HANS News Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP Commences Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Investors in Hansen Natural Corporation
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP filed today a class action
lawsuit in the United States District Court, Central District of
California, on behalf of all persons who purchased the common stock of
Hansen Natural Corporation (“Hansen”
or the “Company”)
(NASDAQ:HANS) between November 12, 2001 and November 9, 2006, inclusive
(the “Class Period”),
against defendants Hansen, and certain of its officers and directors,
including Rodney C. Sacks, Hilton H. Schlosberg, Norman C. Epstein,
Harold C. Taber, Jr., Mark S. Vidergauz, Mark J. Hall, Michael B.
Schott, and Thomas J. Kelly, alleging violations under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. Section 78j(b), 78(t) and 78t(a) and
Rule 10b-5, promulgated thereunder, 17 C.F.R. Section 240.10b-5 (the “Class”).
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants
issued numerous, positive press releases, statements and quarterly
financial reports filed with the SEC that described the Company's
financial performance. These statements were materially false and
misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the
following adverse facts, among others: (a) that defendants engaged in
the backdating of stock option grants for certain key executives of the
Company; (b) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was
therefore unable to ascertain its true financial condition; and (c) that
as a result of the foregoing, defendants engaged in improper accounting
practices.
On October 31, 2006, the Company filed a Form 8-K with the SEC
indicating that it received a letter from the Staff of the Pacific
Regional Office of the SEC requesting that the Company voluntarily
produce certain documents and information relating to the its filing of
SEC Forms 4 and the Company's stock option grant practices from January
1, 1996 to the present.
On November 9, 2006, the Company issued a press release announcing a
delay in the filing of its quarterly report. The Company reported that “[i]n
light of the investigation discussed above, the Company is not in a
position to complete the preparation of the financial statements and
certain related information required to be included in Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended September 30, 2006. The Company intends to file Form 10-Q
as soon as practicable after the completion of the investigation by the
Special Committee.”
Following this news, shares of the Company’s
common stock fell substantially on unusually heavy trading volume.
As a result of the dissemination of the false and misleading statements
set forth above, the market price of Hansen common stock was
artificially inflated during the Class Period. In ignorance of the false
and misleading nature of the statements described above, and the
deceptive and manipulative devices and contrivances employed by said
defendants, plaintiffs and the other members of the Class relied, to
their detriment, on the integrity of the market price of Hansen common
stock. Had plaintiffs and the other members of the Class known the
truth, they would not have purchased said common stock, or would not
have purchased them at the inflated prices that were paid.
The case name is styled Hutton v. Hansen
Natural Corporation, et al. A copy of the complaint filed in this
action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the Wolf
Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP website at www.whafh.com.
If you purchased Hansen common stock during the Class Period, you may
request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by January 29, 2007.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other
class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead
plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s
claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the
class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain
circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as “lead
plaintiff.” Your ability to share in any
recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to
serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wolf Haldenstein, or other
counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of
securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal
trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has
approximately 70 attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in
Chicago, New York City, San Diego, Washington, D.C., and West Palm
Beach. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and
other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts,
which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities
multi-district and consolidated litigation.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP at 270 Madison Avenue, New
York, New York 10016, by telephone at (800) 575-0735 (Lawrence P.
Kolker, Esq., Martin E. Restituyo, Esq., or Derek Behnke), via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com
or visit our website at www.whafh.com.
All e-mail correspondence should make reference to Hansen.
