A lawsuit against Tyco International Ltd. filed by several pension funds was certified as a class-action today by U.S. District Judge Paul Barbadoro in Concord, N.H. Among those named as lead plaintiffs are the $12.8 billion Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana, Baton Rouge; the $7.3 billion Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System, Baton Rouge; and the $3.8 billion Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund, Washington. However, Mr. Barbadoro removed plaintiff Voyageur Asset Management from the case, saying it couldn't prove it suffered losses.
The suit, filed in 2002, accuses former CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski, former CFO Mark H. Swartz and other former executives and directors as well as the company and auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers of accounting and securities fraud. A trial date hasn't been set, said Allan Ripp, spokesman for the law firm of Grant & Eisenhofer, which is representing the plaintiffs.
The other lead plaintiffs certified by the judge are the United Association General Officers Pension Plan, United Association Office Employees Pension Plan and United Association Local Union Officers & Employees Pension Fund, all based in Virginia.
