Lawsuit Overview
June 1, 2012 - The court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss and dismissed the action with prejudice.
September 2, 2011 - The defendants filed a motion to dismiss.
June 27, 2011 - The lead plaintiff filed an amended complaint.
April 13, 2011 - The lead plaintiff and lead counsel were appointed.
January 4, 2011 - A lead plaintiff motion was filed.
November 4, 2010 - An investor in shares of Capella Education Company (NASDAQ: CPLA) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota against Capella Education Company over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws Laws in connection with certain allegedly false and misleading statements made between February 16, 2010 and August 13, 2010.
The lawsuit follows a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office with the title Undercover Testing Finds Colleges Encouraged Fraud and Engaged in Deceptive and Questionable Marketing Practices.
According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Capella Education Company between February 16, 2010 and August 13, 2010, that Capella Education Company and certain of its officers and executives violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing materially false and misleading statements regarding its business and financial results.
Capella Educations’ revenue rose from $179.88 million in 2006, to $226.24 million in 2007, to $272.3 million in 2008, and $334.64 million in 2009. Its Net Income almost tripled over the same period from $13.41 million in 2006 to $42.67 million in 2009.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) report “Undercover Testing Finds Colleges Encouraged Fraud and Engaged in Deceptive and Questionable Marketing Practices” details undercover investigations into 15 for-profit schools that uncovered misconduct by school staff. According to this GAO study, the college personnel at schools may have encouraged applicants to falsify their financial aid forms to qualify for federal aid and pressured applicants to sign a contract for enrollment prior to allowing them to speak to a financial advisor. The undercover tests at 15 for-profit colleges found that 4 colleges encouraged fraudulent practices and that all 15 made deceptive or otherwise questionable statements to GAO’s undercover applicants. In particular, so the report, admissions or financial aid representatives at all 15 for-profit colleges provided our undercover applicants with deceptive or otherwise questionable statements, which included information about the college’s accreditation, graduation rates and its student’s prospective employment and salary qualifications, duration and cost of the program, or financial aid. Representatives at schools also employed hard-sell sales and marketing techniques to encourage students to enroll, so the report.
On August 13, 2010, after the market closed, the U.S. Department of Education released data on federal student-loan repayment rates at the nation’s colleges and universities. The data showed that repayment rates were 54% at public colleges and 56% at private non-profit institutions, compared to just 36% at for-profit colleges.
Specifically, the data showed that the repayment rate at Capella Education Company was just 40%. On this news,so the lawsuit, the price of Capella Education Company stock dropped 13.19%, or $9.26 per share, from a closing price of $70.20 per share on August 13, 2010 to a closing price of $60.94 per share on August 16, 2010, the following trading day, on a 438% increase in trading volume.
Shares of Capella Education Company (NASDAQ: CPLA) recently traded at $54.61 per share, down from its 52weekHigh of $98.01 per share.
Recently the Attorney General of Florida Bill McCollum launched an investigation into some for-profit education companies in that regard.