CAMARILLO FIRM HIT WITH 8TH SUIT.Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer CAMARILLO - Legal troubles continued to mount Wednesday for telecommunications equipment maker California Amplifier as a Boston-based law firm sued the company for stock fraud. Since April 4, at least eight lawsuits have been filed against the Camarillo-based company in response to its announcement that 2000 earnings would have to be restated because of accounting irregularities. Berman DeValerio & Pease LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol , which also has an office in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , said it filed its federal suit April 3 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The bevy bevy a flock of birds. of suits came after California Amplifier said in a statement in late March that its controller, who was not identified, resigned after acknowledging he misstated net income for the 2000 fourth quarter. ``This looks very clear-cut, they cooked the book,'' said Michael Lange, a partner with Berman DeValerio & Pease. Michael Ferron, the company's chief financial officer, did not return phone calls seeking comment. However, Lang speculates the company's problem can be blamed on the economic malaise. ``We are in a time period where companies have been under pressure to hit their numbers,'' Lang said. ``There is a historic high number of companies restating financial results.'' The microwave telecommunications product maker overstated o·ver·state tr.v. o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing, o·ver·states To state in exaggerated terms. See Synonyms at exaggerate. o net income for the fiscal year ended Feb. 26, 2000, by as much as $2.2 million, or 18 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , the company said. However, the amounts have not been finalized. Though the Camarillo-based group has not restated its 2000 earnings, the amount of time that has elapsed e·lapse intr.v. e·lapsed, e·laps·ing, e·laps·es To slip by; pass: Weeks elapsed before we could start renovating. n. since the release of the erroneous figures has lawyers confounded. ``We're not sure how far this will go back, but there must be more to the length of time it's taken to disclose the true facts,'' said Robert Finkel, a partner with Wolf Popper An early Unix POP server, which was written at the University of California at Berkeley. LLP, another law firm that has also sued the company. ``It's probably pretty bad.'' As shareholders and litigators await California Amplifier's results, Nasdaq has ceased trading in the stock. Trading of California Amplifier shares was halted March 28, after declining 19 cents, or 3.7 percent, to close at 5.03. Rich Valera, a wireless analyst at Needham & Co. in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , said California Amplifier's earnings per share will be affected once Nasdaq allows the stock to resume trading. ``Having just settled a lawsuit three quarters ago it just doesn't look good,'' Valera said. While shareholders could have been deceived by California Amplifier's fiscal 2000 earnings, Valera said he ``has dealt with the company for less than a year and they've been pretty forthright.'' When law firms sue a publicly traded company publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. , there is a 60-day window during which a lead plaintiff is chosen by the court. Lange said the lead plaintiff is usually determined by the amount of shares held by an investor. Once the lead plaintiff is selected, the law firm representing the shareholder takes on the case. Berman DeValerio & Pease is representing Scott W. Brock, who owns 800 shares of California Amplifier. Shareholders have until May 29, 2001, to apply for lead plaintiff. |
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