PORTLAND, Ore. (Legal Newsline) – Class action lawyers say they have scored a $6.75 million settlement on behalf of shareholders of an Oregon power provider that announced a loss of $128 million last August.
Grant & Eisenhofer and lawyers for Portland General Electric notified federal judge Michael Simon of the proposed settlement on July 11. Grant & Eisenhofer, which filed the third case against PGE but was made lead counsel, plans to seek up to 25% in fees.
“Lead Counsel has extensive experience in prosecuting securities class actions throughout the county and is among the nation’s leading securities class action litigation firms,” the motion for settlement approval says.
“Accordingly, their judgment that the Settlement is in the best interest of the Class should be given considerable weight.”
Grant & Eisenhofer represented the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi, which filed its case Nov. 2.
PGE announced a $128 million loss on Aug. 24 while placing two unnamed employees on administrative leave and creating a committee to review its energy trading practices. The news caused its stock price to fall by nearly 8% and wiped out more than $300 million in shareholder value, the lawsuit alleges.
“The surprise announcement of a nine-figure loss arising from a business segment that investors did not know even existed other than to hedge and manage risk stunned the markets and decimated PGE’s stock price, which fell by nearly 8% on unusually heavy volume as a result of the announcement,” the suit says.
“The stock’s decline wiped out over $300 million in shareholder value.”