Quick on the draw, Shoot from the hip, Get down to court, don'tcha gimme no lip

There is nothing like hitting the ground running. The class action craze in the USA, where actions are launched on behalf of investors in hapless listed companies even though, in some cases, no lead plaintiff has even been identified, intensified this week with an action launched against Smartforce plc which trades as Skillsoft.

On 19th November 2002, Smartforce announced that it intended to restate its accounts for the periods 1999, 2000, 2001 and the first two quarters of 2002. On 22 November a law firm issued proceedings.

The lawyers claim that the class includes former shareholders in Skillsoft, which was taken over by Smartforce in September 2002.

The case is a jurisdictional nightmare: launched in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire (where Smartforce has its chief US office), the lawyers are in Arizona, Smartforce is traded on Nasdaq, Smartforce is incorporated in the Republic of Ireland but its principle office is in the UK.

The Smartforce brand has been largely overtaken by the Skillsoft brand, although Smartforce is the legal entity. In its website, under a section on corporate culture, Skillsoft says "It is our responsibility to provide a solid return for our investors. SkillSoft"s owners (employees and investors) deserve to profit from our efforts."

The New Hampshire action is based on claims that the share price nosedived a third in a single day's trading after the announcement. Such things happen - in the case of the Bank of New York, for example, shareholders launched an action because the value of shares fell after a money laundering scandal. The shares subsequently recovered to a value exceeding the pre scandal price.

How long it will be before any facts are ascertained in the Skillsoft case, and how much damage, if any, is done to the share price over all, remains to be seen.

In the midst of all of this Smartforce plc has adopted a resolution to change its name to Skillsoft plc.