July 22, 2015
Bernstein Liebhard LLP today alerts investors that only twelve days remain – until August 3, 2015 – to file a motion for lead plaintiff in a class action against Toshiba Corporation (“Toshiba” or the “Company”) (OTC: TOSYY and TOSBF) pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The action alleges claims on behalf of purchasers (the “Class”) of Toshiba securities during the period of May 8, 2012 and May 7, 2015, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
The Complaint alleges that the Company violated federal securities laws by making materially false and misleading statements and omissions regarding Toshiba’s financial performance, business prospects, and true financial condition.
On May 8, 2015, Toshiba disclosed that, in the course of an investigation, a Special Investigation Committee had identified several instances in which the Company used a percentage-of-completion method of accounting, wherein contract costs for certain infrastructure projects were undervalued and contract losses (including provisions for contract loss) were recorded in an untimely manner. Further, the Company announced that a new committee — the Independent Investigation Committee, consisting of legal and accounting experts — would be taking over the investigation.
On this news, Toshiba’s stock price fell $5.75 per share, or over 23% over the next two days to close at $18.33 per share on May 11, 2015.
On Tuesday, July 21, 2015, Toshiba’s CEO Hisao Tanaka, as well as eight of 16 board members, resigned following the publication of the Independent Investigation Committee’s report, which revealed that the three most recent CEOs played active roles in inflating Toshiba’s earnings by $1.22 billion over the last seven years. Moreover, they “deliberately provided insufficient explanations to auditors, with the intention of carrying out a systematic cover-up.” Tanaka assumed responsibility for the accounting scandal.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all Class members who purchased shares of Toshiba during the Class Period. If you purchased Toshiba securities as described above, and lost over $100,000 (whether realized losses or unrealized losses on stock you still hold) on the transactions, you may wish to join in this action to serve as lead plaintiff. In order to do so, you must meet certain requirements set forth in the applicable law and file appropriate papers no later than August 3, 2015.
A “lead plaintiff” is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Bernstein Liebhard LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
If you are interested in discussing your rights as a Toshiba shareholder and/or have information relating to the matter, please contact Joseph R. Seidman, Jr. at (877) 779-1414 or seidman@bernlieb.com.
You can obtain a copy of the complaint from the clerk of the court for the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP has pursued hundreds of securities, consumer and shareholder rights cases and recovered over $3 billion for its clients. The National Law Journal has recognized Bernstein Liebhard for twelve consecutive years as one of the top plaintiffs’ firms in the country.