NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wechsler Harwood LLP today announced that it has filed a Federal Securities fraud class action on behalf of persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EP) ("El Paso" or the "Company") during the period from March 31, 2003 through and including February 17, 2004 (the "Class Period").
The action, entitled Copland v. El Paso Corp., et al, Case No. not yet assigned, is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and names as defendants, the Company, its former chairman and chief executive officer Ronald L. Kuehn, Jr., its current president and chief executive officer, Douglas L. Foshee, and its executive vice president and chief financial officer, D. Dwight Scott. A copy of the complaint can be obtained from the Court or can be viewed on Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The complaint charges defendants with violating Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, including U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule 10b-5, due to their materially misrepresenting El Paso's financial condition and thereby causing the company's stock to trade at artificially high prices during the Class Period . Specifically, it is alleged that El Paso reported strong proved global oil and natural gas reserves. Proved reserves are defined as those that can be extracted from known fields under existing economic and operating conditions and represent a key metric in assessing an oil company's future growth. All along, however, El Paso's seemingly strong financial prospects were the direct result of the defendants having artificially inflated the company's proved reserves and, correspondingly, its potential future revenue stream.
After the markets closed on February 17, 2004, El Paso shocked the investing public by announcing that an independent review of the company's proved oil and gas reserves revealed that, as of January 1, 2003, El Paso overstated such reserves by a staggering 41%, or 3.64 trillion cubic feet. The company further revealed that, as a direct result, it expects to take a pre-tax charge of approximately $1 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2004. On the heels of these revelations, El Paso's common stock fell 17.6% from a closing price of $8.81 on February 17, 2004 to a close of $7.26 on February 18, 2004.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired El Paso securities during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by April 19, 2004. 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 plaintiff". Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wechsler Harwood, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following:
Wechsler Harwood LLP 488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400 Craig Lowther, Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations Department: clowther@whesq.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca