Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Documentl 6 Filed08/05/11 Pagel of 74
1 Christopher Heffelfinger (SBN 118058)
Anthony D. Phillips (SBN 259688)
2 BERMAN DEVALERIO
One California Street, Suite 900
3 San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (415) 433-3200
4 Fax: (415) 433-6382
Email: cheffelfinger@bermandevalerio.com
5
aphillips@bermandevalerio.com
Liaison Counsel for Proposed Lead Plaintiff Thomas Burriss
6
and Proposed Liaison Counsel for the Class
7 Lester L. Levy
8 James Kelly
WOLF POPPER LLP
9 845 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022
10 Telephone: (212) 759-4600
Facsimile: (212) 486-2093
E-mail: IRRep@wolfpopper.com
11
Attorneys for Proposed Lead Plaintiff Thomas Burriss
12 and Proposed Lead Counsel
13
14
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
15
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
16
17 18 VINCE BONATO, Individually and on
Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated,
) Case No. CV-11-02732 CRB
)
) DECLARATION OF LESTER L. LEVY
19
Plaintiff,
) IN SUPPORT OF MOTION OF THOMAS
) BURRISS FOR APPOINTMENT AS
20
VS.
) LEAD PLAINTIFF AND APPROVAL OF
) HIS SELECTION OF LEAD COUNSEL
21
YAHOO! INC., CAROL A. BARTZ, and )
22 JERRY YANG,
) Date: Friday, September 9, 2011
Defendants.
) Time: 10:00 a.m.
23
) Judge: Charles R. Breyer
) Ctrm. 6
24
25 26
27
28
[CV-11-02732 CR13] DECL. OF LESTER LEVY ISO MO. OF THOMAS BURRISS FOR APPOINTMENT AS
LEAD PL. & LEAD COUNSEL
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08/05/11 Page2 of 74
1
2
I, Lester L. Levy, hereby declare as follows:
1.
I am a member of the law firm of Wolf Popper LLP. 1 submit this Declaration in
3 Support of the Motion of Thomas Burriss for Appointment as Lead Plaintiff and for Approval of His
4 Selection of Lead Counsel.
5
2.
Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of the notice published by the
6 plaintiff in Vince Bonato vs. Yahoo! Inc., Carol A. Bartz, and Jerry Yang, Case No. CV-11-02732
7 CRB (N.D. Cal.), on June 6, 2011 by Business Wire
8
3.
Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of the Certification of Plaintiff
9 Thomas Burriss pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Local Rule 3-7.
10
4.
Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a true and correct copy of a chart summarizing the
11 losses suffered by Thomas Burriss in this ease, which my firm prepared based on data provided by
12 Thomas Burriss.
13
5.
Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of the firm resume of Wolf
14 Popper LIT.
15
6.
Attached hereto as Exhibit E is a true and correct copy of the firm resume of Berman
16 DeValerio.
17
I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
18
19 Executed on this 3' day of August 2011,111 New York, New York.
20
21
22
Lester L. Levy
23
24
25
26
27
28
Jue
[CV- 11-02732CR81 DEO_ OF LESTER LEVY ISO MO. OF TEEOMAS BURRISS FOR APPOINTMENT AS
LEAD PL. Sc, LEAD COUNSEL
Ca se3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08/05/11 Page3 of 74
EXHIBIT A
Robbins Geller Rudman
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Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Files Class Action Suit Against Yahoo!
Inc.
Press Release Source: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP On Monday June 6, 2011, 8:07 pm EDT
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESSWIRE)-- Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP ("Robbins Geller") (II ttp j iwww igt
conveaseslyah twine')
today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of
purchasers of Yahoo! Inc. ("Yahoo") (NASDAQ:YHOO - News) common stock during the period between April 19, 2011 and May 13, 2011
(the "Class Period").
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any
questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller at
800149-4900 or 6191231-1058, or via e-mail at djngThgrdlav, corn. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as
filed or join this class action online at http w rgrd law comicasecyahooinet. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve
as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges Yahoo and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yahoo operates as
a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences across devices and worldwide.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's
business prospects. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that an important corporate asset in China had been transferred at much less than
market value. As a result of defendants' false statements and omissions, Yahoo's stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class
Period, reaching a high of $18.65 per share on May 6, 2011.
