SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 4, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman announced today that a securities fraud class action lawsuit has been filed against Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (Nasdaq:GMCR) in U.S. District Court in Vermont.
Investors who purchased Green Mountain common stock between July 28, 2010 and September 28, 2010, and who wish to move to be a lead plaintiff, must file a motion by November 29, 2010. You may contact our attorneys below to discuss this matter.
Green Mountain and certain of its Officers are charged with making a series of materially false and misleading statements related to the Company's business and operations in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Complaint alleges that Green Mountain artificially inflated the Company's stock price during the Class Period by issuing inaccurate and unreliable financial statements, which were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules.
The Complaint also alleges that Green Mountain completed a sale of 8,566,649 shares of its common stock to Luigi Lavazza on August 28, 2010, for an aggregate purchase price of $250 million, despite the fact that the Company knew its reported financial statements were untrue and that it lacked adequate internal operational and financial control systems.
Following the close of trading on September 28, 2010, shareholders learned that the SEC had launched an inquiry into Green Mountain's revenue recognition, that it had been notified by the SEC of this investigation as early as September 20, 2010, and that the Company was expected to take a restatement charge in the near term – rendering the Company's prior reported financial statements and reports unreliable, false and materially misleading. Following this announcement, shares of the Company fell from $37 per share to a low of $27.47 per share.
Hagens Berman has been investigating this matter and, in particular, is focused on the relationship between Green Mountain and its fulfillment vendors, including M Block & Sons Inc. (which accounted for 51 percent of the accounts receivable last year), and the possibility that channel stuffing may have hidden slowing growth. The investigation goes back to 2007 when management admits that its accounting irregularities arose.
Details of the investigation can be found at http://www.hbsslaw.com/cases-and-investigations/GMCR. If you want to consider moving to be a lead plaintiff, and you bought Green Mountain shares between 2007 and September 28, 2010, you are encouraged to call Reed R. Kathrein at 510-725-3000 for a personal consultation, or contact the Hagens Berman legal team at GMCR@hbsslaw.com.
About Hagens Berman
Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP represents institutions and investors in complex securities fraud litigation. The firm has offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Founded in 1993. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com%26index=1%26md5=6f29668c10924907a2f30a00134160f6">www.hbsslaw.com. Visit the firm's securities blog at www.meaningfuldisclosure.com%26index=2%26md5=9b20f2ab01b9d5522c7f291c068b5531">www.meaningfuldisclosure.com.