NEW YORK, Aug. 27, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Abbey Gardy, LLP commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (1: 03CV1779) on behalf of a class (the "Class") of all persons who purchased or acquired securities of FirstEnergy Corp. ("FirstEnergy" or the "Company") (NYSE:FE) between April 24, 2002 and August 14, 2003 inclusive (the "Class Period").
The Complaint names as defendants FirstEnergy Corp., H. Peter Berg, Anthony J. Alexander, Richard H. Marsh, Harvey L. Wagner, Carol A. Cartwright, Robert B. Heisler, Jr., Robert L. Loughhead, Russell W. Maier, John M. Pietruski, Robert N. Pokelwaldt, Paul J. Powers, Catherine A. Rein, Robert C. Savage, George M. Smart, Jesse T. Williams, Sr., Dr. Patricia K. Woolf, Paul T. Addison, William T. Cottle, William F. Conway and Carlisle A. H. Trost. 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 during the Class Period thereby artificially inflating the price of FirstEnergy securities.
The Complaint alleges that defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading press releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission throughout the Class Period concerning the Company's publicly reported revenues and earnings. In particular, it is alleged that defendants had improperly accounted for costs incurred in connection with the deregulation of certain of its businesses by employing an inappropriately long amortization schedule, thereby understating costs and materially and artificially inflating earnings during the Class Period. On August 5, 2003, FirstEnergy issued a press release announcing 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. Moreover, the Company stated that its financial statements could not be relied upon. On this news, FirstEnergy common stock fell 8.5% to close at $31.33 on unusually high trading volume of 5.4 million shares.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired FirstEnergy securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired FirstEnergy 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 FirstEnergy securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than October 10, 2003 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 Susan Lee of Abbey Gardy, LLP at (212) 889-3700 or 800-889-3701, or e-mail them at nkaboolian@abbeygardy.com or slee@abbeygardy.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca