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Attention AT&T shareholders: contact investor lawyers for a free evaluation of your potential claims for compensation today.
- Are you a long-term shareholder of AT&T (NYSE: T) and do you still hold your AT&T shares?
- Are you concerned about the recent AT&T share price drop following The Wall Street Journal’s investigative reporting regarding potentially hazardous and toxic lead covered cables left behind by telecom companies including AT&T?
- Are you concerned about the conduct of AT&T’s officers and directors, and the company’s corporate controls, risk mitigation, and compliance practices related to its alleged failure to remove old lead cables despite allegedly known potential risks?
- Would you like your potential options for compensation and/or redress to be reviewed by an experienced team of investor lawyers?
Request a free case evaluation of your potential claims for compensation today, via email at arosca@rscounsel.law, through the contact form on this page, or by calling 888-998-0530.
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The AT&T Class Action Investigation page is the resource for long-term shareholders of AT&T who would like to evaluate compensation claims.
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Posted July 21, 2023
AT&T Investigation Related to Alleged Failure to Remove Lead Covered Cables
Securities attorneys Alan Rosca, Paul Scarlato, and Kathryn Weidner have been investigating potential securities violations and corporate misconduct, as well as questionable business practices involving AT&T following the company’s alleged failure to remove toxic lead sheathed cables under its ownership or control. The Rosca Scarlato investor rights lawyers have identified potential areas of concern for AT&T investors following the significant stock price drop in the wake of the revelations in the Wall Street Journal (“WSJ” or “the Journal”) investigatory report.
What AT&T Investors May Do
ATT investors interested to evaluate potential options to seek compensation and/or pursue claims related to their AT&T investment may contact investor rights attorneys Alan Rosca, Paul Scarlato, or Kathryn Weidner. Claims that are not timely pursued may expire or otherwise be lost, generally speaking.
Get in Touch with an Experienced Team of Investor Attorneys
Attorneys Rosca, Scarlato, and Weidner have extensive experience in seeking compensation related to investor harm and pursuing claims arising out of alleged violations of securities law and/or corporate misconduct, and are currently evaluating potential claims on behalf of investors in AT&T Inc.
They typically work on a contingent fee basis, do not require any money down from their clients, advance case expenses, and only get paid for their fees and expenses if and when successful, following review and approval by the Court of any fee application.
Concerned T stock investors may contact attorneys Alan Rosca, Paul Scarlato, or Kathryn Weidner to discuss their potential options toll free at 888-998-0530, via email at arosca@rscounsel.law, or through the contact form on this webpage.
Potential Compensation Claims
Has AT&T Been Accused of Misconduct?
On July 9, 2023, The Wall Street Journal published the first part of a troubling investigative series revealing that multiple telecom companies including AT&T abandoned thousands of lead sheathed cables across the US, reportedly disregarding potentially serious health hazard and real danger to the surrounding environment and local communities.
According to the WSJ’s findings, AT&T, among other telecom companies, was reportedly aware of the potential risks of exposure to their employees, as well as the risk of lead potentially leaking into the surrounding environment and communities, but allegedly failed to act in any meaningful way to monitor the cables or remove the hazard, the WSJ reports.
The Journal also spoke to a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) official who commented the cables are “buried everywhere” and “you’re not even going to know where it is in a lot of places.”
The WJS’s investigation reportedly revealed more than 1,750 underwater lead cables and 250 aerial lead cables situated in populated areas such as schools and bus stops. The Journal further indicated the number of lead covered cables throughout the country is likely higher. Working with experts, the WSJ’s investigation found that lead contamination amounts were higher directly under or next to the cables.
Was AT&T Aware of the Risks Presented by Its Lead Cables?
The telecom companies were allegedly aware of the risk presented by their lead cables, according to Journal. AT&T reportedly stated as far as in 2010 that removing lead cables would present “real possibilities for overexposure”, and that some older metro areas “may still have over 50% lead cable,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
The WSJ further quoted a former AT&T environmental health and safety official who reportedly stated, “the company considered the potential cost and environmental impact of removing the cables daunting.” “We didn’t try to quantify the problem or speak to the economics overall,” the former AT&T official added.
Public records reveal that AT&T has been involved in a lawsuit over lead cables in Lake Tahoe since 2021. During the settlement discussions in that lawsuit, AT&T reportedly agreed to remove the cables, without admitting any wrongdoing. The case is filed in the United States District Court of the Easter District of California and as of the date of this blog is still pending.
