Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP
("Lerach Coughlin") (http://www.lerachlaw.com/cases/vonage/) today
announced that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United
States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf
of purchasers of Vonage Holdings Corp. ("Vonage" or the "Company")
(NYSE: VG) common stock during the period between May 24, 2006 and
June 19, 2006 (the "Class Period"), including those who purchased
their shares pursuant to the Company's 2006 Initial Public Offering
("IPO"). This Class Period covers a longer class period of time than
the Complaints that were previously filed by other investors.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 1, 2006. 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 Lerach Coughlin at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058 or via e-mail at wsl@lerachlaw.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.lerachlaw.com/cases/vonage/. Any member of the purported 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 Vonage and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Vonage, through its subsidiaries, provides broadband telephone services primarily in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
According to the complaint, on May 24, 2006, Vonage sold 31.3 million of its shares and raised approximately $531.3 million in its IPO. In the IPO, defendants arranged to sell to 9,000 of their unsophisticated phone service customers whatever shares remained unsold to investors, including pension plans, institutions and high-net-worth sophisticated individuals. In all, Vonage induced its customers to purchase as much as 13% of the IPO shares through a "directed share program." Approximately 10,000 of the Company's customers participated in the directed share program.
The complaint alleges that, as a result of the defective manner in which the IPO was carried out and the defective Prospectus, immediately after the start of trading on May 24, 2006, the Company's shares plunged. In fact, by the end of May 24, 2006, the first trading day, shares of Vonage stock closed at $14.85 per share, a decline of $2.15 per share or 12.7%. On May 25, 2006, the shares continued to plummet, closing at $13 per share. As a result of the immediate decline in the price of the stock after the offering, a large number of participants in the directed share program refused to pay for the shares, setting the stage for a massive sell-off of the shares following the IPO.
The complaint further alleges that, during the Class Period, Vonage illegally capitalized on Verizon's investment in voice over Internet Protocol ("VoIP") research and development by using Verizon's patented technology in its VoIP service offerings, including Verizon's inventions relating to: (a) gateway interfaces between a packet-switched and circuit-switched network, which is critical to implementing commercially viable VoIP telephony; (b) billing and fraud detection in commercial VoIP telephony; (c) call services in commercial VoIP telephony, such as call forwarding, follow me, and voicemail; and (d) the use of Wi-Fi handsets in a VoIP network. Through its product and service offerings (albeit omitted from the Prospectus), Vonage has appropriated the results of years of research conducted by Verizon and its predecessors. Vonage does not currently own any issued U.S. patents. Instead, Vonage relies on the intellectual property developed by Verizon in delivering its infringing products and services.
On June 19, 2006, Vonage announced that a lawsuit had been filed against them by Verizon, and on this news of the patent violations, the Company's shares had plummeted to $8.50 per share. The stock has since dropped to below $8 per share.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Vonage common stock during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Lerach Coughlin, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Lerach Coughlin, a 180-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Houston, Philadelphia and Seattle, 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. Lerach Coughlin lawyers have been responsible for more than $20 billion in aggregate recoveries. The Lerach Coughlin Web site (http://www.lerachlaw.com) has more information about the firm.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 1, 2006. 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 Lerach Coughlin at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058 or via e-mail at wsl@lerachlaw.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.lerachlaw.com/cases/vonage/. Any member of the purported 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 Vonage and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Vonage, through its subsidiaries, provides broadband telephone services primarily in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
According to the complaint, on May 24, 2006, Vonage sold 31.3 million of its shares and raised approximately $531.3 million in its IPO. In the IPO, defendants arranged to sell to 9,000 of their unsophisticated phone service customers whatever shares remained unsold to investors, including pension plans, institutions and high-net-worth sophisticated individuals. In all, Vonage induced its customers to purchase as much as 13% of the IPO shares through a "directed share program." Approximately 10,000 of the Company's customers participated in the directed share program.
The complaint alleges that, as a result of the defective manner in which the IPO was carried out and the defective Prospectus, immediately after the start of trading on May 24, 2006, the Company's shares plunged. In fact, by the end of May 24, 2006, the first trading day, shares of Vonage stock closed at $14.85 per share, a decline of $2.15 per share or 12.7%. On May 25, 2006, the shares continued to plummet, closing at $13 per share. As a result of the immediate decline in the price of the stock after the offering, a large number of participants in the directed share program refused to pay for the shares, setting the stage for a massive sell-off of the shares following the IPO.
The complaint further alleges that, during the Class Period, Vonage illegally capitalized on Verizon's investment in voice over Internet Protocol ("VoIP") research and development by using Verizon's patented technology in its VoIP service offerings, including Verizon's inventions relating to: (a) gateway interfaces between a packet-switched and circuit-switched network, which is critical to implementing commercially viable VoIP telephony; (b) billing and fraud detection in commercial VoIP telephony; (c) call services in commercial VoIP telephony, such as call forwarding, follow me, and voicemail; and (d) the use of Wi-Fi handsets in a VoIP network. Through its product and service offerings (albeit omitted from the Prospectus), Vonage has appropriated the results of years of research conducted by Verizon and its predecessors. Vonage does not currently own any issued U.S. patents. Instead, Vonage relies on the intellectual property developed by Verizon in delivering its infringing products and services.
On June 19, 2006, Vonage announced that a lawsuit had been filed against them by Verizon, and on this news of the patent violations, the Company's shares had plummeted to $8.50 per share. The stock has since dropped to below $8 per share.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Vonage common stock during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Lerach Coughlin, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Lerach Coughlin, a 180-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Houston, Philadelphia and Seattle, 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. Lerach Coughlin lawyers have been responsible for more than $20 billion in aggregate recoveries. The Lerach Coughlin Web site (http://www.lerachlaw.com) has more information about the firm.