NEW YORK, June 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Labaton Sucharow LLP filed a class action lawsuit on June 11, 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of purchasers of JPMorgan Chase & Co. ("JPMorgan" or the "Company") common stock between January 13, 2012 and May 10, 2012, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The action charges JPMorgan and certain of its officers with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the Company misrepresented the risky nature of the positions taken on by its Chief Investment Office (the "CIO"), which was ostensibly charged with protecting JPMorgan against credit risk.
JPMorgan is the largest bank in the United States by assets. The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, the Company concealed that: (1) the CIO had secretly amassed a risk-laden and unmanageably large position in credit derivatives and related investments that did not act as a hedge against JPMorgan's broader risk exposure; (2) the CIO had already suffered material losses as a result of these investments; (3) the Company's risk metrics, including value at risk ("VaR"), reported to investors did not adequately reflect the true risks of loss to which the Company was exposed; and (4) the reported value and performance of the CIO's investment securities portfolio were materially false and misleading because the figures were calculated based on artificially inflated asset values assigned to portfolio components by the CIO.
The truth about the CIO's investments was revealed on May 10, 2012, following the close of the markets, when the Company filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2012. The Company shocked the market by disclosing that the CIO's investments had generated a $2 billion loss that could continue to grow, when less than four weeks earlier JPMorgan had reassured the market that the CIO's investments helped reduce risk. JPMorgan also announced that its existing VaR methodology, which had previously been altered without the public's knowledge, had understated the Company's true risk by 100 percent when it was reported in April 2012. In reaction to these revelations, JPMorgan's stock price fell by $3.78 per share, or 9.28 percent, to close at $36.96 per share on May 11, 2012.
If you are a member of this Class you can view a copy of the complaint and join this class action online at http://www.labaton.com/en/cases/Newly-Filed-Cases.cfm.
If you purchased JPMorgan common stock during the Class Period, you may be able to seek appointment as Lead Plaintiff. Lead Plaintiff motion papers must be filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York no later than July 13, 2012. A lead plaintiff is a court-appointed representative for absent Class members. You do not need to seek appointment as lead plaintiff to share in any Class recovery in this action. If you are a Class member and there is a recovery for the Class, you can share in that recovery as an absent Class member. You may retain counsel of your choice to represent you in this action.
If you would like to consider serving as lead plaintiff or have any questions about the lawsuit, you may contact Rachel A. Avan, Esq. of Labaton Sucharow LLP, at (888) 753-2796 or (212) 907-0709, or via email at ravan@labaton.com.
Labaton Sucharow LLP, with offices in New York, New York and Wilmington, Delaware, is one of the country's premier law firms representing institutional investors in class action and complex securities litigation, as well as consumers and businesses in class actions seeking to recover damages for anticompetitive practices. The Firm has been a champion of investor and consumer rights for nearly 50 years, seeking recovery of current losses and necessary governance reforms to protect investors and consumers. Labaton Sucharow has been recognized for its excellence by the courts and its peers. More information about Labaton Sucharow is available at www.labaton.com.