The U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire has granted its motion to dismiss all 38 claims asserted in shareholder suits brought against Tyco Int’l Ltd. and certain of its officers and directors under the federal securities laws. The allegations in the suits were based on criticisms of Tyco’s disclosures and accounting practices.
Tyco says the suits consolidated are substantially identical class action lawsuits filed in various federal courts beginning in December 1999, and alleging violations of the federal securities laws during the period from Oct. 1, 1998 to Dec. 8, 1999.
Finding that the plaintiffs had fallen short of stating a viable securities fraud claim, despite having been given three opportunities to do so, the Court dismissed all of the plaintiffs’ claims against Tyco and the other defendants.
“We are very pleased that the Court granted Tyco’s motion,” says Dennis Kozlowski, chairman and CEO of Tyco. “The dismissal of these lawsuits should help allay concerns that have been raised about Tyco’s accounting practices. We remain focused on the key task of unlocking shareholder value.”
Tyco will hold its regular weekly investor conference call, hosted by CFO Mark Swartz, Tuesday, Feb. 26 at noon (ET). The company expects that this information will not change from week to week but will cover a range of topics. However, it will be primarily focused on answering investor questions regarding its financial statements.
