What's $13 Million Among Friends?

[struggle4progress]

Cambridge, Mass. — TEN former directors of Enron have agreed to pay $13 million from their own pockets to settle a class action suit stemming from Enron's collapse in 2001, which wiped out some $60 billion in shareholder value. Because directors almost never have to pay even a penny in such suits, the Enron settlement - announced just days after several former WorldCom directors agreed to a similar deal - was widely viewed as a significant development that could discourage potential directors from serving on corporate boards.

This view is mistaken. A close look at the settlement shows that Enron's directors have still not been held accountable in any meaningful way.

Of the 18 former directors who were defendants in the Enron case, only 10 have to pay under the settlement. More important, according to the complaint against them, these 10 sold Enron shares worth more than $250 million during the period in which Enron was misreporting its financial affairs. According to the lawyer for the lead plaintiffs, the settlement requires each of these 10 to pay an amount equal to 10 percent of his or her pretax profits. They will be able to keep the other 90 percent - which amounts to $117 million - while investors who held their Enron stock lost their shirts.

The other eight Enron directors will not pay a penny but nonetheless have all claims against them settled. These directors did not sell shares before their value evaporated, which is presumably why they are not contributing. But they played important roles in the board's oversight failure. They include three of the six members of Enron's audit committee as well as six of the eight members of the finance committee, which reviewed many transactions that Enron used to deceive investors. Despite their role in the oversight failure, these eight directors emerge from Enron's ruins without having to pay a cent. <snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/opinion/17bebchuk.html?oref=login&th

[givemebackmycountry]

1. But if I steal a carton of smokes from a 7/11

I could wind up geting shot by some over-zealous police officer.

I could wind up getting arrested by some over-zealous police officer, handcuffed and thrown in the back of a police cruiser, booked and thrown into a holding cell with junkies and criminals.

I could wind up convicted of theft, on probation for 3 years, and subject to weekly drug and alcohol screenings.

Goes to show you if you are going to steal something, steal something REALLY, REALLY, freakin' HUGE!

[struggle4progress]

2. Whose Country Is It, Anyway? A Public Service Announcement from ...

... the Ownership Society