Dispute Between Plaintiffs’ Firms Goes Public

Two prominent plaintiffs’ firms, Milberg Weiss and Bernstein Litowitz, are in the midst of a dispute over the recruitment of individual bondholders to bring securities fraud claims against WorldCom and related parties. Bernstein Litowitz represents the lead plaintiff in the main investor action against WorldCom, which has been brought on behalf of both common shareholders and bondholders in the S.D.N.Y.
In an October 29 letter to the court, Bernstein Litowitz complains that Milberg Weiss provided “misleading solicitations” to WorldCom bondholders suggesting that they would not obtain a fair share of any settlement obtained in the main investor action and should bring their own individual actions. According to a Reuters article, Milberg Weiss “strongly denied the accusations, which will be aired at a hearing [today] in New York before U.S. District Judge Denise Cote.” (As posted in The 10b-5 Daily, class certification was recently granted in the WorldCom case.)