Verizon sued by investors over lead cables, environmental statements
The Verizon logo is seen on the 375 Pearl Street building in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Aug 2 (Reuters) - Verizon (VZ.N) has been sued by investors who claim the telecommunications giant violated U.S. securities laws by failing to disclose environmental and health risks associated with lead-wrapped cables it owns.
The proposed class action filed in a western Pennsylvania federal court on Tuesday covers potentially thousands of investors who purchased or acquired Verizon stock before a report by the Wall Street Journal revealed that the company owns toxic lead-clad cables across the country.
Verizon's stock price dropped after the Journal's July 9 report and subsequent articles.
Verizon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The company has said it is doing testing of potential lead covered cables, and claims it has also been working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That federal agency said last week that it is investigating the risks from lead-clad telecom cables owned by Verizon and AT&T, which was also a focus of the newspaper’s report.
AT&T (T.N) was sued by its own group of investors last week in a New Jersey federal court over the revelations. A spokesperson for the company called the accusations "baseless" in a statement Wednesday.
The case is Meehan v. Verizon Communications Inc., U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:23-cv-01375.
For the proposed class: James Hockenberry of the Law Office of Leon Aussprung; and Phillip Kim and Laurence Rosen of The Rosen Law Firm
For Verizon: Not immediately available
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