On May 10, 2011, the complaint alleges, Yahoo shareholders learned for the first time that the Company's $1 billion investment in a strategic
partnership with Alibaba Group Holdings Limited ("Alibaba"), China's largest e-commerce company, likely had been severely impaired by the
misappropriation of Alibaba's most valuable asset, Alipay, an e-commerce payment system, from Alibaba to another private company
controlled by Alibaba's Chairman, Jack Ma. On May 15, 2011, Yahoo issued a press release regarding Alipay, stating that Alibaba and its major
stockholders Yahoo and S)ftbank Corporation were "engaged in and committed to productive negotiations to resolve the outstanding issues
related to Alipay in a manner that serves the interests of all shareholders as soon as possible." According to news reports, Alibaba received only
$46 million for Alipay's assets, which securities analysts valued at $5 billion. On this news, Yahoo's stock collapsed $0.74 per share to close at
$15.81 per share on May 16, 2011— a decline of 15% from its Class Period high of $18.65 per share.
According to the complaint, the true facts, which were known by the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class
Period, were as follows: (a) Yahoo management had been informed on March 31, 2011, at the latest, that Alipay's structure had been shifted
from Alibaba, reducing the value of Yahoo's investment in Alibaba by billions of dollars; and (b) Chinese regulations regarding foreign
ownership had been anticipated to change as far back as 2009, which would require Yahoo or Alibaba to divest themselves of Alipay, but
Yahoo had failed to develop a strategy to recover the value it had in Alibaba.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Yahoo common stock during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is
represented by Robbins Geller, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial
fraud.
Robbins Geller, a 180-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and
Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many
important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. The Robbins
Geller Web site (httr iwww rgrdlau.com) has more information about the firm.
1 of 2
8/5/11 1:50 PM
Robbins Geller Rudman
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Contact:
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
Darren Robbins, 800-449-4900 or 619-231-1058
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Ca se3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08/05/11 Page6 of 74
EXHIBIT B
Case3 . 11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08/05/11 Page7 of 74
PLAINTIFF CERTIFICATION
1, Thomas Burriss, hereby state:
have reviewed a complaint against Yahoo!. Inc., Carol Ban, and Jerry Yang,
filed by Vince Bonato in the U.S.D.C. in the Northern District of California and have authorized
the filing of a lead plaintiff motion on my behalf by Wolf Popper LLP in that action (the
-Action").
2.
I did not purchase the securities that are the subject of the Action at the direction
of counsel or in order to participate in the Action.
3.
I am willing to serve as a representative party on behalf of a class, including
providing testimony at deposition and trial, if necessary,
4.
During the period from April 19, 2011 through May 13, 2011,1 made the
transactions in Yahoo!. Inc.. common stock as reflected on the attached schedule.
During the three-year period preceding the date of my signing this certification,
5.
have not sought to serve, nor have I served, as a representative on behalf of a class in a private
action arising under the federal securities laws.
6.
I will not accept any payment for serving as a representative party on behalf of a
class except to receive my pro rata share of any recovery, or as ordered or approved by the
Court, including the award to a representative party of reasonable costs and expenses including
lost wages relating to the representation of the class.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this
tt day of July, 2011
13
bi
Doe 171258
•
.
6.
Thomas Burriss
•
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08/05/11 Page8 of 74
SCHEDULE
Thomas Burriss
Date
Purchases
5/11/2011
5/11/2011
5,000
3,000
Purchase Price Per Share
Purchase Total
$17.67
$17.37
$88,350,00
$52,110.00
Total
$140,460.00
Sales
6/10/2011
8,000
Sales Price Per Share
Sales Proceeds Total
$15.14
$121,120.00
Total
$121,120.00
Total Loss
($19,340.00)
Ca se3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08/05/11 Page9 of 74
EXHIBIT C
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08/05/11 Pagel 0 of 74
SCHEDULE
Thomas Burriss
Date
Purchases
5/11(2011
5111/2011
5,000
3,000
Purchase Price Per Share
Purchase Total
817,67
$1727
$88,350,00
$52,110.00
Total
$140,460.00
Sales
6/10/2011
8,000
Sales Price Per Share
Sales Proceeds Total
$15,14
$12112000
Total
$121,120.00
Total Loss
iS19:340,00) Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Documentl 6 Filed08/05/11 Pagel 1 of 74
EXHIBIT D
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Documentl 6 Filed08105111 Pagel 2 of 74
Wolf Popper tie
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WOLF POPPER LLP
Wolf Popper LLP ("Wolf Popper" or "the Firm") is a nationally recognized law firm with
decades of experience in the fields of securities, consumer, and ERISA class actions and securities
derivative actions. Since the Firm was founded in 1945, Wolf Popper has been a leader in efforts to
protect the interests of defrauded investors, consumers, and employees, prosecuting hundreds of actions
under federal and state laws tlu-oughout the United States, and recovering billions for aggrieved parties.
