Qwest Communications International Direct Securities Fraud Litigation
Result: Recoveries for clients in direct action were 13 times what they would have received in class case
Year: 2007
In re Qwest Communications International, Inc. Securities Fraud and “ERISA” Litigation (No. II)
Lieff Cabraser represented the New York State Common Retirement Fund, Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado, Denver Employees’ Retirement Plan, San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System, and over thirty BlackRock managed mutual funds in individual securities fraud actions (“opt out” cases) against Qwest Communications International, Inc., Philip F. Anschutz, former co-chairman of the Qwest board of directors, and other senior executives at Qwest.
In each action, the plaintiffs charged defendants with massively overstating Qwest’s publicly-reported growth, revenues, earnings, and earnings per share from 1999 through 2002. The cases were filed in the wake of a $400 million settlement of a securities fraud class action against Qwest that was announced in early 2006.
The cases brought by Lieff Cabraser’s clients settled in October 2007 for recoveries totaling more than $85 million, or more than 13 times what the clients would have received had they remained in the class.
