JUDGE AGREES THAT CASE SHOULD PROCEED AS A CLASS ACTION

A federal judge in Manhattan agreed that a case prosecuted by Balestriere and others, where investors alleged they were wronged by an analyst who helped pump a stock price to the public while privately dumping the stock, should proceed as a class action. The class certification stage of the case was hard fought for close to a year before the judge agreed that the investors and their lawyers, including Balestriere, had met their burden of showing the case deserved class action treatment. In finding for the plaintiffs, the judge agreed with the argument of Balestriere and the other plaintiffs' lawyers that what is called the "fraud on the market" principle could apply not merely to the statements of companies that issue stock, but to analysts, like one of the defendants, who make public statements about stock.

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