The current securities litigation wave first arose out of the collapse of the residential real estate subprime mortgage market. As I have previously noted (here), the wave long ago ceased to be just about subprime mortgages, as the litigation as expanded to encompass the fallout from a more general credit crisis. As demonstrated in a recent lawsuit, the wave now includes litigation arising from disruptions in major development construction project financing.

 

According to their August 20, 2008 press release (here), plaintiffs’ counsel have initiated a purported securities class action in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Perini Corp. and certain of its directors and officers. A copy of the complaint can be found here.

 

According to the press release, the complaint alleges that Perini, a company that offers general contracting, construction management and design-build services to private clients and public agencies worldwide, failed to disclose:

(a) that the developer of Perini’s Las Vegas, Nevada projects, including the CityCenter Project, was experiencing financial problems because it failed to secure financing for the entire project and was dependent upon raising the remainder of the financing from the expected sale of residential units. However, the proceeds from the residential unit sales were based on unrealistic and aggressive prices at a time when the condo market in Las Vegas, Nevada was extremely weak; (b) that the Company’s Las Vegas projects were being delayed, and could possibly be halted; (c) that the developer was in risk of defaulting on its construction loan; (d) that the Company’s future revenue and profit was dependent upon the Las Vegas projects since the projects consisted of approximately 20% of its backlog; and (e) as a result of the foregoing, the Company’s ability to maintain its profit margins was in serious doubt.

Then, on January 17, 2008, the Company issued a press release announcing that Deutsche Bank "delivered a notice of loan default to the developer of the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino project under construction in Las Vegas, Nevada." In response to this announcement, shares of the Company’s common stock fell $10.05 per share, or 27%, to close at $27.65 per share, on heavy trading volume.

The general economic downturn is now affecting a broad variety of companies in diverse industries. As I have previously noted (most recently here), in all likelihood, in the weeks and months ahead, other companies will be finding that transactions entered in more clement circumstances now appear troubled. As more companies stumble on these troubled transactions, further lawsuits undoubtedly will emerge. And as is the case with the Perini lawsuit, most of these lawsuits will have little to do with subprime mortgages directly.

 

In any event, I have added the Perini lawsuit to my list of subprime and credit crisis-related securities class action lawsuits, which can be accessed here. With the addition of the Perini lawsuit, the current tally of subprime and credit crisis-related securities lawsuits now stands at 108, of which 68 have been filed in 2008.

 

For those who are curious, information about the CityCenter Las Vegas project can be found here. Background about the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino can be found here.