Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Lawsuits Intensifying for (MGM), (LVS), (IGT) from Shareholders

MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) are feeling the pressure as lawsuits against them intensify, even though some appear dubious at best.

Lawsuits from disgruntled shareholders against the three gaming companies started in 2009 and haven't went away, although some of them, and some parts of them, have been dismissed.

In Reno last week, U.S. District Judge Edward Reed Jr. refused to dismiss two lawsuits against International Game Technology - but he did throw out several of the charges within the lawsuits.

These types of lawsuits usually complain that between August 2007 and March 2009, shareholders invested based on statements about MGM's superior balance sheet - only to lose money when the stock of the company dropped from more than $15 in early January 2009 to $1.89 on March 5, 2009.

"Plaintiffs seek to blame MGM for failing to foresee the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression. Instead of acknowledging the global economic crisis, its harsh effects on Las Vegas in particular, and the severe slump in the real estate development and gaming industries, plaintiffs cherry-pick positive statements from MGM’s public filings and earnings calls made before and during this crisis, claim those statements were made with knowledge of their alleged falsity, and seek to hold MGM and its officers ... liable for securities fraud," MGM Resorts' attorneys wrote in their filing, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

In 2009, in state court lawsuits, Clark County District Court Judge Allan Earl ruled Las Vegas Sands shareholders failed to show mismanagement by board members or that they breached their fiduciary duties; and said the shareholders didn’t show Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson exerted undue influence on the other board members.

In responding in January to the federal lawsuits filed in 2010, Las Vegas Sands attorneys wrote: "This lawsuit is an unwarranted effort by plaintiffs to turn the effects of the global recession on both the gaming industry and the company into a purported scheme by the company and the individual defendants to defraud the company’s shareholders."

International Game Technology closed Monday at $16.26, gaining $0.34, or 2.14 percent. Las Vegas Sands closed at $38.69. up $2.35, or 6.47 percent. MGM Resorts closed at $12.89, up $0.41, or 3.29 percent.

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