On Wednesday, July 26, 2000, Cinar Corporation began its discussions with Nasdaq officials to explain why they have not filed their annual reports and financial statements from as far back at November 30, 1999. In the midst of the talks, Cinar has announced they have been sued again! This time, the former owners of Cinar subsidiary, Carson-Dellosa Publishing, which Cinar purchased in 1997, have brought forth the lawsuit. The new suit is over alleged losses related to a stock purchase agreement established at the time of the acquisition The Carson-Dellosa case is much like the case brought against the toon house by the former owners of their subsidiary HighReach Learning Inc. If that wasnt enough, a Quebec judge has ordered company CEO, Barry Usher, to appear in front of a class action hearing to answer questions regarding the raising allegations of fraud brought against the childrens television production firm. The class action suit was filed by unhappy investors and will go before a judge on September 6, 2000. The scandal surrounding Cinar started when charges of tax fraud were made, accusing the ARTHUR-producer of using fake Canadian names on scripts that were written by U.S. writers to obtain Canadian tax credits. Things heated up, when it was discovered that $122 million was invested in offshore accounts without board approval. Despite the turbulent surroundings, the company has announced the completion of several productions including the TV series CAILLOU and the TV special ARTHURS PERFECT CHRISTMAS for PBS; the TV series THE TWINS and UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS BEARS for ITV; and MISS MALLARD MYSTERY for Shanghai TV in China and Teletoon. Moreover, YTV in Canada has purchased 13 additional episodes of MONA THE VAMPIRE.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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