BNA Insights: Securities Litigation Canary in the Coal Mine: Investigation of Peabody Energy Corporation by the New York State Attorney General

According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration:

Carbon monoxide, a potentially deadly gas devoid of color, taste or smell, can form underground during a mine fire or after a mine explosion . . . . [B]efore the availability of modern detection devices . . .[c]anaries. . .were used to alert miners to the presence of the poisonous gas. . . . . Any sign of distress from the canary was a clear signal that the conditions underground were unsafe, prompting a hasty return to the surface.

Like a caged canary in distress in a coal mine, the conclusion of the New York State Attorney General’s investigation of Peabody Energy Corporation’s securities disclosures in November 2015 should serve as an early warning to both coal producers and energy producers who rely on coal that there is danger in the air and that hasty efforts to reduce risk associated with past and future securities disclosure statements are necessary to avoid catastrophic results.

Reproduced with permission from Securities Regulation & Law Report, 48 SRLR 807, 4/18/16. Copyright ! 2016 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com