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A securities class action lawsuit was commenced on behalf all persons who acquired Aetna, Inc. (NYSE: AET) ("Aetna" or the "Company") securities between December 13, 2000 to June 7, 2001 (the "Class Period").

The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York located at 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007. Named as defendants in the complaint are Aetna, William H. Donaldson, and John W. Rowe, M.D., who are officers and /or directors of Aetna.

The complaint charges defendants with violations of sections 10(b) and 20(a) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued to the investing public false and misleading information that materially misstated the Company's condition and prospects. Moreover, the Company failed to disclose material information necessary to make its prior statements not misleading.

Specifically, throughout the Class Period, defendants issued multiple press releases and other public statements which touted Aetna's management tools, systems, procedures and general management capacity to know and hold down its costs in the highly competitive health insurance market in which Aetna was operating. However, Defendants knew that such management systems, procedures and controls for monitoring such costs were lacking but chose to conceal the Company's defective systems from investors. As a result, the price of Aetna common stock was artificially inflated throughout the Class Period.

Between April 10, 2001 and May 8, 2001, Aetna made a series of disclosures that shocked investors by disclosing earnings well below expectations due to higher-than-anticipated medical costs during the fourth quarter of 2000 and the first quarter of 2001. Apparently, these disappointing results were the result of embarrassingly faulty record-keeping which caused the payment of millions of dollars in medical claims for former clients, and the woeful absence of even minimal management control systems that would let management know what Aetna's obligations and proper medical costs were.

In response to this announcement, shares of Aetna's stock, which had traded as high as $43.00 per share during the Class Period, lost approximately 40% of their value and closed at $25.81 on June 11, 2001.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Aetna securities during the Class Period.

If you feel you qualify for damages or remedies that might be awarded in this class action please fill in our form on the right to submit your complaint.

If your injustice does not match the complaint described above, please use this form to register your complaint. Thank you.