SHAREHOLDER ALERT: U.S. Pension Funds' Securities Fraud Claims for Purchases Abroad Allowed to Proceed Against BP

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In landmark cases spearheaded by Pomerantz LLP ("Pomerantz"), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a series of decisions yesterday permitting Pomerantz's U.S. institutional clients to pursue their securities claims against British Petroleum ("BP") seeking to recover investment losses related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. 

Pomerantz's lawsuits allege that BP misrepresented its commitment to implementing safety reforms in the years preceding the oil spill, and that it further misrepresented the scope of the spill once it began.  They seek recovery of investment losses in BP common stock and BP American Depository Shares spanning the time period January 2007 through June 2010.

In one ruling, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison held that a federal statute, the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, did not prevent Pomerantz's clients from pursuing their English common law claims, as BP had claimed.  Defeating this argument preserved lawsuits being pursued by scores of institutional investors. 

In another ruling, Judge Ellison held that the U.S. federal securities claim being pursued by Pomerantz's clients were not time-barred, either under the statute of limitations or the statute of repose.  This outcome is right at the cutting edge of the law, with a split among the nation's courts and the United States Supreme Court previously signaling its interest in the IndyMac appeal (since removed from its docket due to settlement). 

Matthew L. Tuccillo, the Pomerantz Partner who briefed and argued the firm's opposition to BP's motion to dismiss said, "Defeating BP's timeliness challenges to the U.S. federal securities claims is extraordinarily significant.  It means that institutional investors can pursue these claims without fear of a time bar standing in the way to their recovery."

A parallel class action seeking recovery for American Depository Share losses has twice failed to be certified for the pre-spill period spanning January 2007 through April 2010.  As such, the rulings obtained by Pomerantz pave the way for individual actions by institutions seeking to recover such losses.  All institutions with such exposure are urged to contact Pomerantz to discuss their litigation options. 

Pomerantz represents nearly three dozen institutions in similar BP lawsuits, including U.S. public pension funds, limited partnerships and ERISA trusts, as well as public and private pension funds from Canada, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Australia.  Pomerantz Partners Marc I. Gross, Jeremy A. Lieberman, and Matthew L. Tuccillo oversee its BP litigation efforts.  Notably, Pomerantz serves on the court-appointed Individual Action Plaintiffs Steering Committee overseeing conduct of the BP institutional investor cases and further serves as the sole Liaison Counsel with both the court and with BP's counsel. 

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Florida, is one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the Dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, Pomerantz fights for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct, and its recoveries total over a billion dollars.  For more information, see www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:
Matthew L. Tuccillo
Pomerantz LLP
212-661-1100, ext. 294
[email protected]

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP