BATON ROUGE, La., May 16, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- A shareholder sued Seitel, Inc. (NYSE:SEI) and several top officers today, accusing them of pumping up the company's stock price by improperly recording revenue, LeBlanc & Waddell LLC said today.
The class-action complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. It seeks damages for violations of federal securities laws on behalf of all investors who bought Seitel common stock from May 5, 2000 through May 3, 2002 (the Class Period).
According to the complaint, Houston-based Seitel and the individual defendants materially misrepresented the company's financial results for 2000 and 2001 by improperly recognizing revenues. Most of the improper revenue, the complaint says, was attributable to Seitel's undisclosed practice of recording revenue for the licensing of its seismic data and other geophysical information before delivering data to customers. The practice ran afoul of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and artificially inflated Seitel's stock price during the Class Period, the complaint says.
The complaint alleges that the defendants were motivated to commit the accounting fraud in order to earn commissions and bonuses, which were tied to the company's revenues and earnings. The complaint claims the defendants had nearly $10 million of insider stock sales during the Class Period.
On April 1, Seitel announced that it was restating its financial results for the year 2000 and the first three quarters of 2001. The restatement reduced reported revenue by 15% in 2000 and 30% during the first three quarters of 2001. It also turned what had purportedly been profits during those periods into losses, the lawsuit states.
By the time Seitel further detailed the restatements on May 3, 2002, the company's stock price had plunged to $5.65 per share, more than 75% below the Class Period high of $22.72 per share, the complaint says.
If you purchased Seitel, Inc. common stock during the period from May 5, 2000 through May 3, 2002, you may wish to contact the following attorneys at LeBlanc & Waddell LLC to discuss your rights and interests.
Roger LeBlanc, Esq. Chad A. Dudley, Esq. LeBlanc & Waddell, LLC 5353 Essen Lane, Suite 420 Baton Rouge LA 70809 rogerleblanc@lw-law.net (800) 988-3514
If you wish to apply to be lead plaintiff in this action, a motion must be filed on your behalf with the court no later than July 1, 2002. You may contact the attorneys at LeBlanc & Waddell to discuss your rights regarding the appointment of lead plaintiff and your interest in the class action. You may also retain counsel of your choice. To be a member of the class, however, you need not take any action at this time.
With offices in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, Monroe and Slidell, Louisiana, LeBlanc & Waddell, LLC represents investors in securities class action lawsuits and has experience in prosecuting class actions. The firm prides itself on its responsiveness to shareholders and their needs in each case.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca