ATLANTA, Feb. 18, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Chitwood & Harley announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) between February 3, 2000 and May 14, 2001 (the "Class Period"), against Motorola, Inc. ("MOT") and certain of its officers and directors. The deadline to file lead plaintiff papers, for those class members wishing to serve in this capacity, is March 3, 2003. There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we would be happy to discuss with you. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, you may contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free) or by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com. You may also contact us through our website at www.classlaw.com by clicking on Motorola. A copy of the complaint is available on our website.
The Complaint alleges that Motorola, a global telecommunications business, violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing false and misleading statements concerning the Company's business which served to artificially inflate the price of Motorola's common stock. On February 3, 2000, Motorola issued a press release in which it announced that Motorola would provide products and services to Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon Hizmetleri A.S. ("Telsim"), a Turkish cellular phone system operator controlled by Turkish citizen Kemal Uzan, his sons Hakan and Cem, and various members of his immediate family. The press release, however, failed to disclose that Motorola's deal with Telsim required Motorola to provide the Turkish company with $1.7 billion in vendor financing. On March 29, 2001, Motorola filed its Form Def 14A Proxy Statement with the SEC in which the Company partially disclosed the magnitude of its vendor financing commitments. On April 6, 2001, shares of Motorola stock dropped twenty three percent. Six weeks later, Motorola revealed that $728 million of the Telsim loan was past due and that Motorola actually had loaned Telsim $2 billion in vendor financing -- $300 million more than had been disclosed.
Chitwood & Harley LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, where the firm negotiated a $490 million recovery for the class, commented favorably on the firm's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel ... have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented."
For more information about Chitwood & Harley, please visit our website at www.classlaw.com or contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free), by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com or at 1230 Peachtree Street, Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca