Ormat Technologies Class Action Lawsuit May be on the Horizon

In February of 2010, Ormat concluded that the company’s 2008 financial statements required restatement and that current statements were unreliable. This occurred because capitalized costs for exploration and development of select properties that the company did not plan on developing were suspected to be improperly calculated into financial equations.  Once this information became public, Ormat stock declined by nearly 13% over a three day time period. Lawyers are investigating potential claims that Ormat directors and/or executives failed to fulfill the Company’s fiduciary responsibility which has caused financial harm to stock holders.

Questionable breaches of fiduciary duty have been a topic of discussion for Comcast as well.  An ERISA class action lawsuit was recently filed on behalf of nearly 90,000 Comcast employee stock plan participants with the allegation that Comcast executives projected unreasonable company growth, despite knowledge that there were reasons in the competitive market which would impact Comcast’s projected growth.

Fiduciary duty is outlined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. It is not known if a class action lawsuit will be filed against Ormat Technologies at this time. Lawyers are merely in the discovery stage of an investigation to identify the possibility of any company wrong doing. Ormat shareholders may be entitled to financial compensation for the damage sustained due to the company’s failing to perform fiduciary duties. Yet, a lawsuit must be filed against Ormat technologies before this occurs. A lawsuit against Ormat Technologies will not occur until claims have been identified as valid by lawyers and a federal judge agrees that a lawsuit may be filed.

If you feel that your company has committed a wrong doing, call Burton Padove for a free consultation at 219-836-2200.