BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Jan. 15, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed on January 14, 2003, in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Westar Energy Inc., ("Westar" or the "Company") (NYSE:WR) and on behalf of all purchasers of Western Resources Capital I Cumulative Quarterly Income Preferred Securities Series A (NYSE:WR_pa) from March 31, 2001 through December 26, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
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 March 31, 2001 and December 26, 2002.
As alleged in the complaint, these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (i) that the Company had engaged in certain trades that may have violated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") affiliate transaction rules, specifically that these transactions involved power sales from one Cleco Corporation ("Cleco") (NYSE:CNL) affiliate to Westar and then back to another or the same Cleco affiliate, these transactions totaled approximately $3.4 million in 2000, $12.6 million in 2001 and $3.8 million in 2002; and (ii) further as a result of a improper accounting practices regarding Westar's approximately 88% ownership of Protection One (NYSE:POI), a provider of property monitoring services, including electronic monitoring and maintenance of alarm systems, first and second quarter 2002 financial earning results had to be re-audited and restated.
On December 26, 2002, the last day of the Class Period, Westar announced in a press release that it had received a subpoena from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on December 16, 2002, and that in addition to seeking details on trades with Cleco and its affiliates, FERC also requested documents concerning power transactions between Westar's system and marketing operations, and information on power trades in which Westar or other trading companies acted as intermediaries.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP, which prosecutes class actions on behalf of investors and shareholders. For more information on Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign-up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/cgi/signup.cgi.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than March 17, 2003, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca