NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Edison International (“Edison” or the “Company”) (NYSE: EIX) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, and indexed under 18-cv-09690, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities, other than Defendants and their affiliates, who purchased or otherwise acquired Edison securities between February 23, 2016 through November 12, 2018, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Edison securities between February 23, 2016 and November 12, 2018, both dates inclusive, you have until January 15, 2019 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
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Edison International was founded in 1886 and is based in Rosemead, California. Edison International is the parent holding company of Southern California Edison Company (“SCE”). SCE is an investor-owned public utility primarily engaged in the business of supplying and delivering electricity to an approximately 50,000 square mile area of southern California.
The Company supplies electricity primarily to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and other customers, as well as public authorities through transmission and distribution networks. Its transmission facilities consist of lines ranging from 33 kV to 500 kV and substations; and its distribution system comprises approximately 53,000-line miles of overhead lines, 38,000-line miles of underground lines, and 800 substations located in California. The Company serves approximately 5 million customers.
Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company failed to maintain electricity transmission and distribution networks in compliance with safety requirements and regulations promulgated under state law; (ii) consequently, the Company was in violation of state law and regulations; (iii) the Company’s noncompliant electricity networks created a significantly heightened risk of wildfires in California; and (iv) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On November 8, 2018, two wildfires started in Southern California, designated the Hill Fire and the Woolsey Fire. The Hill Fire, which broke out in Ventura County, subsequently grew to 4,531 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (“Cal Fire”). Stretching from Los Angeles County to Ventura County, the Woolsey Fire burned 93,662 acres, including 83 percent of all National Parks Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, according to Cal Fire.
On November 12, 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) launched an investigation into Edison’s subsidiary SCE, in order to “assess the compliance of electrical facilities with applicable rules and regulations in fire-impacted areas.” According to CPUC, electrical infrastructure may have suffered malfunctions near ground zero of the blazes. Specifically, it was reported that on the day the fires began SCE issued an alert to the CPUC that a substation circuit near the Woolsey Fire origin "relayed," or sensed a disturbance on the circuit, just two minutes before Cal Fire said that the devastating fire began.
Following CPUC’s announcement, Edison International’s stock price fell $7.44 per share, or more than 12%, to close at $53.56 per share on November 12, 2018. Over the following days, as the Hill and Woolsey Fires continued to burn, Edison International’s stock price continued to fall, closing at $47.19 on November 15, 2018, a total drop of 32% from its price prior to CPUC’s announcement.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, 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 80 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 class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com .
CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 9980
