NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a landmark case spearheaded by Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross LLP (the "Pomerantz Firm"), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a decision made public today holding that three of the Pomerantz Firm's clients, Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association, Employees' Retirement System of the City of Providence, and State-Boston Retirement System, can pursue common law fraud and negligence claims against British Petroleum ("BP") in connection with their purchases of BP common stock on the London Stock Exchange ("LSE") from January 2007 through June 2010. These claims concern alleged false and misleading statements made by BP concerning its commitment to safety reforms and stock prices declines in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The case is at the cutting edge of securities litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank has been interpreted to bar investors from recovering losses under the U.S. federal securities laws for purchases made on foreign exchanges such as the LSE. In today's decision, however, the Court largely denied defendants' motion to dismiss these plaintiffs' claims and allowed them to pursue common law claims under English law, which significantly overlaps with U.S. common law.
There is no class action asserting common law claims to recover losses associated with BP common stock purchases. Thus, other investors who wish to pursue such claims must formally bring suit in order to obtain any potential recovery. If they do so, they may pursue any ADS losses in the same action. The Pomerantz Firm is pursuing similar claims on behalf of over twenty other institutional investors, including U.S. pension funds, U.S. limited partnerships and ERISA trusts, and public and private pension funds in Europe and Australia.
As noted by Marc Gross, the Pomerantz Firm's Managing Partner, "This decision is a watershed. It demonstrates that even though the U.S. federal securities laws may not reach foreign-traded securities, those who commit fraud in connection with such securities can still be held accountable in U.S. federal courts under the common law, especially where much of the misconduct was centered in the US. As we have done for 75 years, the Pomerantz Firm has once again made the law for the benefit of investors."
The BP litigation at the Pomerantz Firm has been spearheaded by Marc Gross, Jeremy Lieberman, Jason Cowart, Matthew Tuccillo, Emma Gilmore, and Jessica Dell.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, San Diego and Florida, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the Dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of investors. See www.pomerantzlaw.com .
Jason S. Cowart Pomerantz Grossman Hufford Dahlstrom & Gross LLP 212-661-1100
