Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP Files Class Action Suit against Northwest Pipe Company

Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP ("Coughlin Stoia”) (http://www.csgrr.com/cases/northwestpipe/) today announced that a class action has been commenced on behalf of an institutional investor in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on behalf of purchasers of Northwest Pipe Company ("Northwest”) (NASDAQ:NWPX) common stock during the period between April 23, 2008 and November 11, 2009 (the "Class Period”).

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from November 20, 2009. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Darren Robbins of Coughlin Stoia at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@csgrr.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.csgrr.com/cases/northwestpipe/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Northwest and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Northwest is a manufacturer of large-diameter, high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, primarily related to drinking water systems.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading financial statements, press releases, and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Specifically, the financial statements and information issued by the Company in its press releases, quarterly reports for 2008 and 2009 and annual report for the fiscal year 2008 were false and misleading because defendants included financial results which were artificially inflated due to improper revenue recognition practices, made false statements about the Company’s backlog and issued false and misleading certifications, required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, attesting to the accuracy of Northwest’s financial statements and the adequacy of its internal controls over financial reporting. As a result of defendants’ false and misleading statements, Northwest’s common stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period.

On November 12, 2009, before the market opened, Northwest issued a press release announcing that it would delay the filing of its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, pending the conclusion of an ongoing internal investigation of certain accounting matters, including certain revenue recognition practices. As a result of this news, Northwest’s common stock fell from $31.23 per share on November 11, 2009 to $26.74 per share on November 12, 2009 – a one day decline of 14% on volume of over 591,000 shares, some six times the three-month daily average.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Northwest common stock during the Class Period (the "Class”). The plaintiff is represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.

Coughlin Stoia, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. The Coughlin Stoia Web site (http://www.csgrr.com) has more information about the firm.