Summary
Southern Company (SO) filed an 8-K on April 29, 2003, to disclose a lawsuit filed on April 17, 2003. The lawsuit, initiated by a retired Mirant Corporation employee, James Brown, alleges violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). While Mirant and several of its directors/officers are named defendants, Southern Company is also included as a defendant, along with unknown fiduciary defendants. The complaint centers on alleged misleading of plan participants regarding Mirant's involvement in illegal energy price manipulation in California and irregular accounting practices. The plaintiff seeks to represent a class of individuals whose retirement plan accounts held Mirant common stock or the Mirant Corporation Stock Fund.
Key Highlights
- 1Southern Company was named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit alleging ERISA violations.
- 2The lawsuit was filed on April 17, 2003, by a retired employee of a Mirant Corporation subsidiary.
- 3The core allegations involve Mirant's alleged participation in illegal energy price manipulation and accounting irregularities.
- 4Southern Company denies any wrongdoing and intends to vigorously defend itself.
- 5The complaint does not contain specific allegations of wrongdoing attributed directly to Southern Company.
- 6The outcome of the litigation is currently indeterminate.