12 class action suits against Satyam
12 Jan 2009
The US-based securities and anti-trust firm Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross is the latest to file class action suit. Taking the number upto 12 suits against Satyam.
A class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit where a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominately a US phenomenon.
Other law firms have filed class action lawsuits against Satyam Computer on behalf of software services firm's American Depository Receipts (ADR) holders.
Izard Nobel, Harwood Feffer, Finkelstein Thompson, Dyer & Berens, Brodsky & Smith, Brualdi Law Firm, Federman & Sherwood and Glancy Binkow & Goldberg have filed class action suits in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (See: Class action suits files against Satyam in US)
Two other law firms, Sarraf Gentile and Vianale & Vianale, have filed suits in the Manhattan federal court since Wednesday. An individual, Aekta Ben Patel has filed a class action complaint in the district court of New York. She is being represented by law firm Vianale & Vianale.
The complaint alleged that Satyam and certain of its executive officers and directors have violated federal securities laws. The plaintiff claims that defendants artificially inflated the price of Satyam American Depositary Shares by issuing material misrepresentations to the market concerning the company's financial performance.
The complaint also stated that throughout the class period defendants issued financial information about the company, including information contained in certain of its Annual Reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which was false and misleading.
The firm which get the highest holding of share holders to register with them will the one to go ahead with actual judicial proceeding. The spoils will be shared by the shareholders after a substantial fee is paid to the law firm.