Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/cbl-associates-properties/) today announced that it has filed a class action on behalf of purchasers of CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) securities during the period between July 29, 2014 and March 26, 2019 (the “Class Period”). This action was filed in the Eastern District of Tennessee and is captioned Merelles v. CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-00193.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased CBL securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from May 17, 2019. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Chris Wood or Brian Cochran of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at cwood@rgrdlaw.com or bcochran@rgrdlaw.com. You can view a copy of the complaint as filed at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/cbl-associates-properties/.
The complaint charges CBL and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. CBL is organized as a real estate investment trust through its subsidiaries. The Company owns, develops, acquires, leases, manages and operates regional shopping malls, open-air centers, outlet centers, community centers and office properties. The vast majority of CBL’s revenue is derived from leases with retail tenants.
The complaint alleges that, beginning in 2005 or 2006, defendants commenced a scheme to inflate CBL’s tenant reimbursements and revenues by unlawfully overcharging the Company’s retail tenants for electricity. According to the complaint, throughout the Class Period, while defendants were involved in this scheme, they made materially false and misleading statements and omissions to investors by: (i) overstating the Company’s tenant reimbursements, revenues and income by including unlawfully obtained profits from defendants’ overbilling scheme in violation of generally accepted accounting principles and SEC reporting requirements; (ii) claiming that CBL received reimbursement from tenants for operating expenses, “as provided in the lease agreements,” when in fact CBL was violating these lease agreements by systematically overcharging its tenants; and (iii) failing to disclose the material liability and reputational harm it faced as a result of this scheme. In addition, when CBL was sued by a Florida hair salon in a class action lawsuit alleging RICO violations and seeking damages as a result of these unlawful practices, CBL failed to disclose the lawsuit, and its likely liability, to investors for years. On March 1, 2019, just a month before the start of trial, CBL finally revealed the existence of the RICO class action, yet falsely claimed the lawsuit was “without merit” and unlikely to result in any losses to the Company. As a result of this partial disclosure, the price of CBL securities dropped $0.16 per share, or nearly 8%.
Then on March 26, 2019, CBL announced the settlement of the RICO class action, which included the Company suspending its dividend to fund the settlement. CBL’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC the same day revealing that the Company had agreed to a $90 million common fund to resolve the RICO class action, which prohibited the Company from paying shareholder dividends. On this news, the price of CBL common stock dropped $0.47 per share, or roughly 25%, CBL Series D preferred shares dropped 7%, or $0.74 per share, and CBL Series E preferred shares dropped $0.69 per share over two days.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of CBL securities during the Class Period (the “Class”). The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud.
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the world’s leading law firms representing investors in securities litigation. With 200 lawyers in 9 offices, Robbins Geller has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history. For six consecutive years, ISS Securities Class Action Services has ranked the Firm in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report as one of the top law firms in the world in both amount recovered for shareholders and total number of class action settlements. Robbins Geller attorneys have helped shape the securities laws and have recovered tens of billions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved victims. Beyond securing financial recoveries for defrauded investors, Robbins Geller also specializes in implementing corporate governance reforms, helping to improve the financial markets for investors worldwide. Robbins Geller attorneys are consistently recognized by courts, professional organizations and the media as leading lawyers in the industry. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information.
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