Judge considers motion to dismiss lawsuit against Cheney, Halliburton

[Wonder]

DALLAS - Halliburton Co. asked a federal judge Tuesday to throw out a lawsuit charging that the company and Vice President Dick Cheney, its former chief executive, misled investors by changing the way it counted revenue from construction projects.

A lawyer for Judicial Watch, a public interest group that filed the lawsuit on behalf of three small investors, said the company tried to polish its financial reports beginning in 1998 by booking revenue on cost overruns before it was certain of getting paid.

Halliburton shares dropped sharply when the oilfield-services company's performance sagged in 2001. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the accounting change and the way Halliburton disclosed it.

Houston-based Halliburton recently agreed to pay $6 million to settle about 20 potential class-action lawsuits that raised the same charges but didn't name Cheney as a defendant.

more...
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/6412106.htm