Molex Misdeeds

Judge Ruben Castillo (N.D. Ill.) describes it as “a complex securities case involving numerous allegations of corporate misdeeds amid suspicious factual circumstances, including the resignation of Molex's independent auditor, several undisclosed accounting errors, and multiple short-term changes in accounting methods.” And it seems those alleged suspicious misdeeds were more than enough for Defendants to lose their motions to dismiss.

Judge Castillo touched on lots of issues, but said that “although the magnitude of the accounting errors in the instant case were a relatively small percentage of Molex's total income,” “Plaintiffs have detailed each of Defendants' prior notice of the various errors and manipulative accounting methods, as well as their alleged conscious decision not to reveal the errors to the public or to their independent auditor.” So “although general allegations of GAAP violations are insufficient, ‘[t]he critical facts alleged by the plaintiffs in this case are the identification of the specific transactions alleged to have violated GAAP and the amount of detail provided in explaining those transactions.’”

You can read Takara Trust v. Molex, issued April 28, 2006, at 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29655.

Nugget: “While SAB No. 99 does not carry the force of law, SEC staff accounting bulletins constitute a body of experience and informed judgment, and SAB No. 99 is thoroughly reasoned and consistent with existing law.”