UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
GERALD WALTERS, on behalf of himself and all
others similarly situated,
CIVIL ACTION NO.
Plaintiff,
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
v. FOR VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL
SECURITIES LAWS
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.;
FLEETBOSTON ROBERTSON STEPHENS, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
INC.; CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON CORP.;
MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER &
SMITH, INCORPORATED; DAIN RAUSCHER,
INC.; and J.P. MORGAN CHASE,
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 eToys, Inc. ("eToys" or the
the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as, tele-conferences, press releases, news articles,
analyst reports, and media reports concerning the Company. Furthermore, this complaint is based
plaintiff's personal knowledge as to plaintiff and plaintiff's own acts, and upon information and
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
parties, who purchased, converted, exchanged or otherwise acquired eToys common stock, as defined
below, including, but not limited to, during the period from May 19, 1999 through December 6, 2000
"Class Period") to recover damages caused by defendants' violations of the federal securities law.
2. In the wake of the raging bull market of the 1990's lies a series of
alleged malfeasance by major Wall Street securities firms. As reported in national news sources
SNIPPETS:
INC.; CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON CORP.; MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INCORPORATED;
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 eToys, Inc. with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as, tele-conferences, press releases, news
analyst reports, and media reports concerning the Company.
parties, who purchased, converted, exchanged or otherwise acquired eToys common stock, as
"Class Period") to recover damages caused by defendants' violations of the federal securities
alleged 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
exchange for promises by these customers that they would purchase additional shares of the
after-market, thereby inflating and maintaining the market price for the IPOs.
published reports, major investment banks including the Underwriter Defendants, refused to
of the investigation is defendant investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston Corp.,
participation in the IPO market and after-market trading.
On May 11, 2001, The New York Times succinctly described the conspiracy.
inflation in the IPO stock price, above the offering price, and create a false sense of
obtain allocations of stock on the offering - - but before the first after-market trade.
Securities Act of 1933 15 U.S.C. '' 77k and 77l,
including the preparation and dissemination in this judicial district of the Prospectus
trading of eToys stock based upon misleading information).
Manipulated Securities omitted and/or misrepresented material facts about the offering of
In direct contravention to Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M of the Exchange Act,
eToys Underwriter Defendants excessive commissions on transactions in other securities
violation of Regulation M, which governs market manipulation.
plaintiff and the other members of the Class acquired eToys common stock during the Class
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