According to Steven Toll of Cohen, Milstein, others plaintiffs may soon join the suit, which was filed this week in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of everyone who bought Humphrey Hospitality Trust securities between Nov.14, 2000 and Mar. 29, 2001.

The lawsuit claims the REIT presented a healthy financial picture in a report issued Nov. 14, 2000 but then on Mar. 29 it announced the hotel managers leasing the REIT's properties wouldn't be able to continue to operate them without a reduction in its rent. That led to a drop in the stock's value from $7.09 per share to $4.78 per share. The REIT also announced it wouldn't be paying its normal dividend.

Cohen, Milstein has taken a lead role in numerous cases on behalf of investors. Its chairman, Michael D. Hausfeld, was named the "most feared lawyer" in Washington, DC in the latest issue of Regardies Power, in an article detailing his work on behalf of injured people against such corporate giants as Texaco, Exxon and the Swiss banks.