Birnbaum v. General Electric Company et al 1:19-cv-01013 — On February 1, 2019, investors sued General Electric Company (“GE” or the “Company”) in United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Plaintiffs in the GE class action allege that they acquired GE stock at artificially inflated prices between October 12, 2018 and October 29, 2018 (the “Class Period”). They are now seeking compensation for financial losses incurred upon public revelation of the Company’s alleged misconduct during that time. For more information on the GE Lawsuit, please contact us today!

Summary of the Allegations

Company Background

The Company (NYSE: GE) bills itself as a “digital industrial company,” with a history that spans more than 100 years.

As such, GE has numerous divisions, including its Industrials segment. GE Power is the Company’s largest business within this segment and creates one-third of global energy. The Company also says that the vast majority of all global power transmission utilities are equipped with GE Power’s technology and that its software manages 40 percent of the world’s energy.

Finally, the Company says that its acquisition of Alstom’s Thermal Power in 2015 has allowed it to provide “even more innovative technologies” to expand its reach and help more people.

Summary of Facts

GE and its CEO/chairman (the “Individual Defendant”) are now accused of deceiving investors by lying and withholding critical information about the Company’s business practices and prospects during the Class period.

Specifically, they are accused of omitting truthful information about certain accounting practices and related investigations from SEC filings and similar material. By knowingly or recklessly doing so, they allegedly caused GE stock to trade at artificially inflated prices during the time in question.

The truth came out when the Company filed its “2018 third quarter form 10-Q” with the SEC on October 30, 2018. In it, GE finally disclosed the full extent of the investigation into its accounting practices. It said in pertinent part: “Following our announcement on October 1, 2018 about the expected non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to GE’s Power business… the SEC expanded the scope of its investigation to include that charge as well.” GE also announced that “[s]taff from the DOJ are also investigating these matters.”

A closer look…

As alleged in the February 1 complaint, GE made false and misleading public statements during the Class Period.

For example, in a press release issued at the beginning of the Class Period, the Company stated that it was “delaying its third quarter 2018 financial results until October 30, 2018.” At the time it said it was doing so to “allow GE Chairman and CEO Larry Culp to complete initial business reviews and site visits following his appointment on October 1.”

In the same press release, the Company also stated that Culp would “share his initial observations, with more detail expected in early 2019.”

What the Company had an obligation to share but failed to disclose was that: the SEC had expanded its investigation into its accounting practices; that the SEC was investigating the GE Power charge; that the DOJ was also investigating GE’s accounting practices, including the GE Power charge. The Company also failed to disclose the potential consequences based on the results.

Impact of the Alleged Fraud on GE’s Stock Price and Market Capitalization

The following chart illustrates the stock price during the class period:

Actions You May Take

If you have purchased shares during the Class Period, you may join the class action as a lead plaintiff, remain a passive class member, or opt out of this litigation and pursue individual claims that may not be available to the class as a whole.

NOTE: The deadline to file for lead plaintiff in this class action is April 2, 2019. You must file an application to be appointed lead plaintiff prior to this deadline in order to be considered by the Court. Typically, the plaintiff or plaintiffs with the largest losses are appointed lead plaintiff.

In order to identify your potential exposure to the alleged fraud during the time in question, you may wish to perform an analysis of your transactions in GE common stock using court approved loss calculation methods.

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Listed below are recently filed securities class action cases being monitored by us, along with the class period and the deadline to file a motion to be appointed as the Lead Plaintiff in the action.  Please contact us if you would like an LK report for any of these cases:

About Us

Levi & Korsinsky is a leading securities litigation firm with a hard-earned reputation for protecting investors’ rights and recovering losses arising from fraud, mismanagement and corporate abuse.  With thirty attorneys and offices in New York, Connecticut, California and Washington D.C., the firm is able to litigate cases in various jurisdictions in the U.S., England, and in other international jurisdictions.

Levi & Korsinsky provides portfolio monitoring services for high-net worth investors and institutional clients.  Our firm also assists investors in evaluating whether to opt-out of large securities class actions to pursue individual claims.

For additional information about this case or our institutional services, please contact us.