The law firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. ("Cohen Milstein") has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of its client and on behalf of other similarly situated purchasers of SemGroup Energy Partners, L.P. (NasdaqGM: SGLP - News; "SGLP" or the "Company") common units during the period between July 17, 2007 and July 17, 2008 (the "Class Period"), and on behalf of purchasers of SGLP's common units acquired pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration Statement and Prospectus issued in connection with SGLP's Initial Public Offering completed on or about July 23, 2007 ("IPO"), as well as all purchasers of SGLP common units acquired pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration Statement and Prospectus issued in connection with SGLP's secondary offering completed on or about February 20, 2008 ("Secondary Offering").
The complaint charges the defendants with violations of Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). SGLP owns and operates a diversified portfolio of midstream energy assets, including storage facilities, terminals and pipelines in the United States.
The complaint alleges that the Registration Statements and Prospectuses issued in connection with the IPO and Secondary Offering were materially false and misleading, and/or omitted material information necessary to make the statements made, in light of such material omissions, not materially false and misleading. In addition, during the Class Period, a continuous course of conduct was undertaken that operated as a fraud and deceit upon plaintiff and the Class. Various untrue and/or misleading statements of material facts were made, and material facts necessary in order to make the statements made not misleading, were omitted.
According to the complaint, the Registration Statements and Prospectuses issued in connection with the IPO and Secondary Offering and the statements made during the Class Period failed to disclose the adverse financial condition and lack of liquidity of SemGroup L.P. (SGLP's Parent, from whom SGLP derives more than 80% of its revenue) as a result of its speculative, dangerous and unauthorized hedging and trading in crude oil.
The complaint further alleges that by July 11, 2008, SGLP's unit values began to decline on increased trading volume despite the release of no adverse news. By July 17, 2008, SGLP unit prices declined 50% to $11.00 on greatly increased volume of 5.7 million units, after material adverse news which had been withheld by defendants began to leak, thus forcing the defendants to issue a statement revealing that SemGroup L.P. was experiencing liquidity issues and was exploring various alternatives, including raising additional equity, debt capital or the filing of a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The complaint indicates that as a result, the price of the Company's units continued to decline, wiping out almost $300 million in unit holder value.
If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than September 19, 2008, request that the Court appoint you as Lead Plaintiff of the class. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice or may choose to remain an absent class member.
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities fraud. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and London, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. You may visit the firm's website at www.cmht.com.
The firm's reputation for excellence has been recognized on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm to lead positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigation. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has taken a lead role in numerous important cases on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total in the billions of dollars.
If you have any questions about this notice or the action, or with regard to your rights, please contact either of the following:
Steven J. Toll, Esq. |
Jonathan Tucker |
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. |
1100 New York Avenue, N.W. |
West Tower, Suite 500 |
Washington, D.C. 20005 |
Telephone: (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600 |
Email: stoll@cmht.com or jtucker@cmht.com |