Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Files Securities Class Action on Behalf of Purchasers of Securities of The Hartford Fina
October 21 2004 - 6:06PM
PR Newswire (US)
Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Files Securities Class
Action on Behalf of Purchasers of Securities of The Hartford
Financial Services Group, Inc. HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 21
/PRNewswire/ -- Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC
(http://www.classactioncounsel.com/; e-mail: ), a law firm with
offices in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida,
announced today that it has filed a class action on behalf of all
purchasers of the stock and other publicly- traded securities of
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG - News; "The
Hartford" or the "Company") from November 5, 2003 through October
13, 2004 inclusive (the "Class Period"). The Complaint charges The
Hartford, Ramani Ayer, David M. Johnson, David K. Zwiener, Robert
J. Price and Thomas M. Marra with violations of Sections 10(b) and
20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5
promulgated thereunder. A copy of the Complaint filed in this
action can be obtained from the Court (Case No. 3:04-cv-1764-SRU),
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
obtain a copy of the Complaint or you can e-mail us () and we will
send you a copy of the Complaint. The Complaint specifically
alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the
following material adverse facts which were known to Defendants or
recklessly disregarded by them: (1) the Company entered into and
concealed illegal contingent commission agreements that it entered
into with other insurance companies, including Marsh, Inc., a
subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan, Inc.; (2) the Company engaged
in bid-rigging whereby the Company agreed to provide brokers with
artificial quotes which were not justified by underwriting
analysis; (3) as a result of the bid-rigging, the Defendants
guaranteed The Hartford material amounts of business; (4) by
concealing these "contingent commissions" and such "contingent
commission agreements," Defendants violated applicable principles
of fiduciary law; and (5) as a result, the Company's prior reported
revenue and income was grossly overstated. On October 14, 2004, New
York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer ("Spitzer") filed a suit
against Marsh & McLennan, Inc., alleging that it steered
unsuspecting clients to insurers with whom it had lucrative payoff
agreements, and that the firm solicited rigged bids for insurance
contracts. Spitzer's Complaint also named The Hartford as an
alleged participant in bid-rigging. On these revelations, the
Company's shares fell $3.78 per share, or 6.08 percent, to close at
$58.40 per share on unusually high trading volume on October 14,
2004. By October 15, 2004, shares of The Hartford fell another
$2.10 per share, or 3.60 percent, to close at $56.30 per share. If
you purchased the common stock or other publicly-traded securities
of The Hartford between November 5, 2003 through October 13, 2004,
inclusive, you may qualify to serve as a lead plaintiff on behalf
of the Class. All motions for appointment as a lead plaintiff must
be filed with the Court no later than December 14, 2004. 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/
Copyright