Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP announced Tuesday
(Sept. 1) that a class action suit has been filed in the United States
District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of
purchasers of the common stock of Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. between
Dec. 6, 2007, and March 10, 2009.
The suit seeks to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, according to a news release.
Fleetwood is not named in this action as a defendant because it and
its core operating subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection in
March.
Fleetwood shareholders who wish to join the suit must notify the
court no later than 60 days from Tuesday. They may do so through
plaintiff’s counsel Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Coughlin
Stoia at (800) 449-4900 or (619) 231-1058, or via e-mail at
[email protected].
A copy of the complaint as filed is available online at www.csgrr.com/cases/fleetwood.
The complaint charges certain of Fleetwood’s former executives with
violations of the Exchange Act. Fleetwood, together with its
subsidiaries, produced and distributed manufactured housing primarily in
the United States and Canada.
The complaint alleges that from December 2007 until the bankruptcy
filing, Fleetwood executives made numerous positive statements regarding
the company’s financial condition, business and prospects. The
complaint further alleges that these statements were materially false
and misleading because defendants failed to disclose the following
adverse facts, among others:
- Demand for Fleetwood’s manufactured houses and the big
homes-on-wheels was rapidly declining, and was adversely affecting the
company’s liquidity. - The company’s RV Group sales, especially in its travel trailer
division, were declining because of softening consumer demand due to
high gasoline prices and the credit crisis. - The company’s financial condition was declining precipitously
such that the company was nearing insolvency and would have to file for
bankruptcy protection. - Based on the foregoing, defendants had no reasonable basis for
their positive statements regarding the company’s ability to control
its deteriorating financial condition.
On March 10, Fleetwood issued a press release announcing that it
had “filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions for itself and certain
operating subsidiaries in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central
District of California.” The company also announced that it was closing
its travel trailer division. As a direct result of information
disclosed, the price of Fleetwood common stock fell precipitously,
falling to 1 cent per share on March 10.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of
Fleetwood common stock during the period in question. The plaintiff is
represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting
investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving
financial fraud.
Coughlin Stoia, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C.,
Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in
federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a
leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors,
consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights
violations.
