NEW YORK, July 21, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP and Schatz & Nobel, P.C. announce that the Court has certified a Class Action to proceed on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of SupportSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPRT). Set forth below is the form of Summary Notice approved by the Court.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
Case No.: C 04-5222 SI In re SUPPORTSOFT, INC. SECURITIES LITIGATION
SUMMARY NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION
TO: ALL PERSONS AND ENTITIES WHO PURCHASED OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRED THE SECURITIES OF SUPPORTSOFT, INC. FROM JANUARY 20, 2004 TO OCTOBER 1, 2004 AND WHO WERE DAMAGED THEREBY
This Summary Notice is provided pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2) and a Stipulation and Order entered June 1, 2006 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division (the "Court") to inform you of a class action lawsuit (the "Action") pending in the Court.
Upon stipulation of the parties, the Court has ordered that the Action should proceed as a class action on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of SupportSoft, Inc. ("SupportSoft") from January 20, 2004 to October 1, 2004 (the "Class Period") and who were damaged thereby (the "Class"). Excluded from the Class are the defendants, the officers and directors of SupportSoft at all relevant times, members of their immediate families and their legal representatives, heirs, successors or assigns and any entity in which any excluded person or entity has a controlling interest.
This is merely a summary of the information contained in the Notice mailed to shareholders. For additional information you should request a copy of the Notice from the claims administrator listed below.
THIS IS NOT A SETTLEMENT NOTICE. THERE IS NO CLAIM FORM TO BE FILLED OUT OR MAILED. IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN A MEMBER OF THE CLASS YOU NEED NOT TAKE ANY ACTION AT THIS TIME.
NATURE OF THE ACTION
The Action alleges misstatements and omissions by the defendants in connection with a change in SupportSoft's business plan and a failure to disclose a change in the terms upon which SupportSoft licensed its software. The action also alleges a failure to disclose that customers were being offered incentives to change their licensing contracts to allow an earlier recognition of revenue. The defendants have denied that any wrongdoing occurred.
Relief Sought In The Action
The action seeks recovery of money damages on behalf of the Class representing the amount of money that they lost as a result of the defendants' allegedly false and misleading statements during the Class Period.
EFFECT OF CLASS DETERMINATION
The Court has certified the Action to proceed on behalf of the Class and has certified plaintiff Scott Roland to prosecute the Action as representative of the Class. This Summary Notice is to inform you of the pendency of the Action and of your rights. THIS NOTICE SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS AN OPINION BY THE COURT AS TO THE MERITS OF THE ACTION.
IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN A MEMBER OF THE CLASS YOU NEED NOT RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE OR TAKE ANY ACTION AT THIS TIME.
If the Action is successful, only Class members will be eligible to share in the proceeds of any judgment or settlement. Any judgment entered in the Action, whether favorable or unfavorable, will bind all members of the Class. An unfavorable judgment, however, will not obligate you, as a Class member, to pay any fees or expenses in connection with the Action. As a Class member, you will not be asked to pay any fees or expenses. If the Action is successful, counsel for the Class will ask the Court to award attorneys' fees to Class Counsel and reimburse the costs of the Action out of any recovery received from the defendants before the balance is distributed to the Class.
If you are bringing, or have brought, your own action against any of the defendants in connection with the claims described above and would prefer to continue to prosecute your own action, or if, for any other reason, you wish to be excluded from the Class, the Court will exclude you. Persons who request exclusion will not share in any recovery obtained on behalf of the Class and will not be bound by any judgment entered in the Action. All requests for exclusion must be in writing, post marked no later than September 8, 2006 and mailed by first class mail with proper postage, to:
SupportSoft, Inc. Securities Litigation c/o Strategic Claims Services 2710 Concord Road Suite 5 Aston, PA 19014
Your exclusion request should specifically state that you request to be excluded from the Action and should state your name (and the name of any joint owner of your shares), your address, your telephone number and the number of SupportSoft shares that you purchased between January 20, 2004 and October 1, 2004. The request for exclusion must be signed by the owner of the shares and, if the shares are owned jointly, by the joint owner. Any request for exclusion made on behalf of a Class member by someone acting in a representative capacity must state the capacity in which the representative is acting (for example, executor, trustee, etc.) and must enclose a copy (do not send originals) of the document authorizing the person acting in a representative capacity to act on behalf of the owner of the shares.
If you do not request exclusion, Class Counsel will represent your interests. The Court has appointed as Co-Lead Counsel the firms of:
Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP Schatz & Nobel, P.C.
100 Park Avenue One Corporate Center
New York, NY 10017 20 Church Street, Suite 1700
Hartford, CT 06103
Liaison counsel for plaintiffs is Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP, 1801 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067. If you do not request exclusion, you may, if you wish, and at your own expense, retain counsel of your choosing to enter an appearance, but you are not required to do so and may, instead, continue to be represented by Class Counsel.
If your address changes during the course of this litigation please notify the claims administrator of the change in writing addressed to the claims administrator, Strategic Claims Services, at the address above.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE TO THE COURT OR TO THE CLERK OF THE COURT FOR INFORMATION OR ADVICE.
Dated: June 26, 2006 By Order of the Honorable Susan Illston United States District Judge Northern District of California