JACK AND JILL WENT UP A CLASS ACTION HILL->Cauley Geller Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against The J. Jill Group, Inc. On Behalf of Investors
NEW YORK, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Firm of Cauley Geller Bowman Coates & Rudman, LLP announced today that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, located at 1 Courthouse Way, Boston, MA 02210, on behalf of purchasers of The J. Jill Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:JILL) ("J. Jill Group" or the "Company") publicly traded securities during the period between February 12, 2002 and December 4, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the firm's website at cauleygeller.com .
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between February 12, 2002 and December 4, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of J. Jill Group securities. The Complaint alleges that defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company's operations and financial results. In particular, the Complaint alleges that defendants' statements were materially false and misleading because defendants failed to disclose and misrepresented: (a) that the Company's same-store sales growth -- a operating metric that is important to investors in retailing stocks but which was not highlighted by the Company during the Class Period -- was declining as demand for the Company's products weakened; (b) that the Company was amassing a material amount of product which was of diminishing value and would have to be discounted in promotional campaigns, thereby causing the Company to experience declining financial results; (c) that the Company was not collecting taxes in certain States where it made Internet sales and also had a retail store. As a result, the Company was exposed to the heightened risk that it would be subject to regulatory scrutiny; and (d) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' earnings projections and positive statements about the Company were lacking in a reasonable basis and were therefore materially false and misleading.
On December 5, 2002, prior to the open of the market, J. Jill Group shocked the market by announcing that it was revising its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2002. The Company reported that it expects fourth quarter diluted earnings per share to range between $0.25 and $0.30. In response to this announcement, the price of J. Jill common stock declined from $23.01 per share to $16.52 per share, a decline of 28%, on extremely heavy volume. Prior to the end of the Class Period, J. Jill insiders sold more than $17 million of their personally-held stock to the unsuspecting public.
If you bought J. Jill Group publicly traded securities between February 12, 2002 and December 4, 2002, inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 14, 2003. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action online at cauleygeller.com . Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through Cauley Geller or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Cauley Geller is a national law firm that represents investors and consumers in class action and corporate governance litigation. It is one of the country's premiere firms in the area of securities fraud, with in-house finance and forensic accounting specialists and extensive trial experience. Since its founding, Cauley Geller has recovered in excess of two billion dollars on behalf of aggrieved shareholders. The firm maintains offices in Boca Raton, Little Rock and New York.
If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses, or if you would like to consider serving as one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit, you are encouraged to call or e-mail the Firm or visit the Firm's website at www.cauleygeller.com .
Contact:
CAULEY GELLER BOWMAN COATES & RUDMAN, LLP
Samuel H. Rudman, Esq. or David A. Rosenfeld, Esq.
Client Relations Department:
Jackie Addison, Heather Gann or Sue Null
P.O. Box 25438
Little Rock, AR 72221-5438
Toll Free: 1-888-551-9944
Fax: 1-501-312-8505
E-mail: info@cauleygeller.com
SOURCE Cauley Geller Bowman Coates & Rudman, LLP
CO: Cauley Geller Bowman Coates & Rudman, LLP; J. Jill Group, Inc.
ST: New York, Massachusetts
SU: LAW
prnewswire.com
05/15/2003 19:41 EDT |
