ATLANTA, Aug. 28, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Notice is hereby given that Chitwood & Harley has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of El Paso Corp. (NYSE:EP) between January 29, 2001 and May 29, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period"), which seeks to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"). The class also includes holders of Coastal Corp. ("Coastal") securities who acquired El Paso common stock as a result of El Paso's acquisition of Coastal.
The Complaint alleges that El Paso and certain of its officers and directors, including William Wise, El Paso's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and H. Brent Austin, El Paso's Chief Financial Officer, violated the federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market, which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of El Paso's securities. The Complaint further alleges that El Paso manipulated both energy prices and accounting regulations in order to report materially inflated revenues from its energy-trading operations and to hide billions of dollars of debt in off-balance sheet partnerships. On May 29, 2002, the last day of the Class Period, El Paso announced a "strategic repositioning" and downsizing plan to limit its investment in and exposure to energy trading. As a result of the news, El Paso shares fell 23%. One week later, on June 7, 2002, El Paso announced that it received an informal inquiry from the Securities and Exchange Commission staff regarding the issue of "round-trip" trades.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired El Paso Corp. securities during the Class Period. If you bought or otherwise acquired securities of El Paso between January 29, 2001 and May 29, 2002, (including acquisition by virtue of holding Coastal Corp. securities when El Paso acquired Coastal) you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a person who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Any member of the proposed class who wishes to move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff must do so no later than September 16, 2002. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements.
Plaintiff in this case is represented by Chitwood & Harley, an Atlanta law firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States in both federal and state courts and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, you may contact Nikole Davenport at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free) or by e-mail at nmd@classlaw.com, CHITWOOD & HARLEY, 2900 Promenade II, 1230 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309. For more information about Chitwood & Harley, please visit our website at www.classlaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca