5 Ex-Andersen Execs Won’t Face Enron Shareholder Suit

HOUSTON — Five former executives at Arthur Andersen, including former in-house counsel Nancy Temple, won’t face a lawsuit brought by Enron Corp. shareholders seeking $26 billion in damages.

U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon on Tuesday threw out claims against the former employees of Andersen, which was the world’s fifth-largest accounting firm until its role in the Enron bankruptcy filing led to an exodus of customers and a criminal conviction. The judge let claims against 13 others stand.

Temple invoked her 5th Amendment right against self- incrimination in refusing to testify at Andersen’s criminal trial about an e-mail that a former partner said he interpreted as instructions to destroy documents.

Andersen was convicted of obstructing justice in the government’s Enron investigation.

A congressional committee last month wrote to Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, suggesting that Temple committed perjury in testimony before the panel last year.

Harmon said she dismissed the claims because they were vague and failed to identify which individuals took fraudulent actions. She allowed claims against the other 13 Andersen executives to proceed based on allegations that they had control over accountants and auditors at the firm.

Enron workers and investors are seeking $26 billion in a class-action suit that names Enron executives and directors as well as Andersen and its executives.

Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after restating $586 million in profit and revealing a network of off-the-books partnerships used to hide debt and inflate profit.