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Koss Settles SEC Action and Shareholder Class Action
Court Watch |
2011/10/27 09:45
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Koss Corporation, the U.S. based high-fidelity stereo headphone company, and its Chief Executive Officer, Michael J. Koss, agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission without admitting or denying the Commission's charges in an action that stems from the previously reported embezzlement by the Company's former Vice President of Finance, Sujata Sachdeva. Ms. Sachdeva is currently serving an eleven year prison sentence for her crimes. The Company also announced that a settlement in principle has been reached subject to Court approval involving the claims that were brought against the Company and Michael Koss in a pending shareholder class action.
"The restated financial statements that we filed with the Commission back in June 2010 describe in detail the theft that occurred within our Company and the ways that the embezzlement was concealed from members of the Board and, in particular, from Michael Koss," said David D. Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Smith observed that, "Although as a smaller reporting Company, Koss was not required to have its internal controls attested to by the Company's auditors, it was clear that the auditors reviewed the Company's internal controls each year as part of planning their substantive testing, and the Company's financial statements were audited each year." Those audits failed to detect the embezzlement and underlying accounting fraud that was committed against the Company.
Immediately upon discovering the embezzlements in December 2009, the Company disclosed the occurrence to its shareholders, the securities markets, securities regulators and federal law enforcement authorities. Moreover, the Commission publicly acknowledged that the Company and Michael Koss cooperated throughout the course of its investigation.
"The Company and I entered into these settlements," said Mr. Koss, "in order to close an unfortunate chapter in our Company's history. The settlement with the Commission imposes no financial penalty on the Company and requires us to comply with the law, which is exactly what we've always sought to do."
On a personal level, Mr. Koss pointed out that he previously and voluntarily reimbursed the Company for excess bonuses that he received from the Company that were based on profits that were eliminated in the restatements. His agreement in the settlement to further reimburse the Company for the full amount of those bonuses reflects a decision not to enter into a debate over the SEC staff's interpretation of Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related provisions contained in the Dodd-Frank Act, and to put this matter behind himself and the Company. "Regardless of the differing interpretations of Section 304, I believe that reimbursing this additional amount is just the right thing to do given the circumstances," he said.
In a separate matter, the Company announced that it had reached a settlement in principle of the shareholder class action that involves a total payment of $1 million to the shareholders included within the class. This amount will be funded by the Company's insurance company, with any fee awarded to plaintiffs' counsel to be paid out of the $1 million settlement.
These two settlements along with the previously announced settlement from this past summer of the shareholder derivative lawsuit filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court conclude the major actions that the Company was defending as a result of Ms. Sachdeva's embezzlement. The Company still has pending certain actions that it filed against its former auditor, former bank, and former credit card company.
Koss Corporation markets a complete line of high-fidelity stereo headphones, speaker-phones, computer headsets, telecommunications headsets, active noise canceling stereophones, wireless stereophones, and compact disc recordings of American Symphony Orchestras on the Koss Classics label.
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Law Firm Brower Piven Announces Class Action Lawsuit
Court Watch |
2011/10/24 10:41
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Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Hewlett-Packard Co. during the period between November 22, 2010 and August 18, 2011, inclusive (the "Class Period”).
If you have suffered a net loss for all transactions in HP common stock during the Class Period, you may obtain additional information about this lawsuit and your ability to become a lead plaintiff by contacting Brower Piven at www.browerpiven.com, by email at hoffman@browerpiven.com, by calling 410/415-6616, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, 1925 Old Valley Road, Stevenson, Maryland 21153. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and class action cases of over 60 years.
No class has yet been certified in the above action.
Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff no later than November 14, 2011 and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement and how much of a settlement to accept for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in the Company during the Class Period. You are not required to have sold your shares to seek damages or to serve as a Lead Plaintiff.
The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the Company’s failure to disclose during the Class Period, contrary to its disclosure that webOS was going to play an integral role in the Company’s strategy going forward, including running on HP’s new TouchPad tablet PC as well as on all of the Company’s PCs by 2012, that webOS, the TouchPad and the PC business were not central to HP’s business model and webOS would not be integrated across the Company’s entire product line, that TouchPad hardware was inefficient, limiting the degree of effectiveness of the webOS operating system, and that HP’s business model was not working because the Company was unable to leverage its extensive portfolio and scale of products and services in a strategically beneficial manner.
According to the complaint, after, on August 18, 2011, HP announced disappointing third quarter fiscal 2011 financial results and lowered guidance for fiscal year 2011, and after HP announced several major shifts in its long-term business model, including that it "will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones,” the value of HP shares declined significantly.
If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.
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Ruth's Chris workers seek class-action status
Court Watch |
2011/10/21 09:33
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Current and former female employees of Ruth's Chris Steak House have sued the company alleging gender discrimination and seeking class-action status.
Last week's filing came after U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein in Washington, D.C., ruled that a smaller lawsuit alleging gender discrimination against the company could be amended to seek class action status.
The lawsuit had previously been limited to three individual plaintiffs. The class action lawsuit would be on behalf of all female employees at the company's headquarters and restaurants from September 2006 to the present.
The women allege that the restaurant operator conducted a pattern and practice of gender discrimination, including compensating men more than women, subjecting women to sexist comments, and disciplining women more harshly than men.
"The work environment at RCSH is one that is demeaning to women, reflects a culture of male domination and female subjugation, and is a causative factor in the discrimination against women in compensation, promotion, and termination," the lawsuit said. |
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Court mulls trial in absentia for Hariri case
Court Watch |
2011/10/16 10:02
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A panel of judges at a U.N.-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will consider whether to stage a trial in absentia for four Hezbollah members accused in the slaying.
The suspects were indicted earlier this year, but Hezbollah has refused to arrest them and send them for trial in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's purpose-built courtroom.
The court said in a statement Monday that a pretrial judge preparing the case has asked trial judges "to determine whether proceedings in absentia should be initiated" against the four men.
Iranian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah denies involvement in the Feb. 14, 2005, truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others, including the suicide bomber, in Beirut. |
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Court won't hear NH presidential ballot question
Court Watch |
2011/10/11 09:39
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The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from the Libertarian Party over whether New Hampshire officials should have let 2008 Libertarian candidate Bob Barr be the party's sole candidate on the presidential ballot.
The high court on Tuesday refused to hear an appeal from the party, which wanted Barr as the only candidate carrying its brand on the 2008 ballot.
A second candidate, George Phillies, also petitioned his way onto the New Hampshire ballot under the Libertarian banner. Barr and the party sued, saying Barr should have been the only Libertarian candidate on that ballot.
But the federal courts threw out the party's claim that Phillies' affiliation should have been removed because the national party didn't want his name on the ballot.
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Investment Fraud Litigation |
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Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws. Securities Arbitration. Generally speaking, securities fraud consists of deceptive practices in the stock and commodity markets, and occurs when investors are enticed to part with their money based on untrue statements.
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The content contained on the web site has been prepared by Securities Law News as a service to the internet community and is not intended to constitute legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case. | Affordable Law Firm Website Design by Law Promo |
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