PA governor praises PERS

Governor Ed Rendell congratulated the Pennsylvania Public Employees' Retirement System for successful litigation that netted $23 million. The victory was in a lawsuit against Time Warner, Inc., AOL, Ernst & Young and other parties.

"Since taking office, I have encouraged the state's managed funds, which make large investments, to pursue recovery of substantial losses that they believe and allege to have resulted from unlawful conduct by public companies, including the issuance of alleged false financial statements," said Governor Rendell.

"By successfully pursuing this litigation, and successfully reaching settlement, these public fund managers have helped to reduce future financial burdens on taxpayers. I will continue to work with my General Counsel to pursue recovery in these kinds of cases."

The funds endured losses from these investments prior to Governor Rendell taking office, but no litigation was pursued. By going to court, at the Governor's urging, these funds were able to collect money for state and public school retirees and help to foster and implement better corporate governance to benefit all investors.