THE COURT HAS CERTIFIED A CLASS. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING NOTICE AND/OR SUMMARY NOTICE FOR A DESCRIPTION OF THE RIGHTS OF CLASS MEMBERS.

• Notice of Pendency of Class Action
• Summary Notice

Background

On February 2, 2003, the Court appointed the New Orleans Employees' Retirement System (“NORS”) as Lead Plaintiff and BLB&G, NORS’ counsel, as Lead Counsel. NORS filed an Amended Consolidated Complaint on May 19, 2003. The Complaint alleges that Omnicom defrauded investors by failing to record significant losses and write-downs that it had suffered in connection with a number of its investments in internet services companies. Specifically, in the mid to late 1990's, Omnicom made significant investments in internet services companies hoping to benefit from the dot-com craze. When the internet market collapsed in mid-2000, however, those investments became essentially worthless.

At that point, Omnicom and its senior management were faced with a choice: either they could admit that Omnicom’s internet strategy had failed and record the impairment charges that were required under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), or they could perpetrate a scheme to defraud investors into believing that Omnicom had not suffered a loss on these investments and that it had continued to meet or exceed Wall Street’s estimates when they knew that this was simply not the case.

Omnicom chose the latter course. At year-end 2000 and then again in the first quarter of 2001, Omnicom fraudulently avoided required impairment charges. Then, in May 2001, it orchestrated a sham transaction, the Seneca transaction, to remove its failed internet investments from its books without recording any loss. The truth about these events did not come to light until a year later when the Chairman of Omnicom's Audit Committee resigned and The Wall Street Journal ran an article revealing that Omnicom had orchestrated the Seneca transaction to improperly avoid required write-offs. In response to these disclosures, Omnicom's stock price plummeted.

The Amended Consolidated Complaint was sustained by Hon. Richard Conway Casey, United States District Judge, on March 28, 2005. According to Judge Casey, the complaint adequately stated a claim of fraud with respect to Omnicom’s valuation and accounting for its internet investments and the Seneca transaction it utilized to remove those assets from its books. Please click on the link below to see a copy of the Judge’s opinion sustaining the Complaint:

• Judge's opinion sustaining the Complaint

On July 15, 2005, NORS made a motion for class certification before Judge Casey.  Please click on the link below to see NORS’ papers in support of the motion for class certification:

• NORS' papers in support of class certification

On April 30, 2007, the Court granted NORS' motion for class certification. Please click on the link below to see the order granting class certification:

• Order granting class certification

Members of the Class have now been mailed the court-ordered Notice of Pendency of Class Action. The notice sets forth the rights of class members. Please click on the links below to see the Notice of Pendency of Class Action and the Summary Notice:

• Notice of Pendency of Class Action
• Summary Notice

The parties have completed fact and expert discovery.

Defendants moved for summary judgment on July 20, 2007. The motion was fully briefed and argued on October 2, 2007. Please click on the link below to see NORS' papers in opposition to the motion for summary judgment:

• NORS' papers in opposition to the motion for summary judgment