Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP today filed a class action
lawsuit in the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio,
on behalf of all persons who purchased the common stock of Huntington
Bancshares, Inc. ("Huntington”
or the "Company”)
(NASDAQ:HBAN) between July 20, 2007 and January 10, 2008, inclusive (the "Class
Period”), against the Company and Thomas E.
Hoaglin, the Company’s Chairman and CEO,
alleging fraud pursuant to Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act [15
U.S.C. §§ 78j(b)
and 78t(a)] and Rule 10b-5 promulgated
thereunder by the SEC [17 C.F.R. §
240.10b-5] (the "Class”).
The case name is styled Rowe v.
Huntington Bancshares, Inc. and Thomas E. Hoaglin. A copy of the
complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be
viewed on the Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP website at www.whafh.com.
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants issued materially false and
misleading statements regarding the Company’s
business and financial results. As a result of the dissemination of the
false and misleading statements set forth in the complaint, the market
price of Huntington common stock was artificially inflated during the
Class Period. In ignorance of the false and misleading nature of the
statements described above, and the deceptive and manipulative devices
and contrivances employed by said defendants, plaintiff and the other
members of the Class relied, to their detriment, on the integrity of the
market price of Huntington common stock. Had plaintiff and the other
members of the Class known the truth, they would not have purchased said
common stock, or would not have purchased them at the inflated prices
that were paid.
On July 1, 2007, Huntington acquired Sky Financial for $3.3 billion (the "Acquisition”).
The Acquisition exposed the Company to losses of more than $1.5 billion
in losses because of Sky Financial’s
investments in sub-prime mortgages. Contrary to Defendants’
assurances, Huntington failed to properly prepare and implement
defensive measures to integrate Sky Financial and weather the dismal
real estate and credit markets inherited as part of the Acquisition. As
a result of Defendants’ assurances of ongoing
financial stability, which were false statements, Huntington’s
stock traded at the artificially inflated price of approximately $18 per
share during much of the Class Period. Defendants’
concealment of Huntington’s growing exposure
to the housing and credit crisis caused the Company’s
stock to be artificially inflated and was the proximate cause of
Plaintiff’s injuries.
If you purchased Huntington common stock during the Class Period, you
may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff before February
19, 2008. 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, San Diego, and West Palm Beach. 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., Fred T. Isquith, Esq., George T. Peters, Esq. or Derek
Behnke), via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com
or visit our website at www.whafh.com.
All e-mail correspondence should make reference to Huntington.
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