Milberg LLP Announces the Filing of a Class Action Lawsuit Against Oppenheimer New Jersey Municipal Fund -- ONJAX,
* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.
NEW YORK, NY, Jun 16 (MARKET WIRE) --
The law firm of Milberg LLP has filed a class action lawsuit in the
United States District Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of
all persons who purchased Class A and/or Class B and/or Class C shares of
the Oppenheimer New Jersey Municipal Fund ("NJ Muni Fund" or the "Fund")
(NASDAQ: ONJAX) (NASDAQ: ONJBX) (NASDAQ: ONJCX) during the period from
April 24, 2006 to October 21, 2008, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The
complaint is available from the Court or can be viewed at Milberg LLP's
website at www.milberg.com.
The complaint charges OppenheimerFunds, Inc., OppenheimerFunds
Distributor, Inc., the Fund and certain of its trustees and officers with
violations of Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of
1933, which prohibit materially false and misleading statements in
registration statements and prospectuses of the kind used to sell shares
in the Fund. The Fund invests primarily in municipal securities.
According to the complaint, during the Class Period the Fund failed to
disclose risk factors associated with the Fund's investments, including,
but not limited to the Fund's investments in "inverse floater" securities
that exposed it to the risk that it would be forced to sell, upon certain
occurrences relating to the inverse floater securities, other securities
in its portfolio at fire-sale prices. This amounted to hundreds of
millions of dollars in undisclosed potential liabilities.
On October 21, 2008, the Fund filed a prospectus supplement alerting
investors of the true liquidity risks of its investments -- the same risks
that existed in 2006, 2007 and throughout 2008. By October 2008, however,
those risks had already manifested, dealing substantial losses to
investors. On October 21, 2008, as the Prospectus Supplement was issued,
NJ Muni Fund shares traded at approximately $7.90 per share, down from
$11.17 per share at the beginning of the year on January 2, 2008, an
approximate 29% decline per share for the year. NJ Muni Fund was among the
worst performing in its peer group.
According to the complaint, after the end of the Class Period, NJ Muni
Fund belatedly disclosed liabilities and residual exposure from the
inverse floaters, which investors were not previously told about. On
December 19, 2008, NJ Muni Fund reported in its Quarterly Schedule of
Portfolio Holdings for the period ending October 31, 2008, filed on Form
N-Q with the SEC ("December 19, 2008 Form N-Q"), that the amount of its
exposure to the effects of leverage from its investments in inverse
floaters exceeded $94.39 million as of October 31, 2008. In addition, NJ
Muni Fund also reported that its municipal bond holdings with a value of
approximately $145 million were held by trusts created by the inverse
floaters and served as collateral for approximately $110.7 million in
short-term floating rate notes issued and outstanding at that date, and
its residual exposure to the inverse floating rate securities was
estimated at another $18 million. The massive liabilities and exposure of
more than $223 million, representing nearly half of the Fund's net asset
value of $523.8 million, were not disclosed in any Registration
Statements issued during the Class Period.
If you purchased any class of shares of Oppenheimer New Jersey Municipal
Fund from April 24, 2006 through October 21, 2008, you may move the court
no later than June 23, 2009, and request that the Court appoint you as
lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on
behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. To be
appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must decide that your claim is
typical of the claims of other class members, and that you will
adequately represent the class. Your share in any recovery will not be
enhanced or diminished by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead
plaintiff. You may retain Milberg LLP, or other attorneys, to serve as
your counsel in this action.
Milberg LLP has been representing individual and institutional investors
for nearly 40 years and serves as lead counsel in federal and state courts
throughout the United States. Please visit the Milberg website
(http://www.milberg.com) for more information about the firm. If you wish
to discuss this matter with us, or have any questions concerning your
rights and interests with regard to this matter, please contact the
following attorneys:
Andrei Rado, Esq.
Anne Marie Vu, Esq.
Milberg LLP
One Pennsylvania Plaza, 49th Fl.
New York, NY 10119-0165
Phone number: (800) 320-5081
Email: contactus@milberg.com
Attorney Advertising. Prior Results Do Not Guarantee A Similar Outcome.
Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.
-0-
Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.



Follow Reuters