According to the Complaint, Deloitte & Touche, LLP is the accounting arm of Deloitte, LLP, the United States affiliate of the “Big 4” international accounting firm, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

Deloitte & Touche LLP was retained by The Southern Company as its independent auditor and issued reports on Southern’s financial statements for at least the years 2011 through 2020. In each of those reports, Deloitte & Touche LLP certified that it had audited those statements in accordance with GAAP and that the statements presented the financial position of Southern fairly and in conformity with GAAP. Every audit report was a “clean opinion”—an unqualified report that the financial statements were fairly presented in all material respects. This is the highest level of audit report a CPA may issue.

The Complaint alleges that Deloitte knew, or was reckless in not knowing, that Southern’s reported annual and quarterly financial results for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2013 through December 31, 2019, which were disseminated to the investing public, were not presented in accordance with GAAP; and that the audits they conducted were not performed in accordance with PCAOB Standards and, therefore, each of Deloitte’s unqualified audit reports during the Class Period were materially false and misleading.

On June 1, 2022, the Court issued an Order appointing Lead Plaintiff and Counsel. On August 15, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint. On February 13, 2023, the Court issued an Order granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. The case was dismissed on statute of limitations grounds.