Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP Commences Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Cushing MLP Total Return Fund Investors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On February 10, 2009, Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, on behalf of all persons who purchased the shares of Cushing MLP Total Return Fund (the “Fund”) [NYSE:SRV] between September 1, 2008 and December 19, 2008, inclusive (the “Class Period”), against Swank Energy Income Advisors, LP (“Swank Advisors”), Swank Capital, LLC, Jerry V. Swank, Mark W. Fordyce, CPA, Brian R. Bruce, Ronald P. Trout, and Edward N. McMillan, alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 78(i)(b), 78(t) and 78t-1(a), and breach of fiduciary duty claims under Section 36(b) of the ICA, 15 U.S.C. § 80a-35(b) (the “Class”).

The case name is styled Bachow v. Swank Energy Income Advisors, LP, et al. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP website at www.whafh.com.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants grossly and falsely overstated Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) by including the full value of a $49.1 million deferred tax asset in the Fund’s stated NAV, without establishing an appropriate valuation reserve against the risk that the Fund could or would never utilize or recognize the deferred tax asset.

The Complaint further alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants also concealed the fact that the deferred tax asset was the Fund’s largest asset and accounted for more than one-half of the Fund’s stated NAV.

On December 19, 2008, Defendants caused the Fund to announce that it had established a $49.1 million valuation reserve against the deferred tax asset, essentially reducing the value of the deferred tax asset to zero and reducing the Fund’s stated NAV by $49.1 million.

When Defendants caused the Fund to write down the deferred tax asset to zero on December 19, 2008, and reduced the Fund’s stated NAV accordingly, the market price at which the Fund’s shares traded plummeted by nearly 50 percent, dropping from $7.40 immediately before the announcement to just $3.81 after it, causing Fund shareholders to lose tens of millions of dollars.

In ignorance of the false and misleading nature of the statements described in the complaint, and the deceptive and manipulative devices and contrivances employed by said defendants, plaintiff and the other members of the Class relied, to their detriment, on the integrity of the market price of the Fund’s shares. Had plaintiff and the other members of the Class known the truth, they would not have purchased said shares, or would not have purchased them at the inflated prices that were paid.

If you purchased the Fund’s shares during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff by April 14, 2009. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as “lead plaintiff.” Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wolf Haldenstein, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has approximately 70 attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in Chicago, New York City, San Diego, and West Palm Beach. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP at 270 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, by telephone at (800) 575-0735 (Mark C. Rifkin, Esq. or Derek Behnke), via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com or visit our website at www.whafh.com. All e-mail correspondence should make reference to Cushing.