ATLANTA, March 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Chitwood & Harley announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division, on behalf of purchasers of securities of Owens Corning, Inc. (OTCBB:OWENQ) between September 20, 1999, and October 5, 2000 (the "Class Period"), against five Owens Corning Executives, including the Chief Executive Officer, two Chief Financial Officers, and Comptroller, as well as one Owens Corning director. A copy of the complaint is available on our website, www.classlaw.com.
The deadline to file lead plaintiff papers, for those class members wishing to serve in this capacity, is April 1, 2003. There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we would be happy to discuss with you. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, you may contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free) or by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com. You may also contact us through our website at www.classlaw.com by clicking on Owens Corning.
Plaintiff charges that defendants, during the Class Period, misrepresented the success of Owens Corning's National Settlement Program (the "NSP") that was established in 1999 to extinguish Owens Corning's asbestos liabilities. To the public, defendants claimed the NSP was effectively managing and extinguishing Owens Corning's asbestos liabilities and that the NSP would leave Owens Corning largely liability-free after 2001. However, the defendants told a very different story to a small group of Owens Corning investors who were positioned to control Owens Corning in the event of a bankruptcy. To this group, Plaintiff complains, Defendants admitted that that the NSP plan wasn't working, and would in fact capsize Owens Corning unless NSP-mandated payments were drastically curtailed.
Defendants' positive public statements during the Class Period materially misled the public as to Owens Corning's true financial state and very financial viability. As a result, Owens Corning's stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period. During late 1999 and early 2000, Owens Corning stock -- supported by defendants' statements -- traded at between $15 and $25 per share. As the truth began to emerge in mid- and late 2000, Owens Corning's share price deflated. On October 5, 2000, Owens Corning shares fell to $1 per share when Owens Corning declared bankruptcy and admitted that it had been overwhelmed by the asbestos liabilities that defendants claimed publicly to have solved.
Chitwood & Harley LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, which resulted in the highest recovery last year in a securities class action, commented favorably on counsel's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel ... have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented."
For more information about Chitwood & Harley, please visit our website at www.classlaw.com or contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free), by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com or at 1230 Peachtree Street, Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca