HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 7, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Schatz Nobel Izard P.C., which has significant experience representing investors in prosecuting claims of securities fraud, announces that a lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on behalf of all persons who purchased the common stock of Office Depot, Inc. ("Office Depot" or the "Company") (NYSE:ODP) between April 26, 2007 and October 26, 2007, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The Complaint charges that Office Depot and certain of its officers and directors violated federal securities laws. Specifically, defendants knew but concealed the following: (i) Office Depot failed to properly account for its vendor rebates; (ii) the Company's efforts to improve its gross margin by reducing its labor costs also led to a reduction in customer service levels resulting in a loss of customers; and (iii) given the more intense competition Office Depot was experiencing from OfficeMax and Staples and the Company's aggressive pricing to boost technology sales, the Company had no reasonable basis to make projections about its ability to maintain its gross margin.
On October 29, 2007, before the market opened, Office Depot announced that it had to delay the distribution of its third-quarter earnings release and related conference call and webcast, previously scheduled to take place on October 30, 2007, due to an independent review by the Audit Committee of the Company's vendor program funds, relating principally to the timing of the recognition of certain vendor program funds. On this news, Office Depot's stock fell $2.86 per share to close at $17.43 per share, a decline of nearly 14%. During the Class Period, Office Depot stock traded as high as $36.41 per share on June 4, 2007.
If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than January 4, 2008, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff of the class. A lead plaintiff is a class member that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Although your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision whether or not to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, lead plaintiffs make important decisions which could affect the overall recovery for class members, including decisions concerning settlement. The securities laws require the Court to consider the class member(s) with the largest financial interest as presumptively the most adequate lead plaintiff(s).
While Schatz Nobel Izard P.C. has not filed a lawsuit against the defendants, to view a copy of the Complaint initiating the class action or for more information about the case, class action cases in general, and your rights, please contact Schatz Nobel Izard P.C. toll-free at (800) 797-5499, or by e-mail at firm@snilaw.com, or visit our website: www.snilaw.com.