Wet Seal is a retailer with over 600 specialty stores selling women’s apparel and accessories. The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period defendants released, or caused to be released, false and misleading statements to artificially inflate the value of Wet Seal stock and thereby violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them. Specifically, that the Company's strategic initiatives plan was not strengthening the Company's corporate standing and lead to the company’s financial demise; that supply and demand for the Company's products was based on deep-discounting, without which the Company could not survive. Consequently, the overly-stated projections and positive statements made by the Company were without merit at the time they were made.

Update

On November 19, 2004, the Court issued an order consolidating the six individual actions previously filed. The court also appointed the Laborers' Group as lead plaintiff and appointed the law firms of Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP and Barrack, Rodos & Bacine as co-lead counsel for plaintiffs.