PHILADELPHIA, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In an order entered
today, the United States Supreme Court denied the defendants'
petition for certiorari, thereby upholding the jury verdict entered
on January 16, 2008 in favor of a
class of investors who purchased common stock of Apollo Group, Inc.
(APOL; Cusip No. 03760415), and the decision of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued on June
23, 2010. The jury verdict had been entered against
Apollo, the parent company of the
University of Phoenix, and two former
Apollo executives, based on claims
that they fraudulently misled investors about a U.S. Department of
Education review report concerning Apollo's student recruitment policies.
The Supreme Court decision keeps in place the rulings made by
the Court of Appeals, upholding the jury verdict, finding that
Apollo is not entitled to a new
trial, and affirming the award of damages of $5.55 per share, which, with interest, could
amount to more than $280 million.
The Supreme Court decision constitutes an important victory for
the Policemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (the "PABF"), which led the
prosecution of the case, and its counsel, Barrack Rodos &
Bacine, which has its primary offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and San Diego, California. The case was
brought on behalf of purchasers of Apollo stock during the class period from
February 27, 2004 to September 14, 2004 (the "Class"). After a
22-day trial, the jury had entered a unanimous verdict in favor of
the PABF. With the denial of the petition for certiorari, the
Ninth Circuit's decision to reinstate the jury verdict is now
final.
According to Stephen Basser, who
served as the firm's primary trial counsel in the case: "With this
Supreme Court victory, we are eager to begin the process of
securing the damages awarded to Class members by the jury verdict
achieved over three years ago. Members of the Class should
retain their records showing their purchases, sales and holdings of
Apollo Group stock."
Leonard Barrack, the senior
partner of Barrack Rodos & Bacine, stated: "We brought this
case to protect the interests of investors. We are pleased
that the United States Supreme Court has upheld the work of the
jury and the decision of the Court of Appeals that reinstated the
jury verdict in favor of Apollo
shareholders."
John Gallagher, the Executive
Director of the PABF, further commented: "On behalf of my
Board of Trustees, our fund membership and our fellow class
members, we are delighted to have served as the lead plaintiff for
this case, to have achieved this marvelous recovery for the class,
and to see it upheld first by the Court of Appeals and now by the
Supreme Court. I again want to congratulate and thank
Stephen Basser, Jeffrey Barrack and Sam
Ward, the trial team from Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, and
their Arizona-based co-counsel,
Greg Fairbourn, Frank Balint and Kathryn
Honecker, of Bonnett, Fairbourn, Friedman and Balint, on
winning this victory for the class. I also again want to
thank our annuitants who appeared in court, our pension board
representative Jim Maloney, and the
jurors for their efforts in this case. The jurors should take
great comfort in knowing that their verdict in favor of investors
who were defrauded into purchasing Apollo stock at the prices they paid served
the interests of justice, and has been upheld by the Court of
Appeals and by the United States Supreme Court."
Persons with questions concerning the verdict, the appeals court
decision, the Supreme Court decision, or the case in general, may
contact the attorneys for the Policemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund
of Chicago – Barrack, Rodos &
Bacine, 3300 Two Commerce Square, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 963-0600,
www.barrack.com – who served as lead counsel for the
Class.
SOURCE Barrack, Rodos & Bacine