SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 26, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Johnson & Perkinson ("J&P"), a law firm located in South Burlington, Vermont, has filed a class action lawsuit on September 23, 2005 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of investors who purchased the securities of Mercury Interactive Corporation ("Mercury Interactive" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:MERQE) between October 22, 2003 and August 30, 2005, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint is available from the Court or can be viewed on Johnson & Perkinson's website at www.jpclasslaw.com.
The complaint charges Mercury Interactive and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Specifically, the complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants' internal controls and corporate compliance mechanisms were flawed and deficient, causing their stock to trade at artificially inflated levels, and that defendants concealed extraordinary auditing expenses. On July 5, 2005, defendants revealed the Company's previously undisclosed accounting irregularities. Finally, on August 29, 2005, the Company announced it would restate its earnings results for 2002, 2003, 2004, and the first quarter of 2005, causing the stock to drop from a high of $44.74 on June 1, 2005 to $36.74.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Mercury Interactive between October 22, 2003 and August 30, 2005, inclusive, and sustained damages, you may, no later than October 20, 2005, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Johnson & Perkinson, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Johnson & Perkinson is a litigation boutique dedicated to maximizing shareholders' returns and keeping the lead plaintiffs involved in the litigation. Attorneys Johnson and Perkinson are both former employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, Mr. Johnson was an attorney with the enforcement division of the SEC from 1980-1985. The firm has prosecuted leading actions on behalf of defrauded investors against numerous public companies resulting in the recovery of many millions of dollars and has been singled out for its excellence by various courts. In 2004, Securities Class Action Services ranked J&P 17th among all Plaintiffs' firms for the overall dollar amount of settlements and 6th for the average amount of securities class action settlements. The firm is currently lead or co-lead counsel in securities class actions pending against Xerox, Priceline, and Exchange Applications and serves on the Executive Committee in the Global Crossing case. Additionally, Johnson & Perkinson serves as co-lead counsel in In re: Sprint Corporation ERISA Litigation and serves on the purchase claims subcommittee in In re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation.
Please access the Johnson & Perkinson website at www.jpclasslaw.com for more information about the firm. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact: James Conway, Esq., at Johnson & Perkinson, 1690 Williston Road, P.O. Box 2305, South Burlington, VT 05403, toll free at 1 (888) 459-7855, or via e-mail at jconway@jpclasslaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca