NEW YORK, March 17, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Abbey Gardy, LLP commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Northeastern Division on behalf of a class (the "Class") of all persons or entities who purchased securities of King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("King" or the "Company") (NYSE:KG) between April 26, 1999 and March 11, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market during the Class Period, thereby artificially inflating the price of King securities. The Complaint names as defendants Jefferson Gregory, Joseph Gregory and James Lattanzi.
Specifically, the complaint alleges, among other things, that defendants King misrepresented that the prices paid by governmental Medicaid agencies were the "best price" (the cheapest price offered to distributors and other purchasers) for a particular drug, resulting in government overpayment for the drugs. The complaint also alleges that King misstated and/or omitted facts regarding revenue subject to "pharmaceutical rebate" payments provided by the Company. On March 11, 2003, King disclosed that it was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and certain materials have been subpoenaed, including: the Company's "best price" lists, documents related to the pricing of the Company's pharmaceutical products to any governmental Medicaid agency, and documents regarding the accrual and payment of rebates on Altace, the Company's blood-pressure drug. On this news, the price of King Pharmaceutical's stock dropped 23% in a single day to close at $12.32.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired King securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired King securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. If you purchased King securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than May 12, 2003 request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff.
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 plaintiffs." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact Nancy Kaboolian, Esq. of Abbey Gardy, LLP. at (800) 889-3701 or email NKaboolian@abbeygardy.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca