Robbins Umeda LLP Announces an Investigation of Layne Christensen Company
Robbins Umeda LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of the law by certain officers and directors at Layne Christensen Company (NASDAQ: LAYN). Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can complete the form below and we will contact you directly. You can also contact attorney Gregory E. Del Gaizo at (800) 350-6003.
Robbins Umeda LLP is investigating whether officers and directors of Layne Christensen breached their fiduciary duties by maintaining inadequate controls and wasting corporate assets to the detriment of the company and investors. In particular, the firm is examining allegations that officials at the company made improper payments to government entities in Africa that violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).
On March 22, 2012, Layne Christensen issued a press release announcing that it “expects to record a non-cash after-tax impairment charge…of between $70 and $80 million” in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year ended January 31, 2012. Additionally, the press release contained the revelation that an internal investigation at the company uncovered documents that suggested officials at Layne Christensen routinely violated “the FCPA and other local laws” by issuing “improper payments…over a considerable period of time, by or on behalf of, certain foreign subsidiaries of the Company.” Since these facts have emerged, Layne Christensen has increasingly become the focus of costly public and legal scrutiny, while deficient controls continue to threaten the company’s business prospects and intrinsic value for shareholders.
Robbins Umeda LLP notes that a potentially appropriate course of conduct for Layne Christensen shareholders is filing a shareholder derivative action to hold officers and directors accountable for damaging the company. Remedies commonly sought in derivative actions include corporate governance reforms designed to prevent future misconduct, removal of officers or directors whose misconduct injured the corporation, and monetary payments in the form of damages and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.
Robbins Umeda LLP is a nationally recognized leader in securities litigation and shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested.
