WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 2004 LAWFUEL – Law, class action, litigation, legal, law firm news On November 3, 2004, Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran filed a securities fraud class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Star Gas Partners, L.P. (“Star Gas Partners” or the “Company”) (NYSE: SGU) during the period from December 4, 2003 through October 18, 2004, inclusive (the “Class
Period”).
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants
misrepresented and omitted material facts concerning Star Gas Partners’
business operations and finances. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that
defendants misrepresented and concealed the facts that: (a) the Company was
experiencing massive delays in the centralization of its dispatch system and
causing its customers to flee to competitors; (b) the Company’s Petro heating
oil division’s business process improvement program was faltering and not
generating the benefits claimed by defendants; (c) contrary to defendants’
earlier indications, the Company was not able to increase or even maintain
profit margins in its heating oil segment; (d) the Company’s second quarter
2004 claimed profit margins were an aberration and not indicative of the
Company’s success or ability to pass on the heating oil price increase because
the Company had earlier acquired heating oil (sold in the second quarter) at a
much lower cost; and (e) defendants were facing imminent bankruptcy and would
no longer be able to service the Company’s debt, all of which would halt the
Company’s ability to maintain the Company’s credit rating and/or obtain future
financing.
On October 18, 2004, Star Gas Partners shocked the market by revealing for
the first time that it “has recently advised its Petro heating oil division
bank lenders of a substantial expected decline in earnings for this division
for the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2004, and a further projected
decline in earnings for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, which will
not permit Petro to meet the borrowing conditions under its working capital
line … Star anticipates that because of the requirements of Star’s current
and potential lenders, it will not be permitted to make any distributions on
its Common Units.
Star believes that with the support of its existing
lenders, which cannot yet be assured, it can manage the extraordinary
challenges arising from current energy prices and other factors. However,
without that support, Star may be forced to seek interim financing on
extremely disadvantageous terms or even to seek to restructure its debts under
the protection of the bankruptcy courts.” In response to this announcement,
the price of Star Gas Partners common units dropped precipitously, falling 80%
in one day, from a closing price of $21.60 per unit on October 15, 2004, to a
closing price of $4.32 per share on October 18, 2004, on extraordinarily high
trading volume.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or
otherwise acquired Star Gas Partners securities during the Class Period, and
is represented by the law firm of Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran. With
offices in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA, Finkelstein, Thompson &
Loughran has spent almost three decades delivering outstanding representation
to institutional and individual clients in connection with securities and
other finance-related litigation, and has been appointed as lead or co-lead
counsel in dozens of federal securities fraud class actions. Indeed, in the
past ten years, our firm has served in leadership roles in cases that have
recovered almost $1 billion for investors and consumers.
If you bought or otherwise acquired securities of Star Gas Partners
between December 4, 2003 and October 18, 2004, inclusive, you may request that
the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a person who
acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Any member
of the proposed class who wishes to move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff
must do so no later than December 20, 2004. In order to serve as lead
plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements. If you have any
questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact
Donald J. Enright or Karen J. Marcus with Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran’s
Washington, DC office, at (866) 592-1960, or by e-mail at dje@ftllaw.com or
kjm@ftllaw.com.
Web site: http://www.ftllaw.com
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