STEVENSON, Md., Aug. 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of ECOtality, Inc. ("ECOtality" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: ECTY ) common stock during the period between April 16, 2013 and August 9, 2013, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you have suffered a net loss from investment in ECOtality, Inc. common stock purchased on or after April 16, 2013, and held through the revelation of negative information on August 12, 2013, as described below, at no cost to you, you may obtain additional information about this lawsuit and your ability to become a lead plaintiff by contacting Brower Piven at www.browerpiven.com , by email at hoffman@browerpiven.com , by calling 410/415-6616, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, 1925 Old Valley Road, Stevenson, Maryland 21153. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and class action cases of over 60 years.
No class has yet been certified in the above action. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff no later than October 14, 2013 and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement and how much of a settlement to accept for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in Company units during the Class Period.
The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the defendants' failure to disclose during the Class Period that due to design and manufacturing defects, some of ECOtality's charging systems had been causing overheating and melting of connector plugs when charging vehicles, that the Company was not achieving enough commercial sales and installations to sustain operations in the second half of 2013, that the Company was not on track to meet the scheduled release of its new Minit Charger product for industrial customers in the second half of 2013, that the Company was unable to obtain the requisite financing to meet its short-term and long-term capital needs and would be unable to meet its obligations to the U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") electric-vehicle ("EV") project and that the DOE would suspend all payments to the Company, and that the Company had failed to comply with nation's labor laws. According to the Complaint, following the Company's August 12, 2013 disclosure that the Company had hired a "restructuring" adviser to evaluate options, including new financing, a possible sale of the Company or a bankruptcy filing, that some of the Company's charging systems had been causing overheating and melting of connector plugs when charging vehicles, that the Company was not on track to meet its scheduled release deadline of a new Minit Charger due to unacceptable performance during testing, and that the Company would be forced to pay $855,000 to the U.S. Department of Labor for violating provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Davis-Bacon Act, the value of ECOtality shares declined significantly.
If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.
Charles J. Piven Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation Stevenson, Maryland 410/415-6616
