New York, Ohio Pension Funds May Lead BP Class-Action Suit

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Public pension funds in New York and Ohio said they hope to be the lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), whose share price has plummeted because of its months-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The lawsuit alleges that BP, the oil giant in which the funds had invested, made "false and misleading statements" about its safety protocols and record, as well as its ability to respond to a major oil spill--causing its stock to trade at "artificially inflated prices," according to a news release. When the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April and a massive oil leak ensued, BP's stock dropped sharply. Its American depsositary shares are off 39% the past 3 months. The company has only recently been able to stanch the flow of oil into the Gulf. The group of funds, which invest more than a combined $275 billion, say BP "misled investors with false and misleading statements about the safety of its drilling operations and its ability to fix events like the oil spill," said New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The funds say they have lost more than $200 million from their transactions in BP equity between June 30, 2005, and June 1, 2010. The New York State Common Retirement Fund, one of the funds part of Wednesday's announcement, had announced plans to sue the company in June. A BP spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Its ADS were recently up 3.6% at $36.46 amid plans to sell $7 billion of oil-and-gas assets in North America and Egypt to Apache Corp. (APA). -By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; nathan.becker@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 21, 2010 10:22 ET (14:22 GMT)