Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Files Securities Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Purchasers of Corporate Backed Trust

Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Files Securities Class
Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Purchasers of Corporate Backed Trust Certificates,
Verizon New York Debenture-Backed Series 2004-1 


HARTFORD, Conn., June 18  /PRNewswire/ -- Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah,
LLC (http://www.classactioncounsel.com/; e-mail: ), announces that it has filed
a class action lawsuit on behalf of all purchasers of on behalf of all
purchasers of Corporate Backed Trust Certificates, Verizon New York
Debenture-Backed Series 2004-1 ("Certificates") between January 5, 2004 and May
11, 2004 inclusive (the "Class Period").  The suit is brought against Lehman
ABS Corp. (NYSE: CCG), U.S. Bank Trust National Association, Corporate Backed
Trust Certificates Verizon New York Debenture Backed Series 2004-1 Trust (NYSE:
JZG), Lehman Brothers, Inc. (LEH), RBC Dain Rauscher and Banc of America
Securities LLC, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC).  The class
action lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York (Civil Action No.  04-04571).

A copy of the Complaint filed in this action can be obtained from the Court or
you can call our offices toll free at either 866/540-5505 or 877/891- 9880 to
speak with an attorney regarding this matter and we will send you a copy of the
Complaint.  In addition, if you would like to discuss this action or have any
question regarding this notice or your rights, please telephone or e-mail James
E. Miller, Esquire (866/540-5505; ) or James C. Shah, Esquire  (877/891-9880;
).

The Complaint alleges that certain of the Defendants violated Sections 11 and
15 of the Securities Act of 1933 and that other Defendants violated Section
12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933.  Specifically, the Complaint alleges
that in January 2004, pursuant to a trust agreement between Lehman ABS Corp and
U.S. Bank Trust, N.A., Lehman ABS Corp. transferred over $150 million in the
aggregate principal amount of 7 3/8% Debentures, Series B, which were due in
2032 (the "Debentures") and which Debentures were issued by Verizon New York,
Inc., a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VZ) to the Corporate
Backed Trust Certificates, Verizon New York Debenture-Backed Series 2004-1
Trust (the "Trust"), which issued the Certificates at issue.  Over $50 million
of additional Debentures were issued later in January, 2004.  Pursuant to
Prospectus Supplements dated in January 2004, over 8 million Certificates were
offered to the investing public at a price of $25 per Certificate.

On May 7, 2004, Lehman ABS Corp. announced that, on May 4, 2004, Verizon had
filed a Form 15 with the SEC pursuant to which it had elected to suspend its
duty to file periodic reports under certain sections of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 and that, pursuant to the terms of the Trust, it would be
terminated.  This announcement triggered an "event of default" which
automatically triggered the sale of the Debentures.  On May 11, 2004, the
Trustee announced that the sole assets of the Trust, over $200 million in the
principal amount of the Debentures would be liquidated.  On May 11, 2004, the
last day of trading, the Certificates closed at $22.00.  Notice was sent to
holders of the Certificates informing them that they could receive liquidation
proceeds under the Trust Agreement or their pro rata portion of the underlying
securities of the Trust.  Investors were informed that this election must be
made by May 24, 2004 at 3:00 p.m. if they wanted to receive the securities.
Otherwise, the Debentures would be sold at the market price beginning on May
25, 2004 and the sales would be completed by May 27, 2004.

The Complaint alleges that the Prospectus was materially misleading because it
omitted to state material information that defendants had an obligation to
disclose.  Specifically, Verizon New York was 1 of 16 domestic operating
company owned by Verizon Communications that filed reports with the SEC.  While
the Prospectus generally described Verizon New York's failure to continue as an
SEC filer as one of the potential events of default, it failed to disclose
that, as of February 2003, Verizon Communications had already deregistered the
public indebtedness of six of its domestic operating telephone companies (GTE
Southwest Inc., Verizon Delaware Inc., Verizon Hawaii Inc., Verizon Northwest
Inc., Verizon Washington DC Inc. and Verizon West Virginia Inc.), and that
those deregistrations were made pursuant to a program established in early 2003
to change funding procedures and reduce costs, which plan included possible
deregistration of domestic operating telephone companies with public
indebtedness, including Verizon New York.  The Complaint asserts that this
information was exceptionally material to an investor's decision as to whether
to purchase the Certificates.

The Complaint also alleges that Defendants failed to conduct a reasonable
investigation with respect to the events of default detailed in the Prospectus.
 The potential for triggering events of a default are key to the valuation of
any debentures.  Had defendants conducted a reasonable investigation, they
would have discovered Verizon Communication's plan to reduce its indebtedness,
which included the deregistration of some or all of its domestic operating
companies.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or
otherwise acquired Certificates during the Class Period (i.e., between January
5, 2004 and May 11, 2004 inclusive).  If you purchased or otherwise acquired
Certificates during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction
or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as
lead plaintiff.  If you purchased Certificates during the Class Period, you
may, no later than August 2, 2004 request that the Court appoint you as lead
plaintiff.

If you would like to discuss this action or have any question regarding this
notice or your rights, please contact us at the telephone or electronic mail
addresses provided.  Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC
(http://www.classactioncounsel.com/) is a national law firm that represents
investors, including institutions and individuals, as well as consumers in
class action and other complex litigation, and maintains offices in
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida.  The firm's attorneys have
appeared in matters on behalf of our clients throughout the United States and
been appointed lead counsel in a number of class action and corporate
governance matters.  Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC issues this press
release in compliance with the requirements of applicable federal securities
laws. 

DATASOURCE: Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC



CONTACT:  James E. Miller of Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC,

[phone], 



Web site:  http://www.classactioncounsel.com/

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