Press Release
Source: Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes and Lerach
Milberg Weiss Files Class Action Suit Against Tenet Healthcare Corporation
Monday
November 4, 7:50 pm ET
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2002--Milberg Weiss (http://www.milberg.com/cases/tenet/) today
announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District
Court for the Central District of California on behalf of purchasers of Tenet
Healthcare Corporation ("Tenet") (NYSE:THC
<http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=thc&d=t> - News
<http://biz.yahoo.com/n/t/thc.html> ) publicly traded securities during
the period between October 3, 2001 and October 31, 2002 (the "Class
Period").
If you wish to serve as lead
plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from November
1, 2002. If
you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or
your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, William Lerach or Darren Robbins of Milberg Weiss at 800/449-4900
or via e-mail at wsl@milberg.com. If you are a member of this class, you can
view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at
http://www.milberg.com/cases/tenet/. Any member of the purported class may move
the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may
choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges Tenet
and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Tenet, through its subsidiaries, owns or operates general
hospitals and related health care facilities serving communities in the United States. The complaint alleges that during
the Class Period, defendants represented that Tenet's favorable financial
results were due to its commitment to quality and cost-effective care.
Throughout the Class Period, defendants repeatedly stated that Tenet's
financials were strong, the Company's stellar bottom line was attributed to its
state-of-the-art facilities and high-quality patient care, and that Tenet was
consistently achieving record results. Defendants actually knew that the quality of Tenet's profits were inflated by, among other
things, wrongfully inducing patients into undergoing unnecessary and invasive
surgeries. Defendants knowingly or in conscious disregard for
the truth engaged in a scheme to cause patients to undergo unnecessary invasive
coronary procedures. The scheme included unnecessary heart catheterizaton, including angiogram and intravascular
ultrasound, stent placement, angioplasty, coronary
artery bypass surgery and heart valve replacement surgery.
On October
31, 2002,
The Associated Press issued a press release entitled, "Tenet Healthcare
Stock Plunges After Report of Investigation." The
press release stated in part: "Shares of Tenet Healthcare Corp. plunged
more than 26 percent Thursday after federal prosecutors in Sacramento filed an affidavit regarding
alleged false billing by two doctors at the company's hospital in Redding, Calif. The stock was also hurt by a rumor,
denied by the company, that the FBI had searched its corporate headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif." These disclosures shocked the
market, causing Tenet's stock to decline to less than $29 per share before
closing at $28.75 per share on October 31, 2002, on volume of more than 50 million
shares.
Plaintiff seeks to recover
damages on behalf of all purchasers of Tenet publicly traded securities during
the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach
LLP, who has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive
experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, a
170-lawyer firm with offices in New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Seattle and Philadelphia, is active in major litigations
pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Milberg Weiss has taken a leading
role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and
companies, as well as victims of World War II and other human rights
violations, and has been responsible for more than $30 billion in aggregate
recoveries. The Milberg Weiss website (http://www.milberg.com) has more
information about the firm.
Contact:
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach
LLP William Lerach,
800/449-4900 wsl@milberg.com