Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP today filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of Plaintiff and the other members of the class ("Class") who purchased VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short Term Exchange Traded Notes linked to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index ("TVIX ETNs") [NYSE ARCA: TVIX] pursuant and/or traceable to a November 29, 2010 pricing supplement (the "Pricing Supplement" and, together with a March 25, 2009 Registration Statement and Prospectus, the ("Offering Documents")) and held TVIX ETNs through and including March 22, 2012, thereby suffering economic damages (the "Class Period). TVIX ETNs were sold to members of the Class during the Class Period by Credit Suisse AG and its affiliate Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (together, "Credit Suisse" or the "Company").
The complaint is styled Schottenstein v. Credit Suisse AG, et al., C.A. No. 12-CV-4191 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) and a copy of it is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP website at www.whafh.com.
The complaint specifically details that on February 21, 2012, Credit Suisse announced that it temporarily suspended further issuances of the TVIX ETNs due to "internal limits" reached on the size of the ETNs. As a result of the suspension, shares of TVIX subsequently traded at prices uncorrelated to the S&P VIX Short-term Futures index – the index that the ETN was purportedly designed to track through the use of VIX futures. This "disconnect" lasted for approximately one month.
On March 22, 2012, shares of TVIX declined in price by over 29% as rumors leaked into the market that Credit Suisse was considering whether to recommence issuance of the ETNs. That evening, Credit Suisse announced that it would in part reopen issuance of TVIX shares on a limited basis and on March 23, 2012, shares of TVIX declined further by almost 30% resulting in devastating losses for investors.
As detailed in the Complaint, the Offering Documents used to solicit purchases of TVIX ETNs by members of the Class materially understated certain risks associated with these investments. Defendants also misleadingly omitted to disclose necessary information and material risks of certain scenarios transpiring that might lead to large losses from investments in TVIX ETNs.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers TVIX ETNs during the Class Period. This is a federal securities class action and is brought by Plaintiff alleging claims under Sections 11, 12, and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") against Defendants.
If you purchased TVIX ETNs during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by July 24, 2012.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wolf Haldenstein, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has approximately 70 attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in Chicago, New York City, and San Diego. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP at 270 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, by telephone at (800) 575-0735 (Gregory M. Nespole, Esq., Matthew M. Guiney, Esq., or Derek Behnke), via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com, Nespole@whafh.com, or visit our website at www.whafh.com. All e-mail correspondence should make reference to TVIX.
Contacts:
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP
Gregory M. Nespole,
Esq.
Matthew M. Guiney, Esq.
Derek Behnke
800-575-0735
classmember@whafh.com
Nespole@whafh.com
www.whafh.com