Why Did AT&T’s Stock Price Drop?
A Reuters article published on July 17, 2023 reported that AT&T’s share price dropped to the lowest level in thirty years, falling close to 7% following a series of downgrades by financial analysts. According to Investor’s Business Daily, the T stock, along with three other telecom carrier companies lost a combined $18 billion in market value the week before.
Both publications quote investment analysts who indicated that the main concern was the unknown cost of cleaning the areas exposed to the lead covered cables. Some estimated the costs could reach tens of billions of dollars.
“Telecom stocks could be in the doghouse for a while,” MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett reportedly said.
Reuters quoted JPMorgan analysts who noted they “have discussed the copper lead sheathing situation with many industry contacts and have been unable to find a reasonable way to calculate any potential liability, but believe that AT&T will have the largest exposure given its massive LEC [local exchange carrier] business as well as owning the original AT&T long haul network.”
Goldman Sachs analyst Brett Feldman is quoted saying, “it may take the major wireline telcos longer, and cost them more, to decommission legacy networks based on copper cables that may have lead sheathing.”
Analyst Gregory Williams at TD Cowen reportedly informed clients that his firm expects “a long, drawn-out process, (with) self-auditing. Also, plenty of political squabbling with potential class action lawsuits and (attorney general) lawsuits.”
Finally, Raymond James’ Frank Louthan noted that it is unknown “how long this will take to get resolved, but it could be measured in decades, with other (Environmental Protection Agency) actions like the Lead Copper Rule as a potential guide.”
As a result of the alleged questionable handling of their lead cable networks, certain telecom carriers such as AT&T are currently exposed to an increased risk of litigation, those analysts noted. Such exposure brings into question AT&T‘s risk and compliance and corporate controls and the conduct of AT&T’s senior officers and directors.
Do AT&T Shareholders Have Claims for Compensation, Corporate Reform and/or Other Redress Following AT&T Recent Stock Price Drop?
Investor rights attorneys Alan Rosca, Paul Scarlato, and Kathryn Weidner at Rosca Scarlato are investigating potential options and evaluating potential claims for compensation and/or other redress on behalf of AT&T long-term shareholders whose share value dropped following WSJ’s reporting on AT&T’s lead cable issues. The Rosca Scarlato attorneys have decades of combined experience representing victims of corporate or financial misconduct.
If you are a AT&T investor concerned about the drop in the value of your investment, you may contact attorneys Alan Rosca, Paul Scarlato, or Kathryn Weidner to learn more about your rights and for an evaluation of your potential claims, or to provide useful information.
All consultations are free. The Rosca Scarlato attorneys typically take cases like this on a contingency fee basis, advance all case costs, and only get paid for their fees and expenses if and when they are successful, following review and approval by the Court of any fee application.
To reach attorney Alan Rosca or his colleagues, AT&T investors may call 888-998-0530, email arosca@rscounsel.law, or leave a message through the contact form on this webpage.
The general considerations on this page are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Such legal advice can only be offered once the attorneys discuss each investor’s situation, learn of the relevant facts and can tailor any advice to that investor’s facts. The AT&T Class Action Investigation page is not affiliated with AT&T Inc. There has not been an adjudication on the merits of any allegations referenced in this blog post, as of the date of the posting.
Contact info:
Rosca Scarlato LLC – 216-946-7070 / 888-998-0530.
Alan Rosca – arosca@rscounsel.law
Paul Scarlato – pscarlato@rscounsel.law
Kathryn Weidner – kweidner@rscounsel.law
Recent Investigations
DISCLAIMER
In our legal system, every person is innocent until and unless found guilty by a court of law or a tribunal. Whenever we reference “allegations” or charges that are “alleged,” such allegations or charges have not been proven, and are merely accusations, not findings of fault, as of the date of the blog. We do not have, nor do we undertake, a duty to continue to monitor or follow matters about which we report, and/or to publish subsequent updates regarding various developments that may occur in such matters. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research regarding any such matters and any developments that may or may not have occurred in such matters. Also, the Brokercheck report linked to some of our blogs is the up-to-date version as of the date of accessing by the reader. The information in our blogs is current as of the date of the drafting of the blog, and given that sometimes certain past complaints may no longer be listed in newer Brokercheck reports, some of the events referenced in some of our blogs may later on be removed from newer Brokercheck reports. Visitors may check the most recent version of each brokercheck report at www.finra.org, and may contact FINRA for the earlier version of the Brokercheck report upon which various blogs may be based.
