LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A third class-action lawsuit - this one from a retiree of ConAgra Foods Inc. - has been filed accusing top executives of manipulating the Omaha-based company's earnings.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by Michael Rantana on behalf of ConAgra employees who bought the company's stock as part of their 401(k) plans after Sept. 18, 2003.
The lawsuit, which asks for unspecified damages, accuses Bruce Rohde, ConAgra president, chief executive and chairman, as well as other executives of hiding information about the company's finances from the public.
That action, according to the lawsuit, caused the retirees to lose money when the value of the company's stock later fell.
"Senior officers and directors, the designated plan administrator, and the plans' trustees breached their fiduciary duties they owed to plans' participants ... causing the loss of millions of dollars of the ... participants' retirement savings," the lawsuit says.
ConAgra spokesman Chris Kircher said Wednesday he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment specifically.
"But it appears to be driven by the same logic" as the other two lawsuits, he said. "Class-action attorneys jumping on the same bandwagon. We believe it has no merit, and we will fight vigorously."
The other lawsuits accuse ConAgra of manipulating accounts and causing investors to lose money.
ConAgra announced in May 2001 that accounting problems at its subsidiary, United Agri Products, would result in $120 million in lower earnings for 1998 through 2000.
Later, according to one of the earlier lawsuits, "the company implied that it had enhanced its controls over its accounting department, and as it reported favorable results from 2003 to the first half of fiscal 2005, the perception was that the financials were accurate. In fact, the financials were false.
"The company subsequently has admitted that its net income for fiscal year 2002 through the first half of fiscal 2005 was overstated by as much as $105 million," the lawsuit says.
ConAgra is one of the nation's largest food companies, with grocery store brand names that include ACT II popcorn, Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Marie Callender's, Egg Beaters and Orville Redenbacher's.
Shares of ConAgra fell 26 cents to close at $23.23 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, where they have traded in a 52-week range of $22.50 to $30.24.
On The Net:
U.S. District Court: http://www.ned.uscourts.gov/
ConAgra Foods Inc.: http://www.conagra.com
AP-ES-07-20-05 1831EDTAssociated Press
