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Nicor, Inc.

Case Summary

Nicor, Inc. Securities Litigation

Case Summary

Case Status:    SETTLED
On or around 07/13/2004 (Date of order of final judgment)

Filing Date: July 22, 2002

By the Final Order and Judgment, entered on July 13, 2004, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle Sr. approved the settlement and terminated the case. The plaintiff has filed a motion for order for distribution of the settlement funds.

In a company press release dated April 16, 2004, Nicor's board of directors has approved an agreement to settle the securities class action litigation. Under the terms of the agreement, the claims against the company and the company-related defendants will be dismissed without any finding or admission of wrongdoing or liability. The final settlement is contingent on execution of a formal stipulation of settlement and court approval. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will pay $38.5 million to the class. The company continues to pursue coverage from its insurance carriers. The company also indicated that while the settlement will have an adverse impact on its first quarter 2004 financial results, it is not expected to have a material adverse impact on the company's liquidity or financial condition.

The original complaint alleges that during the Class Period defendants overstated Nicor's results of operations. The true facts began to be disclosed on June 13, 2002 when it was reported that the Illinois Commerce Commission and state law enforcement officials were investigating allegations that Nicor boosted profits and overcharged its customers by manipulating its performance-based rate ("PBR") plan. The PBR plan is designed to give the utility competitive incentives to purchase natural gas more cheaply on behalf of ratepayers. The regulatory agency began looking into the matter after the Citizen's Utility Board provided it with an in-depth
memorandum believed to be written by a Nicor whistle-blower. The memo
alleges that the utility shortchanged ratepayers by $133 million over
the last two years. Additional facts were revealed on July 18, 2002,
when Nicor issued a press release in which it admitted "accounting
irregularities" at Nicor Energy L.L.C., a joint venture with Dynegy,
Inc. Disclosure of allegations that Nicor manipulated the PBR plan and
additional allegations of accounting improprieties at its Nicor Energy
joint venture caused Nicor common stock to plummet to a closing price of
$22.75 per share on July 19, 2002 down $26.25 per share or 54% from its
Class Period high price of $49.00 on April 22, 2002.

Company & Securities Information

Defendant: Nicor, Inc.

COMPANY INFORMATION:

Sector: Utilities
Industry: Natural Gas Utilities
Headquarters: United States

SECURITIES INFORMATION:

Ticker Symbol: GAS
Company Market: New York SE
Market Status: Public (Listed)

About the Company & Securities Data


"Company" information provides the industry and sector classification and headquarters state for the primary company-defendant in the litigation. In general, "Securities" information provides the ticker symbol, market, and market status for the underlying securities at issue in the litigation.

In most cases, the primary company-defendant actually issued the securities that are the subject of the litigation, and the securities information and company information relate to the same entity. In a small subset of cases, however, the primary company-defendant is not the issuer (for example, cases against third party brokers/dealers), and the securities information and company information do not relate to the same entity.

First Identified Complaint

Rick Singer, et al. v. Nicor, Inc., et al.

COURT: N.D. Illinois
DOCKET #: 02-CV-5168
JUDGE: Hon. George W. Lindberg
DATE FILED: 07/22/2002
CLASS PERIOD START: 01/24/2002
CLASS PERIOD END: 07/18/2002
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
  1. Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz, LLP (New York)
    10 E. 40th Street, 22nd Floor, Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz, LLP (New York), NY 10016
    800.217.1522 · info@bernlieb.com
  2. Brodsky & Smith, LLC (former Pennysylvania)
    11 Bala Avenue, Suite 39, Brodsky & Smith, LLC (former Pennysylvania), PA 19004
    610.668.7987 610.660.0450 · esmith@Brodsky-Smith.com
  3. Cauley Geller Bowman Coates & Rudman LLP (Little Rock, AR)
    P.O. Box 25438, Cauley Geller Bowman Coates & Rudman LLP (Little Rock, AR), AR 72221-5438
    501.312.8500 501.312.8505 ·
  4. Howard G. Smith, Attorney at Law
    3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Howard G. Smith, Attorney at Law, PA 19020
    215.638.4847 215.638-4867 ·
  5. Law Offices of Charles J. Piven, P.A.
    World Trade Center-Baltimore,401 East Pratt Suite 2525, Law Offices of Charles J. Piven, P.A., MD 21202
    410.332.0030 · pivenlaw@erols.com
  6. Levy & Levy

    ·
  7. Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (New York, NY)
    One Pennsylvania Plaza, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (New York, NY), NY 10119-1065
    212.594.5300 ·
  8. Much, Shelist, Freed, Denenberg, Ament & Eiger, P.C.
    200 N LaSalle St Ste 2100, Much, Shelist, Freed, Denenberg, Ament & Eiger, P.C., IL 60601
    312.346.3100 ·
  9. Pomerantz LLP (New York)
    600 Third Avenue, Pomerantz LLP (New York), NY 10016
    212.661.1100 212.661.8665 · info@pomerantzlaw.com/
  10. Schiffrin & Barroway LLP
    3 Bala Plaza E, Schiffrin & Barroway LLP, PA 19004
    610.667.7706 610.667.7056 · info@sbclasslaw.com
  11. Wolf Popper, LLP
    845 Third Avenue, Wolf Popper, LLP, NY 10022-6689
    877.370.7703 212.486.2093 · IRRep@wolfpopper.com
First Identified Complaint (FIC) Filings:
No Document Title Filing Date
1 Federal Securities Class Action Complaint - Jury Trial Demanded 07/22/2002

Reference Complaint

Rick Singer, et al. v. Nicor, Inc., et al.

COURT: N.D. Illinois
DOCKET #: 02-CV-5168
JUDGE: Hon. George W. Lindberg
DATE FILED: 02/14/2003
CLASS PERIOD START: 11/24/1999
CLASS PERIOD END: 07/19/2002
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
  1. Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (Former New York)
    1285 Avenue of the Americas, 33rd Floor, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (Former New York), NY 10019
    212.554.1400 212.554.1444 · blbg@blbglaw.com
  2. Kenneth A. Elan (Chicago )
    30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 3200, Kenneth A. Elan (Chicago ), IL 60602
    312782.4880 · mmiller@millerfauchner.com
  3. Schiffrin & Barroway LLP
    3 Bala Plaza E, Schiffrin & Barroway LLP, PA 19004
    610.667.7706 610.667.7056 · info@sbclasslaw.com
  4. Schoengold & Sporn PC (New York)
    233 Broadway 39Th Floor, Schoengold & Sporn PC (New York), NY 10279
    212.964.0046 ·
Reference Complaint (REF) Filings:
No Document Title Filing Date
1 Plaintiffs' Consolidated Class Action Complaint 02/14/2003
2 Notice of Filling 02/14/2003
3 Notice of Proposed Settlement and Hearing Thereon, and Right to Share in Settlement Proceeds of $39,000,000 04/30/2004
4 Final Order and Judgment 07/12/2004
5 Proof of Claim and Release 09/10/2004
6 Order Of Distribution 05/20/2005
7 US District Court Civil Docket 05/29/2008

Related District Court Filings

No Document Title Filing Date
1 Complaint For Violation Of The Federal Securities Laws 07/25/2002
 
 

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