Amerco sues accounting firm

Amerco, the Reno-based parent company of U-Haul, announced last week that it has filed suit against its former auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The complaint seeks actual and punitive damages in excess of $2.5 billion dollars as a result of the negligent, fraudulent and tortious conduct of PwC during the last seven years of its audit engagement.

Amerco terminated PwC as its auditor on July 17, 2002.

The lawsuit outlines a series of events that have resulted in the need for Amerco to restructure its balance sheet and secure over $850 million in new financing.

"We attempted to resolve this matter without the need for a lawsuit, but our efforts were rebuffed at several levels, from the very top of PwC to the local confirming audit partner.

Something is wrong when an audit client of 24 years can't get an honest and fair hearing," stated Gary Klinefelter, Amerco general counsel in a prepared statement.

In related news, Amerco said its has created an Independent Governance Committee, to be chaired by two of its board members, to monitor and evaluate the company's corporate governance principles and standards.