SKECHERS Vindicated in Private Class Action Securities Lawsuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX), a global leader in lifestyle footwear, announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the private class action securities lawsuit against the Company and individual defendants Robert Greenberg, Michael Greenberg, Jeffrey Greenberg and David Weinberg. The lawsuit alleged that the Company and the individual defendants committed fraud when they made optimistic projections in 2002 press releases and conference calls while knowing that the Company was experiencing a decrease in product demand.
The Ninth Circuit concluded that the plaintiff shareholders failed to state facts giving rise to an inference that defendants made fraudulent statements. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the ruling of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, which twice had previously dismissed the shareholder lawsuit in its entirety.
"We are pleased with the Court's ruling," commented David Weinberg, the Chief Operating Officer and a co-defendant in the lawsuit. "We have said continuously that neither the Company nor the individual defendants engaged in any wrongful conduct whatsoever and we have been vindicated by the courts again and again for the past four years. We are very satisfied that the United States Court of Appeals has agreed with this view."
The Company was represented in the matter by Seth Aronson and David Hurwitz of O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles, California.
SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of footwear for men, women and children under the SKECHERS name, as well as 10 uniquely branded names. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States via department and specialty stores, Company-owned SKECHERS retail stores and its e-commerce website, as well as in over 100 countries and territories through the Company's global network of distributors and Canadian and European subsidiaries. Please visit www.skechers.com or call the Company's information line at 877-INFO-SKX.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or simply state future results, performance or achievements of the Company, and can be identified by the use of forward looking language such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "project," "will be," "will continue," "will result," "could," "may," "might," or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international, national and local general economic, political and market conditions; intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers; changes in fashion trends and consumer demands; popularity of particular designs and categories of products; the level of sales during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; the ability to anticipate, identify, interpret or forecast changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for our products and the various market factors described above; the ability of the Company to maintain its brand image; the ability to sustain, manage and forecast the Company's growth and inventories; the ability to secure and protect trademarks, patents and other intellectual property; the loss of any significant customers, decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments; potential disruptions in manufacturing related to overseas sourcing and concentration of production in China, including, without limitation, difficulties associated with political instability in China, increases in labor or raw material costs, the occurrence of prolonged adverse weather conditions, a natural disaster or outbreak of a pandemic disease in China, or electrical shortages, labor shortages or work stoppages that may lead to higher production costs, production delays and/or transportation delays; changes in monetary controls and valuations of the Yuan by the Chinese government; increased costs of freight and transportation to meet delivery deadlines; violation of labor or other laws by our independent contract manufacturers, suppliers or licensees; potential imposition of additional duties, tariffs or other trade restrictions; business disruptions resulting from natural disasters such as an earthquake due to the location of the Company's domestic warehouse, headquarters and a substantial number of retail stores in California; changes in business strategy or development plans; changes in economic conditions that could affect the Company's ability to open retail stores in new markets and/or the sales performance of the Company's existing stores; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the disruption, expense and potential liability associated with existing or unanticipated future litigation; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007. The risks included here are not exhaustive. We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and we cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of the Company's future performance.
Source: SKECHERS USA, Inc.
Released Apr 14, 2008 • 4:00 pm EDT