Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi Represented By Wolf Popper LLP Has Joined Other Institutions in a Derivative Action on Behalf of Countrywide Financial Corporation
Wolf Popper LLP is representing Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (MS PERS) who, together with the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado and Louisiana Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System, are prosecuting a derivative action in California federal court on behalf of nominal defendant Countrywide Financial Corporation (“Countrywide” or the “Company”) against the members of Countrywide’s board of directors. The action alleges an extensive pattern of misconduct and complete abandonment of regard for defendants’ fiduciary duties, including lack of good faith and lack of due care and oversight of Countrywide’s lending practices, financial reporting, and internal controls, as well as the sale by certain of the Company’s officers and directors of over $780 million of Countrywide stock at inflated prices, while in possession of material inside information, between 2004 and 2007.
MS PERS seeks to recover damages against the Defendants for allegedly (i) exposing Countrywide to loss in value of loans produced through imprudent lending standards, (ii) expending $2.5 billion to repurchase Countrywide common shares in November 2006 and May 2007 that had been inflated by materially false and misleading statements concerning Countrywide’s lending practices, (iii) misappropriating and misusing internal proprietary non-public material corporate information, concerning the Company’s inflated financial statements, to profit from illegal insider trading in Countrywide’s stock, (iv) damaging the Company’s reputation, and (v) causing Countrywide to be sued for, and exposed to, liability for violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and for the illegal insider trading in the corporation’s stock.
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