Oct 12, 2017 | Securities Class Action Archive
J.Jill, Inc. – Securities Investigation On Behalf of JILL Investors
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential claims on behalf of investors of J.Jill, Inc. (JILL), a specialty retailer of women’s apparel sold under the J.Jill brand in the United States. Our investigation is focused on whether certain of its officers and directors violated state or federal securities laws.
On March 14, 2017, J.Jill completed an initial public offering of common stock with an existing shareholder of J.Jill, Inc. selling 11,666,667 shares of common stock at a share price of $13.00 per share (the “IPO”). The underwriters subsequently elected to exercise their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 865,000 shares of common stock from the selling shareholder at the IPO price of $13.00 per share.
Following the close of trading on Wednesday, October 11, 2017, J.Jill announced that it experienced a lower than expected sales trend across both its retail and direct channels, and that it anticipates same-store sales will fall 3% to 5% in the third quarter, with adjusted EPS coming in between $0.08 and $0.10. Prior guidance for J.Jill called for comparable sales to increase in the high single digits.
See https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1687932/000095014217001839/eh1701043_ex9901.htm
According to Jim Cramer, shares of J.Jill tumbled down more than 50% during trading on Thursday, October 12, 2017, after the company “missed on everything.” Our investigation focuses on whether information disclosed in connection with J.Jill’s IPO was materially misleading, or whether the IPO offering material omitted material information that should otherwise have been disclosed to investors.
J.Jill Inc. Losses?
If you purchased J.Jill Inc. shares and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to contribute to or learn more about the investigation, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected] or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of the Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
Oct 11, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Kobe Steel, Ltd. – Securities Investigation On Behalf of KBSTY Investors
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential claims on behalf of investors of Kobe Steel, Ltd. (KBSTY) involving Kobe Steel’s admission that employees had engaged in “improper conduct” that included falsifying records.
On October 8, 2017, Kobe Steel, Ltd. issued a press release titled “Improper conduct concerning a portion of the aluminum and copper products manufactured by Kobe Steel”, revealing that employees at four of its factories had altered inspection certificates on aluminum and copper products between September 2016 and August this year, making it appear as though the products met manufacturing specifications required by customers, such as tensile strength, when the products did not.
The press release is available at: http://www.kobelco.co.jp/english/releases/1197808_15581.html
According to Kobe Steel, “[t]his incident of improper conduct came to light following self-inspections and emergency quality audits of the compliance status of contracts executed as to products shipped over the past year.”
Kobe Steel also reported that the serious of the matter “has brought overwhelming shame to the Company.” Kobe Steel added that it was examining other possible episodes of data falsification going back 10 years.
As reported by The New York Times, all of Japan’s major carmakers — Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota — are looking into their use of Kobe Steel materials, and Toyota reportedly characterized the data falsification a “grave issue.” Ford and General Motors are reportedly investigating whether they have used Kobe Steel products in their vehicles.
The New York Times article is available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/business/kobe-steel-japan.html
Following the Kobe Steel’s press release, the stock price dropped nearly 8% on October 9, 2017, and plunged nearly another 25% on October 10, causing investors hundreds of millions in losses.
Kobe Steel Losses?
If you purchased Kobe Steel shares and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to contribute to or learn more about the investigation, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected] or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of the Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
Oct 5, 2017 | Securities Class Action Archive
Shopify Inc. Securities Investigation
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) regarding possible violations of federal securities laws or other unlawful business practices. Investors who purchased shares of Shopify prior to October 4, 2017 may be affected.
Shopify’s User Growth Questioned & Shopify Stock Drop
On October 4, 2017, Citron Research published a report questioning the sustainability of Shopify’s user growth and asserting that the company’s marketing practices violate Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules.
The report specifically references marketing material and promotions distributed by Shopify that called it “the online store for someday millionaires” and claim that members can quit their jobs and become millionaires. The Citron report compared Shopify’s business practices to those of Herbalife, which recently paid $200 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges and agreed to an order “prohibit[ing] Herbalife from misrepresenting distributors’ potential or likely earnings.”
Following this news, the share price of Shopify plummeted more than 11.5% to close at $103.30 on October 4, 2017.
Have You Purchased or Acquired Shopify Shares?
If you purchased or acquired Shopify common stock or other securities and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to learn more about the investigation and your potential legal rights, please fill out the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
Sep 20, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Class Action Complaints Filed Against Experian and TransUnion
Class action complaints have been filed in federal court in Massachusetts on behalf of individuals who received Experian or TransUnion consumer reports containing tax lien or other public record errors and in state court in Pennsylvania against Experian only.
