PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 27, 2004 LAWFUEL – Best for law, law news, legal news, legal research Barrack, Rodos & Bacine today issued
the following:
A class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for
the Southern District of Ohio by an institutional investor on behalf of
purchasers of securities of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH), from
October 24, 2000, through July 26, 2004 (the “Class Period”).
The complaint alleges that Cardinal and certain of its officers and
directors, in order to maintain the Company’s record growth and profit rates,
engaged in a series of fraudulent accounting manipulations to inflate
Cardinal’s financial results. The complaint further alleges that on June 30,
2004, Cardinal issued a news release that disclosed, among other things: (1) a
significant earnings shortfall; (2) that Cardinal had received a subpoena from
the SEC that included a request for the production of documents relating to
revenue classification and the methods used for such classification; and (3)
that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York
had also commenced an investigation on the same subject. In response the
stock fell by $17.19 per share, or more than 24% in the next day’s trading.
The true severity of Cardinal’s problems was not revealed until after the
close of the market on July 26, 2004, when Richard Miller, Cardinal’s chief
financial officer, announced his resignation. His resignation was directly
tied to the government investigations and Miller was quoted in the press
release as stating, “Certain financial reporting practices and judgments that
occurred during my tenure as CFO have come under scrutiny in the ongoing
investigations. I now believe it is in the best interests of the company for
me to step aside as CFO.” The Company also announced that the release of its
financial results for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, which had been
scheduled for that same week, would be delayed until late August or early
September. The market reaction to the July 26th announcement was immediate
and strongly negative. On July 27, 2004, the Company’s stock fell by $6.47 to
close at $44.00, a decline of nearly 13% from the previous day’s closing
price.
The complaint seeks to recover damages on behalf of all persons who
purchased Cardinal Health securities during the Class Period. Barrack, Rodos
& Bacine has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions
involving financial fraud. Barrack, Rodos & Bacine has prosecuted securities,
antitrust and consumer class actions for more than 25 years. The firm has
offices in Philadelphia, San Diego, New York and New Jersey and has been
designated lead counsel by federal and state courts across the country in
large, complex cases. For more information about Barrack, Rodos & Bacine,
please visit their website at http://www.barrack.com.
If you are a member of the Class described above, you may, no later than
August 31, 2004, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the Class, if
you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet
certain legal requirements. If you wish to discuss this action or have any
questions concerning this case or your rights or interests, please contact
Daniel E. Bacine, Esquire, Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, 3300 Two Commerce Square,
2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-963-0600, fax number
215-963-0838.
