| Company: | Miller Energy Resources, Inc. |
| Ticker Symbol: | MILL |
| Class Period: | Mar-15-10 to Aug-1-11 |
| Date Filed: | Aug-12-11 |
| Lead Plaintiff Deadline: | Oct-11-11 |
| Court: | Eastern District of Tennessee |
| Allegations: | |
The Complaint charges the Company and certain of its executive officers with violations of federal securities laws. Miller Energy engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. On December 16, 2009 the Company announced it had acquired the former Alaskan assets of Pacific Energy Resources, including Alaskan oil and gas assets comprising onshore and offshore production facilities and approximately $300 million in proven or probable energy reserves. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Alaskan assets acquired by the Company were substantially less than claimed by the Company; (2) the Company was inappropriately recording revenue on a gross basis for overriding royalty interests rather than recording revenue on a net basis; (3) the Company failed to record sufficient compensation expense on certain equity awards; (4) the Company did not properly calculate the liability for derivative instruments; (5) as a result of the above, the Company's financial statements were misstated; (6) the Company's financial results were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"); (7) the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (8), as a result of the above, the Company's financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On July 28, 2011, a report published on the Internet questioned the Company's valuation of the Alaskan oil and gas assets and opined that the assets likely had a value between $25 million and $30 million, offset by $40 million in liabilities. Following this news, Miller's share price declined more than 23% on July 28, 2011, and a further 18% the next day, to close at $4.41 per share on July 29, 2011. After the market close, the Company filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission for Miller's 2011 fiscal year, and restated its unaudited consolidated balance sheets as of July 31, 2010, October 31, 2010 and January 31, 2011 and its unaudited consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for the quarterly and year to date periods then ended.
Thereafter, on August 1, 2011, the Company announced that the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors determined that the consolidated balance sheet at April 30, 2011, the consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity and cash flows for the year then ended, and the report of KPMG LLP -- the Company's independent public accounting firm -- on the financial statements, which were included in the Company's July 29, 2011 Annual Report, should not be relied upon. Moreover, the Company disclosed that the 2011 Form 10-K was filed with the SEC "prior to KPMG LLP completing its review of the annual report and issuing their independent accountants' report on the financial statements, as well as the consent to the use of their report filed as Exhibit 23.3."
If you acquired the securities of the defendants during the Class Period you may, no later than the Lead Plaintiff Deadline shown above, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff through counsel of your choice. You may also choose to remain an absent class member. A lead plaintiff must meet certain requirements.
