Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Files Securities Class Action on Behalf of Purchasers of Securities of Star Gas Partners, L.P. HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC (http://www.classactioncounsel.com/; e-mail: ), a law firm with offices in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida, announced today that it has filed a class action on behalf of all purchasers of the stock and other publicly- traded securities of Star Gas Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SGH - News; "Star Gas" or the "Company") from April 30, 2003 through October 15, 2004 inclusive (the "Class Period"). The Complaint charges Star Gas, Irik P. Sevin, and Ami Trauber with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. A copy of the Complaint filed in this action can be obtained from the Court (Case No. 3:04-cv-1785-SRU), you can call our offices toll free at either 866/540-5505 or 877/891-9880 to speak with an attorney regarding this matter and obtain a copy of the Complaint or you can e-mail us () and we will send you a copy of the Complaint. The Complaint specifically alleges that Star Gas failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Partnership was unable to pass costs of rising heating oil prices on to its customers because the Partnership had earlier acquired heating oil at a much lower cost; (2) that, as a result, Defendants were unable to increase or maintain profit margins in its heating oil segment; (3) that the Partnership was experiencing massive customer attrition; and (4) that the Partnership's Petro heating oil division's operational restructuring, undertaken at the beginning of the Class Period, was a complete and utter failure because of delays in the centralization of Star Gas' dispatch system. On October 18, 2004, Star Gas issued a press release with the headline: "STAR GAS PARTNERS, L.P. ANNOUNCES SUSPENSION OF COMMON UNIT DISTRIBUTION." Therein, the Partnership stated that it had recently advised its Petro heating oil division bank lenders of a substantial expected decline in earnings for this division for the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2004, and a further projected decline in earnings for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, which would not permit Petro to meet the borrowing conditions under its working capital line. According to Star, the source of the problem was a combination of (a) the inability to pass on the full impact of record heating oil prices to customers, and (b) the effects of unusually high customer attrition principally related to its operational restructuring undertaken in the past 18 months. Petro was continuing to submit borrowing requests under its working capital line. Star was in discussions with the lenders to modify conditions and other terms necessary to assure that Petro would have sufficient liquidity to operate through the winter. Star anticipated that, because of the requirements of Star's current and potential lenders, it would not be permitted to make any distributions on its Common Units. Star believed that with the support of its existing lenders, which cannot yet be assured, it could manage the extraordinary challenges arising from current energy prices and other factors. However, without that support, Star Gas may be forced to seek interim financing on extremely disadvantageous terms or even to seek to restructure its debts under the protection of the bankruptcy courts. News of this shocked the market. Shares of Star Gas fell $17.28 per share, or 80 percent, to close at $4.32 per share on unusually high trading volume on October 18, 2004. If you purchased the common stock or other publicly-traded securities of Star Gas between April 30, 2003 through October 15, 2004, inclusive, you may qualify to serve as a lead plaintiff on behalf of the Class. All motions for appointment as a lead plaintiff must be filed with the Court no later than December 20, 2004. Any member of the proposed Class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff in this action through counsel of his or her choice, or may remain an absent class member. There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we would be pleased to discuss with you. Please contact James E. Miller, Esquire (866/540-5505; ), or James C. Shah, Esquire (877/891-9880; ), if you would like to discuss this action or have any question regarding this notice or your rights. Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC (http://www.classactioncounsel.com/) is a national law firm that represents investors, including institutions and individuals, as well as consumers in class action and other complex litigation, and maintains offices in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The firm's attorneys have appeared in matters on behalf of our clients throughout the United States and have been appointed lead counsel in a number of class actions and corporate governance matters. DATASOURCE: Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC CONTACT: James E. Miller, Esquire, +1-866-540-5505, , or James C. Shah, Esquire, +1-877-891-9880, , both of Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC Web site: http://www.classactioncounsel.com/

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