardmgross.com or Debbie@bernardmgross.com.
Website: http://www.bernardmgross.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the class action newsline