Pension Fund Hits Halliburton with Fiduciary Breach Suit

May 14, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Policemen and Firemen Retirement System of Detroit has filed suit against Halliburton Company and its one-time subsidiary KBR, Inc., over allegations of "poor oversight and lack of internal controls."

The complaint, filed by theGrant & Eisenhoferlaw firm, accuses Halliburton’s board of directors of breach of fiduciary duty in “failing to rein in years of shoddy business practices and criminal activity that resulted in massive fines, penalties and settlements paid to the federal government.”

The complaint states, “As fiduciaries… the Halliburton defendants were required to exercise prudent supervision over the management, policies, practices, controls, and financial and corporate affairs of Halliburton and KBR, which Halliburton controlled.”

According to the complaint, the full extent of alleged misdeeds was successfully hidden by the two firms until KBR was spun off as an independent company in 2006.  Named as defendants are 32 former and current directors of Halliburton and KBR, a news release about the suit indicated.

“As officers and directors of the companies,” the suit asserts, “the defendants were required to ensure that the companies’ internal controls were in place, functioning properly, and sufficiently strong to prevent it from committing wrongful or illegal acts.” 

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