NEW YORK, May 12, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wechsler Harwood LLP today announced that it has filed a Federal Securities fraud class action on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Spear and Jackson, Inc. ("Spear and Jackson" or the "Company") (OTCBB:SJCK) between July 14, 2003 and April 15, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The action, entitled Schrader v. Spear & Jackson, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. not yet assigned, is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and names as defendants, the Company, its Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President, Dennis Crowley, its Chief Financial Officer and Group Finance Director, William Fletcher, its Chief Operating Officer and Director, Joseph Piscitelli, and its auditor Sherb & Company LLP. The Complaint also names defendant Crowley's wholly owned company, PNC Tools Holdings LLC. A copy of the complaint can be obtained from the Court or can be viewed on the Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The lawsuit claims that the defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. According to the complaint, Spear & Jackson issued materially false and misleading information to the investing public during the Class Period that artificially inflated the company's stock price. Specifically, the lawsuit says that the defendants knew but concealed from the investing public that: (a) starting in February 2002, Crowley had orchestrated a "pump-and-dump" scheme to manipulate the share price of Megapro and Spear & Jackson stock in which Crowley used false information to tout Spear & Jackson stock to registered representatives and broker-dealers around the country; (b) Crowley used offshore companies he controlled to illegally obtain more than 1.2 million shares of Megapro and Spear & Jackson stock during 2002; (c) while Crowley was using false information to inflate the share price of Megapro and Spear & Jackson stock, he sold almost 650,000 of these illegally obtained shares -- realizing more than $3 million in profits; and (d) the company's announced earnings projections for fiscal 2004, of $0.50 to $0.55 per share, were unrealistic.
On April 16, 2004, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission announced it had filed a complaint and obtained a temporary restraining order and other emergency relief against Spear & Jackson and Dennis Crowley. At the SEC's request, a federal court also issued an order temporarily barring Crowley from serving as an officer or director of any public company and appointed a corporate monitor to oversee Spear & Jackson's affairs. On this news, Spear & Jackson shares fell by as much as $0.52 to trade at $1.85, a decline of 88 percent from the Class Period high.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired Spear & Jackson securities during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by June 20, 2004. 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 and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in aggregate damages. 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:
Wechsler Harwood LLP 488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400 Craig Lowther, Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations Department: clowther@whesq.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca