Judge to Cobb Energy: Disclose preferred shareholders

The for-profit company that operates Marietta-based Cobb EMC must disclose all of its preferred shareholders, a Cobb County judge ruled Monday.

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The for-profit, Cobb Energy, also has to disclose its compensation for Dwight Brown, the president of both companies.

The ruling by Superior Court Judge Michael Stoddard is part of an ongoing battle between co-op Cobb EMC and its customers.

Customers sued last fall, saying ties between the co-op and its operating company had siphoned the customer-owned co-op’s assets and enriched co-op insiders.

Cobb Energy’s operates the co-op for a markup that over time grew to 11 percent from 2 percent.

Stoddard is handling discovery issues in the case. His ruling comes after Cobb EMC’s board moved to buy out Cobb Energy and its preferred stockholders.

Cobb Energy has about 155 such shareholders, who earn quarterly dividends on their investment.

Only a handful of them have had their identities made public. Under the buyout proposed by Cobb EMC, the co-op would buy their Cobb Energy stock.

Stoddard’s ruling largely backed the plaintiffs in the case. Only one issue remains unresolved.

Cobb Energy has yet to release its 2007 financial report, saying that its auditors have not yet signed off on it.

Cobb Energy’s accounting firm has said that it can’t set a date for releasing that report, Stoddard wrote.

The judge said Cobb Energy must convince him not to order the financial information released, at a hearing scheduled next week.