ProShares UltraShort Oil and Gas Fund (Symbol: DUG) Class Action Filed by Bernstein Liebhard LLP
September 30 2009 - 3:31PM
Marketwired
Bernstein Liebhard LLP filed a class action lawsuit on September
30, 2009 in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York, on behalf of all persons who purchased or
otherwise acquired shares in the UltraShort Oil and Gas fund (the
"DUG Fund") (NYSE: DUG), an exchange-traded fund ("ETF") offered by
ProShares Trust ("ProShares"), pursuant or traceable to ProShares'
false and misleading Registration Statement, Prospectuses, and
Statements of Additional Information (collectively, the
"Registration Statement") issued in connection with shares of the
DUG Fund (the "Class"). The Class is seeking to pursue remedies
under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the
"Securities Act").
The complaint names ProShares, ProShare Advisors LLC, SEI
Investments Distribution Co., Michael L. Sapir, Louis M. Mayberg,
Russell S. Reynolds, III, Michael Wachs, and Simon D. Collier, as
defendants (collectively, "Defendants"). ProShares sells its Ultra
and UltraShort ETFs as "simple" directional plays. As marketed by
ProShares, Ultra ETFs are designed to go up when markets go up;
UltraShort ETFs are designed to go up when markets go down. The DUG
Fund is one of ProShares' UltraShort ETFs. The DUG Fund seeks
investment results that correspond to twice the inverse (-200%)
daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil and Gas Index
("DJOGI"). Accordingly, the DUG Fund is supposed to deliver double
the inverse return of the DJOGI, which fell approximately 37
percent from January 2, 2008 through December 31, 2008, ostensibly
creating a profit for investors who anticipated a decline in the
U.S. Oil and Gas market. In other words, the DUG Fund should have
appreciated by over 74 percent during this period. However, the DUG
Fund fell approximately 30 percent during this period.
The complaint alleges the Defendants violated the Securities Act
by failing to disclose the following risks, inter alia, in the
Registration Statement: (1) if DUG Fund shares were held for a time
period longer than one day, the likelihood of catastrophic losses
was huge; and (2) the extent to which performance of the DUG Fund
would inevitably diverge from the performance of the DJOGI -- i.e.,
the overwhelming probability, if not certainty, of spectacular
divergence.
Plaintiff in the DUG Action seeks to recover damages on behalf
of all Class members who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of
ProShares DUG. If you purchased or otherwise acquired ProShares DUG
shares, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the
shares, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead
plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements
set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no
later than November 23, 2009.
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 Bernstein Liebhard LLP, or other counsel
of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired shares in the DUG Fund or
any ProShares leveraged funds, and either lost money on the
transaction or still hold the shares, please contact Christian
Siebott or Joseph R. Seidman, Jr. at (877) 779-1414.
Bernstein Liebhard has pursued hundreds of securities and
consumer cases and recovered approximately $2 billion for its
clients. It has been named to The National Law Journal's
"Plaintiffs' Hot List" in each of the last six years.
Bernstein Liebhard has also filed cases concerning the SRS and
SKF funds. You can view a copy of the DUG, SKF, or SRS complaints
online at http://www.bernlieb.com, or obtain them from the
court.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
10 East 40th Street
New York, New York 10016
(877) 779-1414
www.bernlieb.com
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2009 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law
firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP,
10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with
respect to any future matter.
Contact Information Christian Siebott Joseph R. Seidman, Jr.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP http://www.bernlieb.com (212) 799-1414