PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 25, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis, P.C. has filed a class action complaint against Constellation Energy Group (NYSE:CEG) and various officers and fiduciaries, alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") in the handling of investments in the Constellation Energy Group, Inc. Employee Savings Plan. The complaint was filed November 25 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
The complaint alleges that Plan fiduciaries breached their duties to Plan participants and beneficiaries by continuing to invest in and hold Constellation Energy stock despite the fact that they knew or should have known that such investment was imprudent due to the fact that, inter alia: (a) defendants were inflating Constellation's results through manipulations relating to the characterization of depreciation expense which inflated the Company's reported cash flows; (b) the Company's financial results were inflated by overly optimistic assumptions; (c) the Company's exposure to credit problems of trading partners was much greater than represented, and indeed, one of Constellation's key trading partners, Lehman Brothers, was having severe financial problems; (d) the Company was not on track to report 2008 EPS of $5.25+ per share, as expected; and (e) as a consequence of the above, the Company's stock price was artificially inflated.
Notwithstanding the above, the complaint alleges that Plan fiduciaries maintained a large investment of Plan assets in Company stock at a time when they should have known that it was an unsuitable as a savings and retirement investment. Constellation Energy employees who had a significant amount of Plan assets in Company stock have incurred a substantial loss in their retirement investment.
A breach of fiduciary duty occurs when fiduciaries fail to manage the assets of the Plan in the sole interest of the plan participants by investing the assets in Company stock when it is no longer a prudent investment for participants' retirement savings.
The proposed class includes all persons who were participants in or beneficiaries of the Constellation Energy Group, Inc. Employee Savings Plan and whose accounts in the Plan were invested in Constellation Energy stock at any time during the period January 30, 2008 through the present. Excluded from the class are any defendants, their officers and directors, members of their immediate families, or their heirs, successors or assigns.
If you are a participant in the Constellation Energy Group, Inc. Employee Savings Plan, you can contact Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis, P.C. at classaction@srkw-law.com for a more thorough explanation of the case and how you may have been harmed. You may also call Ted Lieverman or Andrew Abramowitz at the firm's toll-free number, 888-844-5862. Even if you have relatively small losses, a class action lawsuit can protect your rights at no cost to you.
Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis, P.C. concentrates its practice in class action and complex litigation, including actions dealing with securities laws, antitrust, contract and commercial claims, and labor and employment. The firm is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States, including claims for participants of employee benefit funds under ERISA and other laws. The firm's reputation for excellence has been recognized on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm as lead counsel in numerous major class actions. As a result of the efforts of the firm, billions of dollars have been recovered through judgments and settlements on behalf of injured class members.
For more information about the firm, visit its website at http://www.srkw-law.com.
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