Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (Coughlin Stoia) (http://www.csgrr.com/cases/levitt/) today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on behalf of purchasers of Levitt Corp. (Levitt) (NYSE: LEV) common stock during the period between January 31, 2007 and August 14, 2007 (the Class Period).
The complaint charges Levitt and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Levitt, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a homebuilding and real estate development company in the southeastern United States.
According to the complaint, on January 31, 2007, Levitt announced that it agreed to merge with BFC Financial Corp (BFC). Based on BFC stocks closing price on the previous trading day, the proposed transaction valued Levitt stock at $14.41 per share - a premium of 32 percent over the closing price of $10.88 per share on the previous trading day. The complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose: (i) that the Companys Levitt and Sons subsidiary was in much worse financial condition than publicly represented. Levitt and Sons was saddled with excessive amounts of unneeded and overpriced land which would not be feasible to develop for some time. Furthermore, Levitt and Sons was struggling to complete projects it had already begun and in many instances was failing to complete construction of homes that it had already sold as it lacked the financial resources to follow through on its contracts; (ii) that as a result of the foregoing, the Company was materially overstating its financial results because it was failing to timely record an impairment in the value of its homebuilding inventory at Levitt and Sons. Although Defendants acknowledged the difficult housing market, their public statements failed to advise investors of the true financial condition of the Company; (iii) that the Companys loans and advances to Levitt and Sons would not be recovered as the subsidiary lacked the financial resources to pay now and in the foreseeable future; and (iv) that Levitt and Sons was insolvent.
Then, on August 15, 2007, the Company announced that the merger agreement with BFC had been terminated, without giving any explanation. Upon this news, shares of the Companys stock fell $0.79 per share, or over 21%, to close at $2.96 per share. Subsequently, on November 9, 2007, it was announced that Levitt and Sons filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Levitt common stock during the Class Period (the Class). The plaintiff is represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Coughlin Stoia, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Houston and Philadelphia, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. Coughlin Stoia lawyers have been responsible for more than $45 billion in aggregate recoveries. The Coughlin Stoia Web site (http://www.csgrr.com) has more information about the firm.