| Court: | United States District Court for the Southern District of New York |
| Case Number: | 01-cv-11814 |
| Class Period: | 06/29/2000 - 03/18/2002 |
Please note the Claim Form is no longer available.
Securities fraud class action filed on behalf of all purchasers of A.C.L.N. Limited ("ACLN") common stock on the New York Stock Exchange or other U.S. Exchanges during the period June 29, 2000 through and including March 18, 2002 (the "Class Period"). BLB&G client the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana was appointed Lead Plaintiff and class representative for the certified Class, and BLB&G was appointed Lead Counsel for the Class.
The Complaint in this action alleges, among other things, that during the Class Period, the ACLN defendants, i.e. the company and certain of its officers and directors, made a series of materially false and misleading statements regarding ACLN's growth and financial performance and defendants BDO International, BDO International Accountants & Consultants (Cyprus), BDO Seidman, LLP, and BDO International B.V. issued materially false audit reports on ACLN's consolidated financial statements. The Complaint alleges that as a result of defendants' dissemination of the allegedly false and misleading statements during the Class Period, the market price of ACLN's common stock was artificially inflated, thereby causing damage to Class Members.
THE FINAL SETTLEMENT IN THE ACTION HAS BEEN ACHIEVED AND PROOF OF CLAIM FORMS MUST HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED BY MARCH 31, 2006.
Lead Plaintiff, as representative of the Class, has settled with all of the defendants in the Action. A partial settlement of the action with the ACLN defendants for $5.5 million in cash was approved by the Court on May 14, 2004. The Notice of Pendency of Class Action, Hearing on Proposed Partial Settlement and Attorneys' Fee Petition and Right to Share in Settlement Fund dated February 18, 2004 (the "February Notice"), disseminated in connection with that settlement, describes the history of the action and the terms of the $5.5 million settlement with the ACLN Defendants.
A second partial settlement of the action for $6.75 million cash was achieved with defendants BDO International B.V. ("BDO B.V.") and BDO International Accountants & Consultants (Cyprus) ("BDO Cyprus"). The Court approved this settlement on October 20, 2004. The Notice of Proposed Partial Settlement of Action and Attorneys' Fee Petition dated August 23, 2004 (the "August Notice"), disseminated in connection with that settlement, describes the terms of $6.75 million settlement with BDO B.V. and BDO Cyprus.
The final settlement of the action was achieved with the last remaining defendant BDO Seidman, LLP for $3.25 million cash. The Court held a hearing on February 14, 2006 to determine (i) whether the proposed settlement should be approved, (ii) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation of the proceeds of all the settlements in the Action should be approved; and (iii) whether Lead Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and expenses should be approved. The terms of this proposed settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, the rights of Class Members, and important deadlines are set forth in the Notice of Proposed Final Settlement of Action, Attorneys' Fee Petition and Right to Share in Settlement Fund dated November 10, 2005 (the "November Notice"). The mailing of the November Notice together with the Proof of Claim Form to Class Members began on December 1, 2005.