Milberg Weiss Announces The Filing Of A Class Action Suit on Behalf of Purchasers of the Securities of Charter Communications, Inc

Business Wire, August 7, 2002

Business Editors & Legal Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 2002

The law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP announces that a class action lawsuit was filed on August 7, 2002, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Charter Communications Inc. ("Charter" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: CHTR) between November 9, 1999 and July 18, 2002 inclusive (the "Class Period').

A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on Milberg Weiss' website at: http://www.milberg.com/cases/charter/

The action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, located at 111 South 10th Street, Suite 3.300, St. Louis, MO 63102, against defendants Charter, Paul G. Allen (Chairman); Jerald L. Kent (CEO and President until September 28, 2001) and Carl Vogel (CEO and President since November 9, 2001).

The complaint charges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market between November 9, 1999 and July 18, 2002. Among other things, the Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Charter issued quarterly press releases touting its rapidly increasing sales and steadily growing customer base. These representations, along with quarterly and annual financial reports, were also included in reports filed with the Securities Exchange Commission throughout the Class Period. The Complaint further alleges that the quarterly reports were materially false and misleading because, among other things, Charter was inappropriately boosting earnings by improperly capitalizing its labor costs, engaging in questionable transactions with its equipment vendors which lacked economic substance but appeared to increase Charter's revenues and artificially inflated its subscriber counts by counting customers who subscribed only to Charter's Internet services as subscribers to its mainstay cable services. On July 18, 2002, Merrill Lynch issued a research note in connection with its downgrade of the Company's stock to "hold" from "strong buy". In the note, Merrill Lynch revealed that Charter was aggressively capitalizing its labor costs, over-counting its subscriber base and engaging in marketing deals with some of its equipment vendors, among other things. In reaction to the news, the price of Charter common stock plummeted by 13% on July 18 and fell another 15% on July 23.

If you bought the securities of Charter between November 9, 1999 and July 18, 2002, you may, no later than September 30, 2002, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (http://www.milberg.com) is a 190-lawyer firm with offices in New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Philadelphia and Seattle, and is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Milberg Weiss has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and others, and has been responsible for more than $20 billion in aggregate recoveries. Please contact the Milberg Weiss website for more information about the firm. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following attorneys:

Steven G. Schulman or Samuel H. Rudman
One Pennsylvania Plaza, 49th fl.
New York, NY, 10119-0165

Phone number: (800) 320-5081
Email:chartercase@milbergNY.com
Website: http://www.milberg.com