Robbins geller rudman & dowd llp files class action suit against
autoliv, inc.
New york--(business wire)--robbins geller rudman & dowd llp (“robbins geller”) (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/autoliv/) today announced that a class action has been commenced on behalf of an institutional investor in the united states district court for the southern district of new york on behalf of purchasers of autoliv, inc. (“autoliv”) (nyse:alv) common stock during the period between october 26, 2010 and august 1, 2011 (the “class period”). if you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the court no later than 60 days from today. if you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, samuel h. rudman or david a. rosenfeld of robbins geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@rgrdlaw.com. if you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/autoliv/. any member of the putative 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. the complaint charges autoliv and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the securities exchange act of 1934. stockholm, sweden-based autoliv develops, markets and manufactures automotive safety products, including airbags, seatbelts, safety electronics, steering wheels, anti-whiplash systems, seat components and integrated child seats as well as active safety systems such as night vision, vision and radar systems. the complaint alleges that prior to and during the class period, autoliv, which proclaims that “[c]orporate [s]ocial [r]esponsibility . . . comes naturally to autoliv; it is what our business has always been about,” engaged in wrongful anti-competitive business practices with other automotive industry suppliers. these practices were designed to control the market prices of the products sold by autoliv and others. as a result, autoliv reported quarter after quarter of “record” gross margins and earnings during the class period, causing artificial inflation in its stock price and seemingly justifying the payment of millions of dollars worth of salary increases and non-equity incentive awards to the company’s executives. the complaint further alleges that by february 2011, the united states department of justice (“doj”) had begun investigating autoliv’s anti-competitive practices and potential antitrust violations. between the 7th and 9th of june 2011, the antitrust authorities of the european commission (the “ec”) raided autoliv’s german subsidiary seeking evidence of autoliv’s anti-competitive misconduct. as the market assimilated the news of the ec raid disclosed on july 8, 2011, followed closely by statements during the company’s july 25, 2011 second quarter earnings conference that the company had already spent upwards of $4 million on legal fees and could no longer predict what impact the antitrust investigations would have on its previously reported and future gross margins and earnings, the price of autoliv stock plummeted, closing below $62 per share on august 2, 2011. on june 6, 2012, the doj announced that autoliv had agreed to plead guilty to price fixing of automobile parts installed in u.s. cars and to pay a $14.5 million criminal fine. in so doing, autoliv admitted to its role in a conspiracy to fix prices of seatbelts, airbags and steering wheels installed in u.s. cars to one automobile manufacturer and a separate conspiracy to fix prices of seatbelts to another car manufacturer. according to the complaint, these known, but covert, illegal practices existed over an extended time frame and subjected the company to material undisclosed risks, including monetary and reputational risks. these undisclosed risks are of particular significance to autoliv since it is heavily dependent on a relatively small number of automobile manufacturers. in fact, autoliv’s five largest customers accounted for 53% of its consolidated 2010 sales, the loss of any of which would result in a material adverse effect on the company’s business. plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of autoliv common stock during the class period (the “class”). the plaintiff is represented by robbins geller, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud. robbins geller represents u.s. and international institutional investors in contingency-based securities and corporate litigation. with nearly 200 lawyers in nine offices, the firm represents hundreds of public and multi-employer pension funds with combined assets under management in excess of $2 trillion. the firm has obtained many of the largest recoveries and has been ranked number one in the number of shareholder class action recoveries in msci’s top scas 50 every year since 2003. please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information.
