Gee, this is the second lawsuit filed already, and hnsn hasn't even finished up their own "internal investigation" results or given the SEC a chance to launch its own (informal graduating to formal) investigation into financial statement errors and accounting irregularities (yet).

As is typically the case following earnings "restatements" and almost guaranteed 10b5 follow-on derivative shareholder actions, we can almost count on another 10 or so firms trying to be the one selected to represent the damaged shareholders, but it's surprising to see them queuing up already given the Company hasn't even announced their "internal" findings yet.

Based on the general developments on such matters, that slew of "pick us, pick us" law firms specializing in such suits will try to become the firm(s) selected to represent the class, but generally one might expect said parade usually waits until at least the first blush at what happened is announced.

Although the company has said ~we high-hosie that the cut-off is only back to 2008, before this matter is de facto said and done, it will be unsurprising to see the timeframe expanded back to the IPO and the injured number of shareholders, then, will likely expand in a massive way. Unfortunately for shareholders, as these things often go, the lawyers are the ones racking up the investigation/deposition, document review hours and ultimately taking the lions' share of the D&O insurance policy limits, with shareholders generally getting pennies on the dollar.

As longtime readers of hnsn's SEC file and published clinical data and this and STXS' investorvillage and yahoo boards know, though, HNSN's an interesting case, especially given the exec exodus parade in recent times, as well as the promises made along the timeline.

Thank goodness Fred Moll and others assured the lucky hnsn shareholders that "We think everything is going great, just great" on Cramer's show when the stock was ~$30 on its way to $40 and that hnsn represented a "wonderful investment opportunity." But for those and similarly prescient words of comfort and assurances on things like the ~"slamdunk 52" Sensei sales for 2009 at the JPM Unplugged conference (later withdrawn after the secondary q2 09 -- otp, neat they got that raise done as the next in the secodnary series may be a little tougher to get done and they'll likely need the money to help fund all the new legal and accounting firm and deposition/trial prep costs they'll be incurring now, even if the end game is a class action settlement before trial and covered to policy limits) and other investor conferences they've attended since the ipo, HNSN's clinical record on adverse patient outcomes alone might have already put the terminal kibosh HNSN's plan to give it a "college try to put STXS out of business."

HNSN may one day make a great case study for a B school class on "ethics and corporate communications" -- in the meantime, those execs who resigned over the last year or so and those still on the payroll might want to buy some new Teflon suits before their depositions.