ATLANTA, August 26, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Landskroner - Grieco, Ltd. announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, on behalf of all purchasers of securities of Flowserve Corp. ("Flowserve" or the "Company") (NYSE:FLS) between October 23, 2001, and September 27, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The suit is brought against Flowserve Corp., C. Scott Greer, and Renee J. Hornbaker. The civil action number is 3:03-cv-1846-R. A copy of the complaint will be emailed to you upon request or is available from the court. If you have questions about this case, please contact Jack Landskroner at jack@landskronerlaw.com or by calling 1-866-522-9500 (toll-free).
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between October 23, 2001 and September 27, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of Flowserve securities. During the Class Period, the Company alleges that Defendants, among other things: (a) misrepresented that the Company's aftermarket sales (the Company's "quick turnaround" business) were steady, stable and consistent streams of revenue; (b) misrepresented that the Company's growth made it less dependent upon the chemical and industrial segments, which had historically been very sensitive to economic downturn; (c) failed to disclose that the Company had instructed one or more of its plants to stop building inventory as a result of the projected (albeit undisclosed) continuing decline in sales; and (d) without any reasonable basis, projected full year 2002 earnings at ranges that were unattainable due to the declines the Company was experiencing in critical business segments.
On September 27, 2002, the Company warned of a 21% earnings shortfall for the quarter ending September 30, 2002, and cut its full year 2002 earnings guidance by over 60%, to $1.45 per share, from the $2.30 per share earnings guidance shared with investors during road show presentations promoting Flowserve's public offerings less than six months prior. Market reaction to the Company's announcement was swift and severe. Flowserve shares fell over 38% to close at $8.70 on September 27, 2002, a decline of more than 75% from the Class Period high of $34.90 reached on May 2, 2002. Prior to disclosure of the true facts, Flowserve completed two public offerings of its common stock, thereby raising more than $430 million, and Flowserve insiders sold their personally-held Flowserve common stock for substantial profit.
The deadline to file lead plaintiff papers, for those class members wishing to serve in this capacity, is October 6, 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 Jack Landskroner at Landskroner - Grieco, Ltd. by calling 866-522-9500 (toll-free) or by email at jack@landskronerlaw.com. The firm website is www.landskronerlaw.com.
Landskroner - Grieco, Ltd. is a law firm whose practice areas include securities fraud and consumer class action litigation. Jack Landskroner is a board certified trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and has been counsel of record in class action cases litigated across the country. For more information about Landskroner - Grieco, Ltd., please visit our website at www.landskronerlaw.com or contact Jack Landskroner at 866-522-9500 (toll-free), by email at jack@landskronerlaw.com,or at 1360 West 9th St., Ste. 200, Cleveland, Ohio 44113.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca