NEW YORK, Jan. 25, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harwood Feffer LLP (www.hfesq.com) today announced that it has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of participants in and beneficiaries of the Sterling Savings Bank Employee Savings and Investment Plan and Trust (the "Plan") in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
The lawsuit, filed against Sterling Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:STSA) ("Sterling" or the "Company") and other fiduciaries of the Plan, alleges that the Plan's fiduciaries improperly managed and failed to protect employees' investment in Sterling stock through the Company's 401(k) Plan in violation of the federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In particular, the complaint alleges that defendants continued to invest in Sterling stock when it was no longer a prudent Plan investment and that they failed to take actions that could have prevented substantial losses in the Sterling investment as the stock continued to plummet in value.
As alleged in the complaint, defendants knew or should have known that during the Class Period (i.e., July 23, 2008 through and including the present), Sterling had issued a series of material misrepresentations and omitted to disclose material information regarding the Company's unacceptably high exposure to delinquent and risky commercial real estate and construction loans and securities that caused Sterling to incur substantial loan losses and impairment charges.
When the market began to learn the truth about Sterling's substantial loan losses stemming from its delinquent loans on the drastic impact thereof on the Company's financial condition, Sterling stock plummeted 97% from a Class Period trading high of $15.00 per share on October 3, 2008 to a miniscule trading low of $0.49 per share on November 13, 3009, a price which is significantly less than the price at which the Plan and its participants were acquiring the stock during the Class Period. As a result of Defendants' fiduciary breaches, the Plan has suffered substantial losses, resulting in lost profits and the depletion of millions of dollars of the retirement savings and anticipated retirement income of the Plan's participants.
If you are a participant or beneficiary of the Plan and you wish to discuss this matter with us, or have any questions concerning your rights and interests with regard to this matter, please contact Harwood Feffer attorney Jeffrey M. Norton at 877-935-7400.
For over two decades, Harwood Feffer has been a nationally recognized firm that specializes in complex, multi-party litigation with an emphasis on securities, ERISA, consumer fraud, product liability and civil rights litigation. Harwood Feffer has lead numerous class actions on behalf of investors, employees, and consumers and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries for its clients. You can learn more about this case and Harwood Feffer by visiting the firm's website (http://www.hfesq.com).
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