NEW YORK, June 10, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The law firm of Abbey Gardy, LLP has filed a class action against Duke Energy Corporation ("Duke Energy" or the "Company") (NYSE:DUK) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased Duke Energy securities during the period from July 22, 1999 and May 17, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The Complaint alleges 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 material misrepresentations to the market between July 22, 1999 and May 17, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of Duke Energy securities. The complaint also alleges, that during the Class Period, the defendants issued numerous statements and filed quarterly and annual reports with the SEC which described the Company's increasing revenues and financial performance. The complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (1) that the Company had engaged in approximately $1 billion of "round-trip" energy trades that provided no economic benefit for the Company; (2) that the Company lacked the necessary internal controls to adequately monitor the trading of its power; and (3) that as a result, the value of the Company's revenues and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On May 17, 2002, the last day of the Class Period, the Company issued a press release announcing that it had "analyzed its trades for the three-year period from 1999 through 2001 to identify those trades which may have some of the characteristics of sell/buy-back trades." These trades, known as "round-trip" or "wash" transactions, involve the simultaneous buying and trading of power in the same price and same amount and provide no economic benefit to the Company. Following this announcement, shares of Duke Energy fell $1.18 per share to close at $33.52 per share, after reaching a split-adjusted Class Period high of $44.97 on November 30, 2000.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Duke Energy securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Duke Energy securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. If you purchased Duke Energy securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than July 22, 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 plaintiffs.'' Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact Nancy Kaboolian, Esq. or Jennifer Haas of Abbey Gardy, LLP at (800) 889-3701 or email jhaas@abbeygardy.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca