UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
JIMMY K.V. CHIN, on behalf of himself and all
others similarly situated,
CIVIL ACTION NO.
Plaintiff,
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
v. FOR VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL
SECURITIES LAWS
FAIRMARKET, INC.; SCOTT T. RANDALL;
JOHN BELCHERS; DEUTSCHE BANC ALEX. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
BROWN INC.; FLEETBOSTON ROBERTSON
STEPHENS, INC.; U.S. BANCORP PIPER
JAFFRAY INC.; BANC OF AMERICA
SECURITIES LLC; J.P. MORGAN CHASE &
CO.; THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.;
MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER &
SMITH, INC.; and SALOMON SMITH
BARNEY HOLDINGS INC.,
Defendants.
Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated, by
attorneys, for plaintiff's Complaint, allege upon the investigation made by and through plaintiff's
which included, inter alia, a review of relevant filings made by FairMarket, Inc. ("FairMarket" or
"Company") with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as, tele-conferences, press
news articles, analyst reports, and media reports concerning the Company. Furthermore, this
is based upon plaintiff's personal knowledge as to plaintiff and plaintiff's own acts, and upon
and belief as to all other matters, based upon the aforementioned investigation.
NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. This is a class action on behalf of all persons, other than defendants and certain
parties, who purchased, converted, exchanged or otherwise acquired FairMarket common stock, as
defined below, including, but not limited to, during the period from March 13, 2000 through
2000 (the "Class Period") to recover damages caused by defendants' violations of the federal
law.
SNIPPETS:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
BROWN INC.; FLEETBOSTON ROBERTSON STEPHENS, INC.; U.S. BANCORP PIPER JAFFRAY INC.; BANC OF
Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated, by plaintiff's
which included, inter alia, a review of relevant filings made by FairMarket, Inc.
"Company") with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as, tele-conferences, press
news articles, analyst reports, and media reports concerning the Company.
This is a class action on behalf of all persons, other than defendants and certain related
2000 to recover damages caused by defendants' violations of the federal securities
malfeasance by major Wall Street securities firms.
investment banks charged issuers of new securities excessive commissions and inflated
Second, investigators are examining, and have evidence, that major investment banks
allocated shares of especially hot initial public offerings to favored,
for promises by these customers that they would purchase additional shares of the IPOs in the
the IPO boom include Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Goldman Sachs Groups,
and maintain the price of the IPOs in the aftermarket once the initial distribution period
stock price, above the offering price, and create a false sense of demand that would attract
obtain allocations of stock on the offering - - but before the first after-market trade.
Securities Act of 1933 15 U.S.C. §§ 77k, 77land 77o and Sections 10and
including the preparation and dissemination in this judicial district of the Prospectus
during the Class Period (including the trading of FairMarket stock based upon misleading
the underwriter defendants conduct substantial business in this district.
managing underwriter of the FairMarket initial public offering of 5,000,000 shares of common
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as successor in interests to Goldman, Sachs &
of the reports and press releases alleged herein to be materially false and/or misleading
Excluded from the class are defendants herein, members of the immediate family of the
In direct contravention to Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M of the Exchange Act,
direct participation and agreement of FairMarket and the Individual Defendants.
disclose the following material facts,
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