California State Teachers' Retirement System v PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers Settles Homestore.com Class Action For $17.5 Million
The California State Teachers' Retirement System has reached a preliminary settlement of $17.5 million with PricewaterhouseCoopers in a class action lawsuit accusing the accounting firm of violating its professional responsibilities in its audits of Homestore.com Inc. in 2000 and 2001.
The settlement, reached between the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and CalSTRS, the lead plaintiff, was submitted June 30, 2005 to U.S. District Court Judge Ronald S. W. Lew of Los Angeles for review. If Lew grants preliminary approval, a final settlement hearing date will be set.
In agreeing to the settlement, PricewaterhouseCoopers did not admit to any wrongdoing.
CalSTRS filed suit Nov. 15, 2002, against Homestore.com, several of its officers and PricewaterhouseCoopers accusing the company and other defendants of falsifying financial statements and engaging in accounting irregularities to meet Wall Street expectations.
In August, 2003, Homestore.com agreed to a settlement to reform its corporate policies, pay $13 million in cash to the class and turn over 20 million shares of stock. The stock was valued at about $4 a share at the time of the settlement.
The class covers all persons who purchased or acquired Homestore common stock from January 1, 2000 through December 21, 2001.
