BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Aug. 14, 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 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) ("FirstEnergy" or the "Company") from April 24, 2002 through August 5, 2003, 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 FirstEnergy and certain of its officers and directors with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. More specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants issued a series of material misrepresentations to the market during the Class Period, thereby artificially inflating the price of FirstEnergy's common stock. The Complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (1) that the Company had materially overstated its earnings, revenues, net income, and earnings per share; (2) that the Company was improperly accounting for its annual amortization expenses by using all transition revenues recorded on all regulatory books rather using only the portion of transition revenue that corresponded to transition costs to determine the appropriate amortization; (3) that the Company was improperly accounting for above-market leases; (4) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (5) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On August 5, 2003, the Company reported that it would have to restate its financial results for fiscal year 2002 and the first quarter of 2003 due to its improper accounting for its annual amortization expenses and for above-market leases. News of this shocked the market. Shares of FirstEnergy fell 8.5 percent to close at $31.33 per share on extremely heaving trading volume.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/currentcases.cfm.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than October 10, 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