A class action has been filed against Delphi Corporation (NYSE:DPH), certain of its officers and directors by stockholders who purchased the company's common stock between January 17, 2001 and March 03, 2005. The action claims that the defendants violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market over this time period, thereby artificially inflating the price of the company's securities. The stockholders seek to recover compensatory damages for the loss of value of their stock.
According to a press release dated March 7, 2005, the complaint charges Delphi and certain of its officers and directors with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants, during the Class Period, issued a series of material misrepresentations to the market concerning the Company's financial condition thereby artificially inflating the price of Delphi's publicly traded securities. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that improper accounting for off-balance sheet financing transactions in 2000 resulted in the Company overstating cash flow from operations, determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), for that year by approximately $200 million; (2) that the Company used sham sales of assets and other improper accounting maneuvers to inflate reported pretax earnings by a combined total of $166 million for the years 1999 to 2001. These moves increased cash flow from operations by a total of $446.5 million for1999 through 2003; (3) that the Company during the Class Period prematurely recognized revenue for technology contracts and rebates when it should havespread them over the life of the contract. Other times it improperly capitalized expenses over time, rather than recognizing them immediately. It also boosted cash flow from operations and pretax earnings by claiming it sold assets and inventory that it had actually agreed to buy back later;(4) that the Company's financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"); (5) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (6) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
Further, on or about October 18, 2004 (the "October 8-K"), Delphi announced that the Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors was conducting an internal review into the accounting treatment accorded to certain transactions with suppliers, including those for information technology services. The internal review was initiated in response to an investigation commenced by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") that was disclosed on a Form 8-K filed on September 29, 2004. The decision to delay filing of the Form 10-Q was made in light of the ongoing SEC investigation and internal review, as well as the fact that Deloitte & Touche LLP("Deloitte"), the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, had informed the Company that due to the ongoing status of the internal review by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, Deloitte has been unable to complete its review of the unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2004.
Then on March 3, 2004, Delphi announced that "Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Alan S. Dawes, is leaving the company and has resigned from its Board of Directors and its strategy board. Additionally, the Company stated: "Mr. Dawes agreed to resign after the audit committee expressed a loss of confidence in him[.]"
Additionally, the Company stated it would restate results after finding accounting errors from 1999 to 2004. Delphi stated that it overstated cash flow from operations by $200 million in 2000 because of errors in off-balance sheet financing and overstated pretax income by $61 million in2001 because of improper accounting for rebates. As a result, financial statements from 2001 on cannot be relied upon. Delphi had not yet determined which prior results will have to be restated, but it expects to complete the changes by June 30. News of this shocked the market. As a result, shares of Delphi, on March 4, 2005, fell $0.91 per share, or 14.29 percent, to close at $5.46 per share on unusually high trading volume.
Note: this class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of all securities purchasers Delphi Corporation (f/k/a/ Delphi Automotive Systems).
If you bought Delphi Corporation securities between January 17, 2001 and March 03, 2005, inclusive, and would like to obtain information about the lawsuit, then you are invited to call (866) 467-1400 to speak with an attorney.