Class Action Suit Against Veolia Dismissed

Paris-based Veolia Environnement said the class action lawsuit filed in the United States against the company with charges of making misleading financial statements has been dismissed.

In a letter to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, counsel for the lead plaintiffs asked to voluntarily dismiss the action. Judge Victor Marrero subsequently signed an order dismissing the case, the company said in a news release.

An initial lawsuit was filed in December, and it was consolidated with a second suit in January. The suits were filed against the company and certain current and former officers.

The dismissal covers the consolidated lawsuit.

The suit alleged improper accounting practices; an inability to ascertain its true financial condition; failure to make a timely recording of a charge for businesses in Morocco, Egypt, the United States and southern Europe; that revenues were hampered by the renewal of some of its major concession contracts; and that, as a result of those actions, Veolia lacked a reasonable basis for positive statements about the company’s prospects.

Veolia Environnment said in a statement at the time “that any allegation that its financial communications may have been misleading is without merit, and the company intends to seek the dismissal of the complaint.”

Veolia has put its U.S. solid waste operation up for sale as part of a massive restructuring plan to raise $6.7 billion for reducing debt. The company expects to name a buyer this summer.