NEW YORK, June 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Labaton Sucharow LLP, on behalf of Boston Retirement System (BRS), today filed the first bondholders’ class action against Volkswagen AG and its subsidiaries, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. and Volkswagen Group of America Finance, Inc. (together, Volkswagen or VW), and certain senior executives (collectively, the defendants).
This action, Boston Retirement System v. Volkswagen, No. 16-cv-03435 (N.D. Cal.), is the first to seek to recover damages for a class of VW bondholders—all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Volkswagen-issued bonds that were exempt from registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Rule 144A between May 23, 2014 and September 22, 2015 (the class period). By issuing these bonds, the company raised more than $8 billion in the U.S. capital markets.
As a result of the defendants’ false and misleading statements and omissions, Volkswagen’s bonds traded at artificially inflated prices—some at highs over 100 percent of par value—during the class period, only to decline in value when the emissions scandal became public. This decline in value resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to bondholders.
Labaton Sucharow partner Thomas A. Dubbs said, “At the same time that Volkswagen was deceiving U.S. investors and regulators with its rigged emissions systems, it was raising billions of dollars from investors in the U.S. capital markets. Through this action, these bond investors will finally have recourse.”
To see a list of the bonds at issue, visit our website.
About Labaton Sucharow LLP
Labaton Sucharow prosecutes precedent-setting class actions, recovering billions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors and consumers. The Firm’s successful reputation is built not only on its team of more than 60 attorneys, but also on its industry-leading in-house investigators, financial analysts, and forensic accountants. The Firm litigates in the areas of securities, antitrust, and consumer protection law. For more information, visit www.labaton.com.