Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Files Class Action Suit Against Signet Jewelers Limited

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Mar 29, 2017, 15:24 ET

SAN DIEGO, March 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP ("Robbins Geller") (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/signet/) today announced that a class action has been commenced by an institutional investor on behalf of purchasers of Signet Jewelers Limited ("Signet") (NYSE: SIG) common stock during the period between August 29, 2013 and February 27, 2017 (the "Class Period"). This action was filed in the Northern District of Texas and is captioned Irving Firemen's Relief & Retirement Fund v. Signet Jewelers Limited, et al., No. 17-cv-00875.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at [email protected]. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/signet/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Signet and certain of its current and former officers and/or directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Signet engages in the retail sale of diamond jewelry and watches in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding Signet's business and prospects, including that alleged sexual harassment by employees of Signet's Sterling Family of Jewelers division ("Sterling"), including numerous incidents of sexual assault and rape, which were detailed in approximately 249 declarations signed under penalty of perjury by current and former Sterling employees (the "Declarations"), made it unlikely that Signet would be able to avoid paying a sizable amount of damages in connection with a class action lawsuit filed by Sterling employees. As a result of this information being withheld from the market, the Company's stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of $150.94 per share.

On February 26, 2017, the public gained access to the Declarations, spanning over 1,300 pages of sworn testimony, which painted a picture of a Company in which sexual harassment, including sexual assault, was not just tolerated but modeled at Company functions by top executives, including the Company's Chief Executive Officer, defendant Mark S. Light ("Light"). The Declarations were submitted in a private arbitration against Sterling in June 2013, but remained under seal until February 26, 2017. On February 27, 2017, after the markets closed, The Washington Post published a report (the "Report") that revealed widespread allegations of sexual harassment made in the private arbitration that implicated Sterling's senior managers and executives, including defendant Light and other Company leaders. As a result of the news revealed in the Report, the price of Signet common stock suffered its biggest one-day drop in eight years, falling $9.29 per share to close at $63.59 per share on February 28, 2017, a one-day decline of nearly 13% and a 58% decline from the stock's Class Period high.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Signet common stock during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud.

Robbins Geller is widely recognized as one of the leading law firms advising U.S. and international institutional investors in securities litigation and portfolio monitoring. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history and was ranked first in both total amount recovered for investors and number of securities class action recoveries in ISS's SCAS Top 50 Report for the last two years. Robbins Geller attorneys have shaped the law in the areas of securities litigation and shareholder rights and have recovered tens of billions of dollars on behalf of the Firm's clients. Robbins Geller not only secures recoveries for defrauded investors, it also strives to implement corporate governance reforms, helping to improve the financial markets for investors worldwide. Please visit rgrdlaw.com/cases/signet/ for more information.

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SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP