Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Announces Securities Class Action Against TECO Energy, Inc. FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC (http://www.classactioncounsel.com/; e-mail: ), a law firm with offices in Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut, announces that a lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of all persons (the "Class") who purchased the securities of TECO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: TE - News; "TECO") between October 30, 2001 and February 4, 2003 (the "Class Period"), including anyone who purchased in the October 10, 2002 or June 5, 2002 equity offerings or the January 10, 2002, May 8, 2002 or January 10, 2002 debt offerings. A copy of the Complaint filed in this action can be obtained from the Court or you can call our offices toll free at either 866/540-5505 or 877/891-9880 to speak with an attorney regarding this matter and we will send you a copy of the Complaint. The Complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, Defendants, TECO, Robert D. Fagan, and Gordon L. Gillette, violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that (1) TECO is a holding company for regulated utilities and other unregulated businesses; (2) TECO owns no operating assets but holds all of the common stock of Tampa Electric Company directly or indirectly; (3) Defendants concealed problems with several independent power plant construction ventures for which TECO would ultimately be fully responsible, including the Company's full exposure to the bankruptcy of Enron Corporation, causing TECO shares to trade at artificially inflated levels and permitting defendants to sell over $4.2 million of their own personally held stock and to raise over $792 million selling equity securities in the capital markets during the Class Period; (4) as a result of a series of events in late 2002 and early 2003, the complex financing scheme that the Company had developed began to unravel as several large projects and their liabilities were "put" to TECO, thereby moving hundreds of millions of dollars of off-balance sheet debt onto TECO's balance sheet and resulting in the Company taking over a billion dollars in impairment charges; and (5) these events and the others described in the Complaint caused the price of TECO's common stock to plummet from a Class Period high of over $28 per share on April 23, 2002 to below $13 per share on February 4, 2003, erasing hundreds of millions of dollars in market capitalization. If you are purchased TECO securities between October 30, 2001 and February 4, 2003 (inclusive), you may qualify to serve as a lead plaintiff on behalf of the Class. All motions for appointment as a lead plaintiff must be filed with the Court no later than October 25, 2004. Any member of the proposed Class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff in this action through counsel of his or her choice, or may remain an absent class member. There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we would be pleased to discuss with you. If you would like to discuss this action or have any question regarding this notice or your rights, please telephone or e-mail Scott R. Shepherd, Esquire (877/891-9880; ); or James E. Miller, Esquire (866/540-5505; ). If you would like to discuss this action or have any question regarding this notice or your rights, please contact us at the telephone or electronic mail addresses provided above. Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC (http://www.classactioncounsel.com/) is a national law firm that represents investors, including institutions and individuals, as well as consumers in class action and other complex litigation, and maintains offices in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The firm's attorneys have appeared in matters on behalf of our clients throughout the United States and been appointed lead counsel in a number of class actions and corporate governance matters. DATASOURCE: Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC CONTACT: Scott R. Shepherd, Esquire, +1-877-891-9880, , or James E. Miller, Esquire, +1-866-540-5505, , both of Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Web site: http://www.classactioncounsel.com/

Copyright