Consumer Reports Containing Tax Lien or Other Errors
Individuals have reported receiving consumer reports from consumer reporting agencies that reflect paid, satisfied or released tax liens as unpaid or not satisfied.
Individuals also have reported paid, satisfied or released civil judgments as unpaid, or not satisfied, as well as other errors with derogatory public record reporting.
The Class Actions Against Experian and TransUnion
Plaintiffs have alleged that Experian and TransUnion, two of the “big three” U.S. consumer reporting agencies, willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by reporting tax liens that were already paid and failing to follow reasonable procedures to ensure that the tax lien information they reported was as accurate as possible.
Plaintiffs and the proposed class members are seeking an award of statutory, actual, and punitive damages from the inaccurate tax lien reporting. They also seek to ensure that Experian and TransUnion cease reporting inaccurate public record information and update the public record information they obtain and report about consumers.
Are Experian and TransUnion Aware of Consumer Reporting Inaccuracies?
The class action complaints allege that Experian and TransUnion are well aware that they have problems with failing to accurately report public record information. In fact, both agencies, in addition to Equifax, have been sued multiple times for releasing inaccurate consumer reports.
Both consumer reporting agencies receive the public information that they include on their reports from a third party. According to the complaints, Experian and TransUnion know that the tax lien information they obtain from this third party is often inaccurate or out of date. Despite this knowledge, neither agency takes any reasonable action to ensure that the information they receive is accurate before reporting it.
Why Is The Inaccurate Information Not Corrected by Experian and TransUnion?
Neither Experian nor TransUnion has a reasonable systemic procedure to assure that, when tax liens are paid, satisfied, or released, the updated status is promptly obtained and reflected on a consumer’s credit report.
In fact, both agencies acknowledge on their websites that outdated tax lien reporting is a problem. However, both agencies attempt to put the responsibility on the consumer to report or correct any outdated tax lien information.
What Is a Tax Lien?
A tax lien is the government’s claim on a taxpayer’s property. It is generally placed when a taxpayer fails to pay owed taxes. This ensures that the government gets first right to the property over other creditors if the taxpayer does not pay back the overdue taxes.
Tax liens are considered derogatory marks on consumers’ credit reports. By reporting paid tax liens as unpaid, Experian and TransUnion are placing individuals’ credit scores at risk.
What Is a Public Record?
A public record is any record maintained by the government. Judgments in civil cases are public records, and an entry is made when the judgment is paid. If you have ever had a debt collection or other lawsuit filed against you and have paid money, you have a public judgment record. In addition to having problems with tax lien reporting, many consumer reporting agencies also have problems with inaccurate reporting of public civil judgments. The agencies show the judgments as unpaid, “unsatisfied,” or not released when, in fact, the consumer has paid the full amount owed.
Unpaid judgments are considered derogatory marks on consumer credit reports, and by reporting paid tax liens as unpaid, Experian and TransUnion are putting individuals’ credit scores at risk.
Does Your Consumer Report Contain A Tax Lien or Other Civil Judgement Error?
If your consumer report from Experian, TransUnion or another credit reporting agency reflects a paid tax lien or other civil judgment as unpaid, not satisfied or not released, please fill out the contact form on the right or contact either John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Sep 15, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Equifax Data Breach – FTC Cautions About Scams After the Massive Equifax Data Breach
In a recent FTC blog post, the government agency cautioned individuals about scams after the Equifax data breach which try to trick people into providing their personal information.
The FTC warned about scammers contacting individuals saying, “This is Equifax calling to verify your account information.” If this occurs, according to the FTC, “Don’t tell them anything. They’re not from Equifax. Its’s a scam. Equifax will not call you out of the blue.”
Besides the above example, the FTC advised:
Other calls might try to trick you into giving your personal information. Here are some tips for recognizing and preventing phone scams and imposter scams:
- Don’t give personal information.Don’t provide any personal or financial information unless you’ve initiated the call and it’s to a phone number you know is correct.
- Don’t trust caller ID.Scammers can spoof their numbers so it looks like they are calling from a particular company, even when they’re not.
- If you get a robocall, hang up.Don’t press 1 to speak to a live operator or any other key to take your number off the list. If you respond by pressing any number, it will probably just lead to more robocalls.
If you’ve already received a call that you think is fake, report it to the FTC. If you gave your personal information to an imposter, it’s time to change any compromised passwords, account numbers or security questions. And if you’re concerned about identity theft, visit IdentityTheft.gov to learn how you can protect yourself.
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
