SAN FRANCISCO (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) February 26, 2008 -- The law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP announces that class action lawsuits have been brought on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC (“MuniMae” or the “Company”) (OTC: MMAB.PK) between May 3, 2004 and January 28, 2008, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
If you purchased MuniMae securities during the Class Period, you may move the Court for appointment as lead plaintiff by no later than March 31, 2008. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your share of any recovery in this action will not be affected by your decision of whether to seek appointment as lead plaintiff. You may retain Lieff Cabraser, or other attorneys, as your counsel in this action.
Background on MuniMae Securities Class Litigation
The actions, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the District of Maryland, were brought against MuniMae and certain of its officers and directors for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. MuniMae’s primary business is providing debt and equity financing to developers and owners of real estate and clean energy investments.
The complaints in the above-mentioned actions allege that during the Class Period, defendants failed to disclose and materially misrepresented that (a) MuniMae’s reported financial results were materially overstated; (b) the Company failed to properly account for its ownership interests in certain entities; (c) MuniMae overstated the fair value of certain assets by failing to timely write-down their value; (d) the Company’s financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”); (e) the Company lacked adequate internal financial reporting and other controls; and (f) contrary to defendants’ assurances to the public, MuniMae would be forced to slash its dividend by more than 37 percent. Defendants were apparently motivated to engaged in the alleged wrongdoing so that the Company could complete a public offering of MuniMae stock for $68.3 million in proceeds and Company insiders, including certain defendants, could sell more than $12.5 million of their personally-held shares of MuniMae stock at artificially inflated prices.
On January 28, 2008, after the market closed, MuniMae announced that it would reduce its dividend distribution payable on February 15, 2008 to $0.33 per share from $0.525 per share. In addition, the Company announced plans to restate its financial statements for the years ending December 31, 2004 and 2005 and that it would not be able to file its annual report for the year ending December 31, 2006 with the SEC in a timely manner. MuniMae cautioned that, as a result, its shares were likely to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. On January 29, 2008, MuniMae disclosed in a filing with the SEC details of the anticipated restatement, including changes in its accounting policies with respect to, among other things, its ownership interests in certain entities; recognition of revenue in connection with its low income housing tax credit business; valuation of its held-for-sale loans, bonds, derivatives, mortgage servicing rights and guarantee obligations; accounting for derivatives; and recognition of additional guarantee obligations as liabilities. In reaction to this news, the price of MuniMae common stock fell $8.01 per share, or 46.5 percent, from its closing price of $17.19 on January 28, 2008, to close at $9.19 on January 29, 2008.
About Lieff Cabraser
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville, is a nationally recognized law firm committed to advancing the rights of investors and promoting corporate responsibility. In the 2007 edition of its annual list of the plaintiffs’ law firms “doing the most to shape the law,” The National Law Journal selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the nation’s top plaintiffs’ firms. Lieff Cabraser was also a member of The National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ “Hot List” from 2003 through 2006. The firm is one of only two plaintiffs’ law firms in the nation to receive this award the last five years.
For more information about Lieff Cabraser and the firm’s representation of investors, please visit http://www.lieffcabrasersecurities.com.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
Source: PRWeb: Legal / Law
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