Press Release follows verbatim:
A class action lawsuit was filed yesterday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of shareholders who purchased securities and/or sold put options of Apple Computer, Inc. (“Apple” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AAPL) between December 1, 2005 through August 11, 2006, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
The Complaint charges that Apple and certain of its officers and directors violated Sections 10(b), 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10-b(5) and 14a-9 promulgated thereunder. The action alleges that defendants made false and misleading statements and omissions concerning Apple’s improper and undisclosed practice of backdating options conferred on certain executives which made it appear that such options were issued on dates when the market price of Apple stock was higher than actual market price on the actual grant dates. This improper backdating masked the virtually instant profits the option recipients obtained. Under generally accepted accounting principles, these profits were required to be recognized as an expense in the Company’s financial statements for the appropriate period, but were not. Thus, the Company’s financial statements in its Form 10-K filing for the fiscal year 2005 and interim financial statements for 2005 and 2006 were materially false and misleading. In addition, the Company’s Proxy Statement for its annual shareholder meeting held in 2006 was materially false and misleading because it contained statements concealing Apple’s practice of backdating stock options. The Complaint further alleges that as a result of defendants’ actions, plaintiffs and the Class were damaged.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of class members and are represented by the law firm of Stull, Stull & Brody, which has significant experience and expertise in prosecuting class actions on behalf of investors.
If you purchased Apple securities and/or sold put options on Apple shares between December 1, 2005 and August 11, 2006, inclusive, you may be a member of the class and have until October 24, 2006, to move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the class, however, you do not need to_take any action at this time. Should you decide to seek appointment asa lead plaintiff, you may retain Stull Stull & Brody, or counsel of your choice.
If you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or_interests with respect to this matter, please contact Howard T. Longman of Stull, Stull & Brody at 973-301-0900 or toll free at 800-337-4983 or via e-mail at Tsvi@aol.com or by writing to Stull, Stull & Brody, 6 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017.
Related articles:
Does Apple board member Al Gore have an options problem? – August 25, 2006
Shareholders allege Apple execs reaped ‘millions’ in unlawful profits – August 23, 2006
How options-backdating irregularities can affect your Apple Computer stock – August 23, 2006
Apple’s options imbroglio: Mac-maker granted options at or near key events in company’s history – August 18, 2006
Apple added to Nasdaq’s list of ‘delinquent companies’ – August 18, 2006
Apple unlikely to be delisted by NASDAQ – August 16, 2006
Apple CEO Steve Jobs drawn into stock options scandal – August 15, 2006
Apple announces update regarding stock option grants – August 11, 2006
As expected, Apple delays quarterly results due to stock-options grants review – August 11, 2006
Some stock options grant decisions were made by Apple board, and potentially, CEO Steve Jobs – August 10, 2006
Disney: no material impact from Pixar options – August 09, 2006
Pixar options draw scrutiny – August 08, 2006
Apple stock options scandal? What scandal? – August 07, 2006
Class action lawsuit over stock options filed against Apple Computer, Inc. – August 04, 2006
Wall Street forgiving of Apple’s stock option irregularities; CEO Jobs unlikely to be terminated – August 04, 2006
Apple’s stock option irregularities escalate into a scandal as world awaits Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote – August 04, 2006
Apple warns of profit restatement dating back to 2002 – August 04, 2006
Apple loses 3.5% to $67.15 in premarket trading – August 04, 2006
Apple announces update regarding stock option grants – August 03, 2006
Shareholder’s options suit against Apple alleges ‘striking pattern that could not have been chance’ – July 11, 2006
Apple announces update regarding stock option grants – July 05, 2006
UBS: stock options probe unlikely to hurt Apple – June 30, 2006
Apple joins growing list of companies entangled in stock option ‘irregularities’ – June 29, 2006
Apple to investigate stock option grant ‘irregularities’ made between 1997 and 2001 – June 29, 2006
Another lawsuit filed courtesy of yet another class action firm’s Automated Lawsuit Generator.
I mean, they are so greedy that they can’t even wait until Apple completes it investigation. Exactly who are they representing here? The individual shareholder? Certainly not, since AAPL hasn’t suffered to much recently, and the options “scandal” (how can it be truly a scandal when the details are still largely unknown?) was in no way linked to the fact that the stock was trading in the 80s earlier this year.
This is like some DA announcing he’s going to charge murder charges on someone when the police says no one has been arrested yet.
Greedy lawyers just can’t help themselves, apparently, because they’re afraid of being beat out by the other greedy lawyers.
BTW, when are we going to rewrite the laws so that if a lawsuit is declared frivolous by the judge, the party bringing the suit would have to pay all legal expenses as well as a fine for wasting the court’s time?
Not saying Apple’s hands are clean, but filing a lawsuit at this stage is called jumping the gun at the very least.
Another bunch of scum-sucking, bottom-feeding asshat lawyers (heretoforeafter referred to as “lawyers”) casts their line looking for day-traders who want to maximise their ROI on investments in which they had no long-term interest.
Any “real” investor in Apple should ignore this spam as it will consume management resources, delay new products and damage Apple’s share value far more than the alleged original misdemeanor.
Lawyers. Can’t live with them, can’t shoot them in the head.
this looks suspiciously like a lawyer looking for a client. Sort of high tech ambulance chasing. Why else would they ask for someone to nominate as lead plaintiff?
Sheesh – too many lawyers, make em all use Windows as punishment.
huh…………?
What damages could shareholders have incurred through this? I’ve bought the stock and haven’t had any damages. I’m sitting on a nice gain.
Shakespeare has a great take on this…
“kill all the lawyers”
They don’t even have a plaintiff! I think i hear an ambulance… but watch out and not get run over by Stull, Stull & Brody… or is that Dewy, Cheatum & Howe?
ditto to the above…
The lawyers are jumping the gun and filing on our, the shareholders, behalf. However, due to their search for a lead plaintiff, it appears that nobody asked them to file.
This is just jumping the gun so that they can reap the rewards of the case rather than somebody else.
dog eat dog.
i made 5 figures off this stock… and now got a bunch of options. i ain’t rich, but looks like someones getting greedy
Yes, get rid of the lawyers. Only paralegals allowed. LOL
Actually its the lawyers who win by a class action suit. They get the millions, the people get $10.00 off on the next software that they will not buy.
And if you KILL the company in the process, who cares,— not the lawyers. 🙁
Baa Humbug, I say.
Actually lawyers are becoming a real problem in this country. THere are so many of them and they only want to make big dollar wins so they go for the stupid but deep pocket issues. And the ones actually hurt are really ignored in the name of profits for the lawyers.
Sad state of affairs.
N.
oh yea, can WE sue Stull, Stull & Brody for affecting AAPL?
That should be “do not”
“This is like some DA announcing he’s going to charge murder charges on someone when the police says no one has been arrested yet.”
Actually it’s like a DA announcing he’s going to someone with murder before they even know if anyone is dead.
Sorry, that should read: “Actually it’s like a DA announcing he’s going to charge someone with murder before they even know if anyone is dead.”
FSCKING lawyers!!!
A lot of anger directed at the lawyers, yet not one word about the executives that concealed the backdating of stock options. Frankly, I don’t see the difference.
I highly doubt that Apple will be forced to close it’s doors because of this. However, if the worst did occur, you bet “your sweet bippy” that us users would be filing a class action suit against the prosecution (whether government or private party) for predatory and unjust attacks against consumers.
Remember, sueing a company into oblivion is NOT THE ANSWER TO A PROBLEM. Especially when there are many users who rely heavilly on a company’s hardware/software.
I WILL NOT SWITCH TO WINDOWS EVEN IF HELL FREEZES OVER!
Just because a company is publicly traded, does not mean it is the best practice. Some privately held companies are also some of the most financially solvent.
Wow. It’s not the lawyers, folks.
They’ve nothing to pursue without the arrogance of management grown invincible – at least in their own minds – by the adulation of the masses.
It will take the legal process to sort it all out – at great expense of time, energy and money that could have gone into the cause of making better, superior products.
Lawyers. Can’t live with them, can’t shoot them in the head.
Ah, but – if you had an endless supply of “clean” guns, a way of irrevocably disposing of them post-use and a guarantee of no witnesses – wouldn’t it be worth trying.
That said, surely all you have to do make them go out in daylight or destroy their coffins or run a stake through their hearts.
Fanatic Realist – who said lawyers have hearts?
Peace.
Pete, do you think perhaps the lawyers in question could possibly
A. Allow the investigation to be completed first so that the shareholders know what’s actually going on?
B. Wait until they actually have a plaintiff instead of following their noses to this potential windfall, and then inviting the shareholders to come along for the ride?
That’s absolutely ridiculous. Don’t try for a second to act like these greedy bastards are doing anything other than trying to line their own pockets. Even you can’t be that naive.
Some lawyers really are scum of course. But the good thing is that ALL lawyers are great for being the butt of good jokes:
Two lawyers are stranded on a desert island when one day they spotted on the beach a gorgeous, naked blonde woman, lying face up and unconscious. One said to the other, “You know, we’ve been on this island for months and, it’s been, you know, such along time. Do you think we could… you know… screw her?” The other lawyer looked at him oddly and asked: “Screw her? Screw her out of what?
A big city lawyer went duck hunting in rural Tennessee. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer’s field on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked what he was doing. The litigator responded, “I shot a duck and it fell into this field, and now I’m going to retrieve it.” The old farmer responded, “This is my property and you’re not coming over here.” The indignant lawyer said, “I am one of the best trial attorneys in the United States, and if you don’t let me get that duck, I’ll sue you for everything you own.” The old farmer smiled and said, “Apparently you don’t know how we settle things in Tennessee.” We settle small disagreements like this with the “three kick rule.” The lawyer asked, “What is the three kick rule?” The farmer replied, “Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three times, and so on back and forth until someone gives up.” The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to bide by the local custom. The farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel-toed work boot into the lawyer’s groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer’s last meal gushing from his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer’s third kick to the rear end sent him face-first into a fresh cow pile. The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, “OK, now it’s my turn.” The old farmer smiled and said, “Naw, I give up. You can have the duck.”
Does somebody ever heard of action suits against managers’ irregular actions resulting in their shares going up?