PHILADELPHIA, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The law firm of Berger & Montague, P.C. has filed a class action in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina on behalf of all purchasers of Force Protection, Inc. ("Force Protection") (NASDAQ:FRPT) common stock between August 14, 2006 and March 17, 2008 (the "Class Period").
Force Protection is a manufacturer of ballistic- and blast-protected vehicles. Investors who purchased Force Protection common stock during the Class Period may move the Court to appoint them as lead plaintiff, no later than May 9, 2008. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
Investors in Force Protection who wish to discuss this action or the lead plaintiff selection process may contact Berger & Montague, P.C., toll free at 1-888-891-2289, or by e-mail at . A copy of the class action complaint can be viewed on Berger & Montague, P.C.'s website at http://www.bergermontague.com/ or may be requested from the Court. The case is Jeffrey Norman v. Force Protection, Inc., et al., No. 2:08-cv-01207-CWH.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, financial results and prospects. Specifically, defendants continually boasted that Force Protection's dominance in the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected ("MRAP") market was due to its superior product design and rapid delivery rates. However, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, in a report dated June 27, 2007, questioned both of these claims and also criticized the awarding of contracts to Force Protection on a sole source basis without competitive bidding. Then, on February 29, 2008, after the market closed, Force Protection announced it would delay the filing of its 2007 Form 10-K and restate its financial statements for the three- and nine-month period ended September 30, 2007. On this news, Force Protection's stock collapsed to close at $3.58 per share on March 3, 2008, a one-day decline of 12.9%. On March 17, 2008, Force Protection announced that it would delay filing its 2007 Form 10-K a second time due to the "scope of the work" involved in identifying accounting errors and restating its prior financial statements. As a result of this new announcement, Force Protection's stock price dropped an additional 23.5% to $1.37 per share.
According to the complaint, the true facts, which were known by the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (1) Force Protection was having persistent problems meeting contractual delivery deadlines, which made it likely that the U.S. Government would purchase fewer MRAPs from Force Protection in the future; (2) the Company maintained an inadequate financial system of accounting, which also made it likely that the U.S. Government would do less business with Force Protection in the future; (3) the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls contrary to the representations in its SEC filings; (4) the Company's financial statements were not prepared in accordance with GAAP; and (5) defendants had caused the Company to falsely report its financial results at least for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2007.
For more information about this case, please contact: Sherrie R. Savett, Esq. Russell D. Paul, Esq. Eric Lechtzin, Esq. BERGER & MONTAGUE, P.C. 1622 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Telephone: 215-875-3000 or 1-888-891-2289 Berger & Montague, founded in 1970, is a pioneer in class action litigation. The firm's approximately 65 attorneys concentrate their practice in complex litigation including securities fraud and corporate governance, antitrust, civil and human rights, consumer protection and environmental and mass torts, and have recovered several billion dollars for consumers and investors. DATASOURCE: Berger & Montague, P.C.
CONTACT: Sherrie R. Savett, Esq., Russell D. Paul, Esq., or Eric Lechtzin, Esq., all of Berger & Montague, P.C., +1-215-875-3000 or +1-888-891-2289 Web Site: http://www.bergermontague.com/
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