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To: ild who wrote (63552)	6/13/2006 3:13:03 PM
From: CalculatedRisk	Respond to of 110194

Pension Funds Suing Companies on Options Tuesday June 13, 3:02 pm ET By Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writer Pension Funds Suing Dozens of Companies Over Stock Options Timing biz.yahoo.com WASHINGTON (AP) -- Big pension funds in the United States, Europe and Australia are suing dozens of companies over the timing of stock options grants to their top executives, an attorney for a firm that is filing the suits said Tuesday. The pension funds, which hold shares in the companies and include several union-employee funds in the United States, are using a prominent law firm specializing in class-action suits against public companies to bring their cases. In expanding investigations, at least 39 companies are under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission or federal prosecutors for possible manipulation of the timing of options grants so that executives could reap a profit. Pension funds "are completely beside themselves and outraged over the self-dealing that has gone on," said Darren Robbins, a partner in the San Diego-based firm Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP. The suits target company directors for allegedly failing in their role as watchdogs. The aim is "to recover the monies that were diverted from the corporate till," Robbins said in a telephone interview. Among the companies and their directors that have been sued: security-software maker McAfee Inc., which recently fired its general counsel; technology company Juniper Networks Inc. and American Tower Corp., which owns towers for broadcast and wireless services. They are among the companies under investigation for timing of stock options grants. Spokesmen for McAfee, Juniper Networks and American Tower didn't immediately return telephone calls seeking comment. The pension and retirement funds filed suits in a wave in about 72 business hours in federal courthouses in several cities, and more cases are being prepared to target a total of at least 34 companies, Robbins said. The plaintiffs include a Teamsters fund, a heavy and general laborers' fund, a fund for public employees of Pontiac, Mich., and one for employees of New South Wales in Australia. <MORE>