FBF Fleetboston Financial Corp

Shareholder Class Action Filed Against NYSE Specialist Firms By the Law Firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP: Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all those persons or entities who purchased and/or sold shares of stocks of NYSE and AMEX listed companies that were auctioned by defendants LaBranche & Co., LLC, Bear Wagner Specialists LLC, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg Specialists LLC, Van der Moolen Specialists USA, and Fleet Specialist, Inc. ("Defendant Specialists") between October 17, 1998 and October 15, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period"). If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll-free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at . The complaint charges LaBranche & Co., Inc. (NYSE:LAB), LaBranche & Co., LLC, G. Michael LaBranche, Bear Wagner Specialists LLC, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg Specialists LLC, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg LP, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Van der Moolen Specialists USA, LLC, FleetBoston Financial Corporation (NYSE:FBF), and Fleet Specialist, Inc. with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The defendants and/or their subsidiaries act as specialty firms on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and American Stock Exchange ("AMEX"). The Defendant Specialists are required to uphold the rules and requirements of the NYSE and AMEX. One such requirement that the Defendant Specialists must adhere to is called the "negative obligation." The negative obligation is the duty to hang back and not trade for the specialist firm's own account when enough public investor orders exist to pair up naturally, without undue intervention. Rather than uphold their duties, the Defendant Specialists, during the Class Period, repeatedly violated their "negative obligation duty" by engaging in "interpositioning." The complaint further alleges that instead of executing customer buy-and-sell orders against other customer orders, the defendants, during the Class Period, intervened and traded using their own firm accounts to the disadvantage of the customers. More specifically, the Defendant Specialists would trade ahead of a potential customer by buying stock from the seller and then selling it to the buyer at a higher price for a profit, rather than allowing the customers to trade between themselves without specialist intervention. Thus, the defendants' improper trading activities caused plaintiff and other members of the Class to purchase and/or sell defendants' clients' shares at distorted prices and to otherwise suffer damages. Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/. If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than December 16, 2003, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. You may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action CONTACT: Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP Marc A. Topaz, Esq. Stuart L. Berman, Esq. Three Bala Plaza East, Suite 400, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 1-888-299-7706 (toll-free) or 1-610-667-7706 Or by e-mail at DATASOURCE: Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP CONTACT: Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq., Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP, +1-888-299-7706, +1-610-667-7706 or Web site: http://www.sbclasslaw.com/

Copyright