LITTLE ROCK, Ark., June 19, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Emerson Firm, a securities class action trial law firm with offices in Houston, Texas and Little Rock, Arkansas, announced today that a class action has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Duke Energy Corporation ("Duke Energy" or the "Company") (NYSE:DUK) publicly traded securities during the period between July 22, 1999 and May 17, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be obtained from the Firm.
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. Throughout the Class Period, as alleged in the Complaint, defendants issued numerous statements and filed quarterly and annual reports with the SEC which described the Company's increasing revenues and financial performance. 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 approximately $1 billion of "round-trip" energy trades that provided no economic benefit for the Company; (ii) that the Company lacked the necessary internal controls to adequately monitor the trading of its power; and (iii) 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, on volume of more than 11.5 million shares traded, or more than three times the average daily volume.
If you bought Duke Energy publicly traded securities between July 22, 1999 and May 17, 2002 inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 22, 2002. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action by contacting The Emerson Firm. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through The Emerson Firm or other counsel of their choice.
The Emerson Firm has substantial experience representing investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits such as this. The firm has offices in Houston, Texas and Little Rock, Arkansas, but represents investors throughout the nation. If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses, or if you would like to consider serving as one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit, you are encouraged to call or e-mail the Firm.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.