Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky, LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of a class (the “Class”) of investors who purchased Broadwind Energy, Inc. (“Broadwind” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:BWEN - News) common stock between the period of March 17, 2010 through August 9, 2010.

The Complaint alleges Broadwind and certain of its officers and directors with violating the federal securities laws by failing to disclose that: (i) Broadwind’s RBA subsidiary was experiencing significant issues with key contracts; (ii) Broadwind was materially overstating its financial condition by improperly delaying the recognition of the impairment of its goodwill and intangible assets related to its RBA subsidiary; (iii) the Company was experiencing a reduction in demand from its customers; (iv) Broadwind’s financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures; and (v) defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company and its prospects. As a result, the Company’s statements concerning its business prospects and financial performance were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On August 9, 2010, the Company issued a press release announcing its financial results for the second quarter of 2010, the period ending June 30, 2010. For the quarter, the Company reported lower than expected revenues of $36.6 million and a net loss of $14.2 million or $.13 per share.

In a reaction to this news, shares of BWEN common stock fell $0.35 per share to close on August 9, 2010 at $2.50 per share, representing a drop of 12%.

If you purchased BWEN common stock between March 17, 2010 through August 9, 2010 and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this action, you must move the Court no later than April 12, 2011. Any member of the proposed class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed class.

If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact: Jack G. Fruchter or Arthur J. Chen of Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky, LLP toll free at (800) 440-8986, or via e-mail at info@aftlaw.com or achen@aftlaw.com.

Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky, LLP has extensive experience in securities class action cases, and the firm has been ranked among the leading class action law firms in terms of recoveries achieved by a survey of class action law firms conducted by Institutional Shareholder Services.

Lawfirm Siskinds has announced a class-action lawsuit against Smart Technologies Inc., seeking $100 million in compensation for people who bought shares during the company's initial public stock offering in July.

The lawsuit claims the Calgary-based maker of interactive whiteboards — used to make classroom presentations— failed to disclose a significant decline in sales growth and poor performance of a company it had acquired.

Lead plaintiffs Robert LeFever and Gail Runnells say they bought shares in July at US$17 each, and claim the share value fell after interim financial statements were released in November.

The shares are currently worth about $9.

The suit is filed against several defendants including Smart Technologies, members of the company's board of directors, and several major banks that acted as underwriters in the offering.

Shares in Smart Technologies were down one cent to $9.09 in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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Comcast has agreed to pay up to $23 million to Oregon customers who were charged late fees from July 15, 2003, through Nov. 22, 2010, to settle a class-action lawsuit.

Comcast also agreed to donate a total of $75,000 to the Oregon Food Bank and United Way of the Columbia and Willamette and to pay Portland lawyer David Sugerman’s legal fees of up to $5 million. Sugerman was appointed by the court to represent Comcast customers.

The lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, involved claims “that late fees and/or administrative fees charged by Comcast to delinquent cable television subscribers...failed to comply with the requirements of Oregon law,” according to the settlement website.

Comcast did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement. An Oregon spokeswoman for Comcast said in a written statement Wednesday that the company “denies liability and maintains that the late fees are legal.”

A federal judge in Maine says 40 residents with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other conditions can join a lawsuit seeking to force the state to provide opportunities for them to live outside nursing homes.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock granted class-action status to a lawsuit filed by three men with cerebral palsy who want to live on their own but retain services provided by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

In the lawsuit filed in December 2009, the three argued the state violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Nursing Home Reform Act because it failed to make it possible for them to live outside nursing homes.

The Bangor Daily News says state officials couldn't be reached Wednesday because of the storm.

Lawyers for hundreds of workers from India who claim they were subjected to abusive conditions at Gulf Coast shipyards after Hurricane Katrina are asking a federal judge to certify their lawsuit as a class action against the company that hired them.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed a class-action suit in 2008 on behalf of seven individuals who worked for Signal International, an oil rig construction and repair company.

The plaintiffs' lawyers on Tuesday asked U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey to certify the case as a class action for roughly 500 workers who claim they were lured here after the 2005 storm with the false promise of green cards and then forced to live in crowded, unsanitary conditions.

Toshiba Corp.'s U.S. business was hit with a $100 million lawsuit Monday for alleged "systemic, companywide" discrimination against female staff over pay and promotions, a law firm representing one of the plaintiffs said.

The class action employment lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims that Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corp. and its parent, Toshiba America Inc., engage in systemic gender discrimination against their female employees.

The lawsuit was brought by Elaine Cyphers, a human resources manager at Toshiba America Nuclear Energy who joined the company in June 2008. The suit was filed on behalf of a class of female Toshiba employees in the U.S., according to the firm.

It alleged that the defendants pay female employees less than their male counterparts, deny them promotions to better and higher-paying positions, limit their employment opportunities to lower and less-desirable job classifications, and expose them to different treatment as employees.

Microsoft is facing a  class action lawsuit in Italy over how difficult it is making getting a refund for copies of Windows that are bundled with new PCs. Filed in Milan by the Associazione per i Diritti degli Utenti e Consumatori (ADUC), the lawsuit (statement) aims to have Microsoft make changes to its end user license agreement (EULA) that assumes users agree to it by using the software when first turning on their PCs.

Those who opt to replace the software with another OS such as Linux are forced to try and get a refund from the hardware vendor rather than Microsoft itself, a process that's proven hard before.

The group is a consumer watchdog and believes Microsoft is being directly anti-competitive. It's "using its strong position in the market to promote their products in an unlawful manner, to the detriment of users and competition," it said.