Skip to Content

Federman & Sherwood Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action Lawsuit against Range Resources Corporation

To join this class action, please complete the following Investor Certification.  [contact-form-7 id=”1710″ title=”Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:  RRC) Investor Certification”]

Oklahoma City, OK (March 5, 2021) – On March 4, 2021, a securities class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC).  The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws, Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, including allegations of issuing a series of material or false misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price during the Class Period, which is April 29, 2016 through February 10, 2021.  More specifically, the Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements, and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose to investors that: (i) Range Resources had improperly designated the status of its wells in Pennsylvania since at least 2013; (ii) the foregoing conduct subjected the Company to a heightened risk of regulatory investigation and enforcement, as well as artificially decreased the Company’s periodically reported cost estimates to plug and abandon its wells; (iii) the Company was the subject of a DEP investigation from sometime between September 2017 to January 2021 for improperly designating the status of its wells; (iv) the DEP investigation foreseeably would and ultimately did lead to the Company incurring regulatory fines; and (v) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On February 10, 2021, shortly before the close of the trading session, the DEP issued a press release announcing that Range Resources had paid a $294,000 civil penalty to the agency on January 8, 2021 for violating the 2012 Oil and Gas Act. The DEP had begun investigating the Company after the agency found conflicting and inaccurate information on the status of a Company well in Fayette County, Pennsylvania—specifically concerning whether the well in question was correctly designated as inactive for the purposes of DEP regulation. After subpoenaing Range Resources for information on other wells the Company had requested to designate as inactive, the DEP found that “between Tuesday, July 16, 2013, and Monday, October 11, 2017, 42 of Range Resources’ conventional wells were placed on inactive status but were never used again” and that several of the Company’s “wells had not been in use for 12 months at the time Range Resources submitted its applications for inactive status,” even though “after 12 consecutive months of no production, the well would be classified as abandoned and must be plugged.” In addition to paying the DEP’s civil penalty, Range Resources was ultimately required to plug the wells the agency identified as having no viable future use to remediate the issue.

On February 11, 2021, as the market fully digested the significance of the DEP’s announcement, Range Resources’ stock price fell $0.62 per share, or 6.08%, from its closing price on February 10, 2021, to close at $9.57 per share on February 11, 2021.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all Range Resources Corporation shareholders who purchased common stock during the Class Period and are therefore a member of the Class as described above.  You may move the Court no later than Monday, May 3, 2021 to serve as a lead plaintiff for the entire Class.  However, in order to do so, you must meet certain legal requirements pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

If you wish to discuss this action, obtain further information and participate in this or any other securities litigation, or should you have any questions or concerns regarding this notice or preservation of your rights, please contact:  Robin Hester at rkh@federmanlaw.com

 

let’s connect

Click Here to Complete Federman & Sherwood Fee Agreement.

OKLAHOMA Office

10205 North Pennsylvania Avenue
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73120

TEXAS Office

212 W. Spring Valley Road,
Richardson, Texas 75081