Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Immucor, Inc. -- BLUDE
September 02 2005 - 10:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Shepherd, Finkelman,
Miller & Shah, LLC (http://www.classactioncounsel.com/; e-mail:
), a law firm with offices in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and Florida, announces that it has filed a lawsuit seeking class
action status in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Georgia on behalf of all persons (the "Class") who
purchased the securities of Immucor, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUDE) ("Immucor"
or the "Company") during the period January 7, 2005 and August 29,
2005 (the "Class Period"). Also named as Defendants are Dr.
Gioacchino De Chirico, Steven C. Ramsey, and Edward L. Gallup. A
copy of the Complaint may be obtained from the Court, or you can
call our offices toll free at either 866/540-5505 or 877/891-9880
to speak with an attorney regarding this matter and we will send
you a copy of the Complaint. The Complaint alleges that the Company
violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (the "Exchange Act"), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.
During the Class Period, the complaint claims that Defendants
misrepresented that Immucor's financial statements and disclosures
fairly and accurately reflected the Company's results of operations
as required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP")
and the Exchange Act. The Complaint further charges that
Defendants' Sarbanes-Oxley certifications during the Class Period
were also false and misleading, as the Company, knowingly or with
severe recklessness, lacked adequate internal controls and failed
to keep proper books and records, in violation of its
well-publicized Code of Corporate Conduct. The nature of
Defendants' fraud began to come to light on August 26, 2005, when
the Company was forced to announce that the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC") had launched a formal investigation into
payments made by its Italian unit and its President, Defendant De
Chirico, in October 2003 to a physician connected with a hospital
with which the Company was doing business. After the market closed
on August 29, 2005, the Company revealed further that its Chief
Financial Officer had resigned, that it would be revising its
previously-issued results for at least two quarters in order to
account for a previously unrecorded accrued bonus, and that its
Form 10-K for fiscal year 2005 would be further delayed due to
additional accounting and auditing procedures the Company claimed
were necessary to properly reflect the accrued bonus and to render
the internal controls report required by Section 404 of
Sarbanes-Oxley. In response to this news, the price of the
Company's common stock dropped from a closing price of $28.61 on
August 25, 2005 before the market learned of the SEC's formal
investigation to close at $24.00 per share on August 30, 2005. A
staggering 6 million shares of Immucor common stock were traded on
August 30, 2005 alone. This volume is nearly ten times the average
daily volume. During the first six months of 2005, Immucor insiders
sold approximately 186,000 shares, for proceeds of about $4,970,000
million. During this time, Defendants led the market to believe
that the internal control issue involving the Italian subsidiary
was "an isolated event" that was not expected to lead to more than
a $350,000 fine and increased investigation expenses that had
already been factored into the Company's bottom line. In fact,
however, the opposite was true. Immucor's internal control
problems, as the market later learned, were not confined to its
Italian subsidiary and did not center solely around this alleged
"isolated event." If you purchased Immucor securities between
January 7, 2005 and August 29, 2005 (inclusive), you may qualify to
serve as lead plaintiff on behalf of the Class. All motions for
appointment as lead plaintiff must be filed with the Court no later
than October 31, 2005. Any member of the proposed Class may move
the Court to serve as lead plaintiff in this action through counsel
of his or her choice, or may remain an absent class member. There
are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we
would be pleased to discuss with you. Please contact James E.
Miller, Esquire (866/540-5505; ), or James C. Shah, Esquire
(877/891-9880; ), if you would like to discuss this action or have
any question regarding this notice or your rights. Shepherd,
Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC
(http://www.classactioncounsel.com/) is a national law firm that
represents investors, including institutions and individuals, as
well as consumers, in class action and other complex litigation,
and maintains offices in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania. The firm's attorneys have appeared in matters on
behalf of our clients throughout the United States and have been
appointed lead counsel in a number of class actions and corporate
governance matters. DATASOURCE: Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller &
Shah, LLC CONTACT: James E. Miller, Esquire, +1-866-540-5505, , or
James C. Shah, Esquire, +1-877-891-9880; , both of Shepherd,
Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Web site:
http://www.classactioncounsel.com/
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