MIAMI, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- An investor sued SFBC International, Inc. (“SFBC” or the “Company”) today in federal court, accusing the Company of securities law violations, Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo announced.
Berman DeValerio (http://www.bermanesq.com) filed the class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, as 06-CV-20120 . The complaint seeks damages for violations of federal securities laws on behalf of all investors who purchased SFBC common stock between February 17, 2004 and December 15, 2005, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
To receive a copy of the complaint, you may contact the court, call the firm at (800) 516-9926 or go to http://www.bermanesq.com/pdf/sfbc-cplt.pdf. The lawsuit claims that SFBC and a number of individual defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), 15 U.S.C. Sections 78j(b) and 78t, and SEC Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. Section 240.10b-5, promulgated thereunder.
SFBC conducts clinical research and provides drug development services, including human testing for drug trials, for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. According to the complaint, the defendants engaged in improper recruiting of drug trial participants during the Class Period. Rather than disclose the truth about their improper recruiting practices and administration of drug protocols, the complaint states, the defendants issued a series of false and misleading statements and made material omissions regarding SFBC’s business conditions, prospects and financial results from these trials.
The plaintiffs maintain that these statements and omissions artificially inflated the value of the Company’s stock during the Class Period and allowed the defendants to obtain substantial bonuses and salaries.
The publication of a Bloomberg News investigative article November 2, 2005 began a chain of revelations about SFBC that culminated on December 15, 2005, when the Company announced the results of an investigation by two outside law firms.
Among other things, the news articles and law firm investigation revealed that the defendants had failed to disclose that:
* SFBC had used payment schemes to discourage drug trial participants from reporting uncomfortable or adverse reactions to drug tests, thus assuring the manufacturers’ continuation of the tests. * SFBC officials had threatened to deport some drug trial participants who were undocumented aliens. * There were inherent conflicts of interest in the Company’s management structures and regulatory controls, including the fact that one of its Institutional Review Boards was owned an SFBC executive’s wife. * The Company’s vice president of legal affairs had a history of run-ins with regulatory agencies and has a close relationship with SFBC’s Chairman of the Board, who substantially benefited from the sale of artificially inflated SBFC stock. * SFBC’s chairman was never licensed to practice medicine in the United States, though the Company repeatedly described her as a medical doctor in its literature and SEC filings.
From the day Bloomberg published its first article November 2, 2005 until December 15, 2005, the Company’s stock price fell more than 60%, from $41.49 to $15.78.
If you purchased SFBC common stock between February 17, 2004 and December 15, 2005, inclusive, you may wish to contact the following attorneys at Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo to discuss your rights and interests.
Michael J. Pucillo, Esq. Jay W. Eng, Esq. Esperante Building 222 Lakeview Avenue, Suite 900 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 (561) 835-9400 lawfla@bermanesq.com
If you wish to apply to be lead plaintiff in this action, a motion on your behalf must be filed with the court no later than March 6, 2006. You may contact the attorneys at Berman DeValerio to discuss your rights regarding the appointment of lead plaintiff and your interest in the class action, or you may submit information online at http://www.bermanesq.com/Securities/Signup1.asp?caseid=564. Please note, you may also retain counsel of your choice and need not take any action at this time to be a class member.
Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo prosecutes class actions nationwide on behalf of institutions and individuals, chiefly victims of securities fraud, antitrust law violations, and consumer fraud. The firm has 34 lawyers in Boston, San Francisco and West Palm Beach.
Contact: Jay W. Eng, Esq., (561) 835-9400
Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo
CONTACT: Jay W. Eng, Esq. of Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt &Pucillo, +1-561-835-9400
Web site: http://www.bermanesq.com/
