First Energy Corp.'s Alleged Bribe Payers Must Be Named in Court

An attorney representing a FirstEnergy Corp. shareholder in her derivative suit against the company and more than a dozen officers and directors must immediately name the individuals who allegedly paid bribes to Ohio state lawmakers, a federal court in the state said Tuesday.

The suit alleges FirstEnergy conspired to obtain “a billion-dollar bailout” in the form of legislation increasing ratepayer surcharges.

Confidentiality agreements and privilege don’t protect the attorney from divulging the bribe payers’ identities as he argued at a recent hearing, Judge John R. Adams said for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

The requirement ...