ShellNews.net: US Class Action Lawsuit Against Shell Given go-ahead by U.S. District Chief Judge John Bissell: Read the 152 page Order Here: 21.00pm Wednesday 10 August 2005
A securities fraud case against the world's third-largest oil company, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, has been given permission to proceed by U.S. District Chief Judge John Bissell.
The case stems from a sharp drop in Shell's stock in 2004, after Shell announced it had overstated its oil reserves, a key measure of an oil company's wealth and future strength. The securities case was filed in New Jersey because the company has several gasoline distribution terminals in the state. Attorneys for investors who lost millions called the hearing a "monster" in terms of its potential effect.
It isn't clear how many people were affected by the alleged fraud. However the case is regarded as one of the most significant securities fraud actions because of the size of the multinational and the length of the class period, which is roughly five years. It is being closely watched by regulators and lawyers from around the world.
There was activity in the United States to perpetuate... fraud," said Stanley Bernstein, the lead attorney. Mr Bernstein cited meetings in Houston about calculating the company's reserves in Nigeria and Angola. Shell's group reserves auditor came from Europe to attend at least one of those meetings, he added. And the oil company had a New York office for investor relations. "This was a central location. ... The fraud does not have to be masterminded in the United States," Bernstein said.
Acrobat Reader is needed to access the file below. Please be patient when downloading as the file contain 152 pages. (To download a FREE Acrobat Reader click on the adobe link): http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html)
The 152 page Order by Chief Judge John W Bissell
The above article contains extracts from Newark Star-Ledger article published on 14 July 2005.
Fair Use Notice: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Site Ownership: Shell 2004.com (also known as ShellNews.net) IS OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE SHELL SHAREHOLDERS ORGANISATION: CHAIRMAN ALFRED E DONOVAN, 847a Second Avenue, New York City, NY 10017, USA. The statements expressed here, and any opinions, are those of the writers alone, and neither are opinions of nor reflect the views of Shell2004.com. Content created by the writers is the sole responsibility of the writers and its accuracy and completeness are not endorsed or guaranteed. This goes for all links, too: Shell2004.com has no control over the information you access via such links, does not endorse that information, cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided or any analysis based thereon, and shall not be responsible for it or for the consequences of your use of that information.
© 2004/5 Shell2004.com All rights reserved.