US court denies certification against Barrick Gold in Bre-X Case

A U.S. court has denied certification of a class- action lawsuit against several defendants, including Canadian gold producer Barrick Gold Corp., related to now defunct Bre-X Minerals Ltd.

Barrick said in a news release Tuesday that Judge David Folsom of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Court of Texas denied all pending motions of the plaintiffs seeking to certify the class action in the lawsuit.

Under U.S. rules, the plaintiffs have the right to appeal the judge's decision.

As reported, Barrick was added as a defendant in the class-action lawsuit initiated against Bre-X, certain of its directors and officers or former officers and directors and others, in April 1998.

Barrick said the class action alleges, among other things, that statements made by Barrick in connection with its efforts to secure the right to develop and operate the Busang gold deposit in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, were materially false, misleading, and omitted material facts related to the preliminary due-diligence investigation undertaken by Barrick in late 1996.

On July 13, 1999, the court dismissed the claims against Barrick and several other defendants on the grounds that the plaintiffs had failed to state a claim under U.S. securities laws. On Aug. 19, 1999, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint and filed a further amended complaint on June 14, 2000. On March 31, 2001, the court granted in part and denied in part Barrick's motion to dismiss the amended complaint.(*)