Judge: Enron Pension Suit Can Go Forward
Wed Oct 1,11:18 PM ET
By PAM EASTON, Associated Press Writer
story.news.yahoo.com
HOUSTON - Current and former Enron Corp. employees will be allowed to proceed with a lawsuit that contends the bankrupt energy trader didn't meet its duties in administering the company's pension plan.
In a 329-page order released Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon denied motions by Enron and its former chief executive, Kenneth Lay, requesting the claims against them be dismissed.
However, Harmon did dismiss claims that cited the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, against a number of other Enron officials, including former chief executive Jeff Skilling and former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow.
She also dismissed the employees' claims against a number of banks which backed Enron, including Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., and Merrill Lynch & Co.
The judge denied similar requests by Northern Trust Co., which was one of the custodians of Enron's pension plan, and Arthur Andersen, Enron's former auditor.
"It's just a really magisterial effort and the good news for us is she adopts our analysis and she agrees with us," said attorney Eli Gottesdiener, who represents the thousands of plaintiffs.
Enron spokeswoman Karen Denne said company attorneys were reviewing the order Wednesday and had no immediate comment.
Enron and its executives are accused of selling off company stock while workers were locked out of their 401(k) accounts as the company's stock price plummeted.
As the share price fell, current and retired employees said they were forced to helplessly watch as their life savings dissolved because the company barred them from selling Enron shares from their retirement accounts. |
