NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Interface, Inc. (“Interface” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: TILE) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and docketed under 20-cv-05518, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Interface securities between March 2, 2018 and September 28, 2020, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Interface securities during the Class Period, you have until January 11, 2021, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
Interface is a modular flooring company that designs, produces, and sells modular carpet products primarily in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The Company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Interface had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (ii) consequently, Interface, inter alia , reported artificially inflated income and earnings per share (“EPS”) in 2015 and 2016; (iii) Interface and certain of its employees were under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) with respect to the foregoing issues since at least as early as November 2017, had impeded the SEC’s investigation, and downplayed the true scope of the Company’s wrongdoing and liability with respect to the SEC investigation; and (iv) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On April 24, 2019, Defendants filed a current report on Form 8-K with the SEC, disclosing, inter alia , that Interface “received a letter in November 2017 from the [SEC] requesting that the Company voluntarily provide information and documents in connection with an investigation into the Company’s historical quarterly [EPS] calculations and rounding practices during the period 2014-2017”; that “[t]he Company subsequently received subpoenas from the SEC in February 2018, July 2018 and April 2019 requesting additional documents and information”; and that “[i]n the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company conducted at the SEC’s request an internal investigation into these and other related issues for seven quarters in 2015, 2016 and 2017.”
On this news, Interface’s stock price fell $1.43 per share, or 8.37%, to close at $15.66 per share on April 25, 2019.
Then, on September 28, 2020, the SEC announced the conclusion of its investigation into Interface’s historical quarterly EPS calculations and rounding practices. Interface agreed to pay a $5 million fine to resolve the matter and was ordered to cease and desist from violating the federal securities laws. In the SEC’s enforcement order issued that same day, the SEC also disclosed how, inter alia , “Interface employees caused Interface to produce documents in response to Commission investigative requests that were suggestive of contemporaneous support for journal entries that, in truth, did not exist at the time the entries were recorded,” and had modified certain documents after the SEC’s investigation began.
On this news, Interface’s stock price fell $0.20 per share, or 3.13%, over the following two trading sessions to close at $6.18 per share on September 29, 2020
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com .
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