The Firm also has a substantial practice in corporate and commercial law. Wolf Popper's
commercial litigation practice encompasses the representation of defendants as well as plaintiffs. The
Firm's corporate practice includes business transactions, employer/employee relations, and the law of
foreign missions. Among the Firm's clients are domestic and international individuals and businesses,
and foreign missions to the United Nations.
The Firm's members have been on the faculty of the Practicing Law Institute and are active
members in a variety of professional legal associations, including serving on or chairing a number of
committees of such associations. The Firm's members include graduates from the law schools of
Harvard, Columbia, and New York University, and many of the Firm's members have written
extensively on a variety of subjects for numerous professional associations and legal periodicals.
Many of the Firm's current and former members have held responsible positions in government both
at the federal and the state level. For example, Benedict Wolf (now deceased) was the First Secretary
and Chief Trial Examiner of the National Labor Relations Board, and Martin Popper (now deceased)
was a consultant to the U.S. Delegation to the Founding Conference of the United Nations and was
vice-president of the Consular Law Society.
Wolf Popper has an exemplary record in its representation of plaintiffs, and the skill and
experience of the attorneys at the Firm have been repeatedly recognized by Courts throughout the
country. In recognition of its high standing at the bar, Courts have frequently appointed Wolf Popper
to serve as lead or co-lead counsel in complex, multi-party actions, including securities, consumer, and
ERISA actions. Many of the Wolf Popper attorneys are regularly selected as New York "Super
Lawyers"*. This selection represents the top 5% of attorneys practicing in New York City.
Wolf Popper has achieved notable and significant successes over the years, some of which are
detailed below. As a recent example, the Firm was appointed as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Royal Bank
of Scotland Group plc Securities Litigation, No.1:09-cv-00300-DAB (S.D.N. Y.). The case stems from
allegations that defendants falsely reassured investors that Royal Bank of Scotland was well capitalized
when, in fact, the company was effectively insolvent as a result of impaired assets, bad loans, and its
disastrous partial acquisition of ABN AMRO. The Firm was appointed interim co-lead counsel in In
re American International Group, Inc. ERISA Litigation II Master File: 09 Civ. 5722 (LTS)(KNF), a
consolidated ERISA class action alleging claims against fiduciaries for, inter alia, mismanagement of
ERISA plan assets. The Firm was also recently appointed as co-lead counsel in a class action brought
on behalf of all persons or entities who acquired the Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates and AssetBacked Pass-Through Certificates ("Certificates") of J.P. Morgan Acceptance Corporation. The
complaint alleges that J.P. Morgan caused registration statements to be filed with the Securities and
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Documentl 6 Hec08105111 Pagel 3 of 74
Wolf Popper LLP
Page -2Exchange Commission in connection with the issuance of billions of dollars of Certificates that were
backed by pools of mortgage and misrepresented the fact that many of the underlying mortgage loans
had been issued to borrowers who were not qualified to borrow for various reasons.
A sample of some of the outstanding recoveries achieved and decisions obtained by the Firm
is described below.
Securities Actions:
In the Motorola Securities Litigation 03C287 (RRP) (N.D. Ill.), Wolf Popper
•
represented the Lead Plaintiff, the State of New Jersey, Department of Treasury, Division of
Investment. On the eve of trial, the defendants paid $190,000,000 to the class to resolve the federal
securities litigation. This recovery was obtained after more than four years of litigation. During the
litigation, Wolf Popper, among other things, defeated Motorola's motion to dismiss the complaint
(2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18250 (Sept. 9, 2004, N.D. Ill.)) and Motorola's motions for summary
judgment (2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9530 (Feb. 8, 2007, N.D. Ill.)).
•
In Middlesex Retirement System v. Quest Software Inc. No. 06-06863-DOC(RNBx)
(C.D. Cal.), Wolf Popper was appointed lead counsel in a federal securities class action against Quest
Software, Inc. ("Quest"), a company that designs, develops, distributes and supports software products.
The case is based on allegations that Quest issued materially false and misleading statements to cover
up its failure to account properly for backdated stock options, causing Quest's operating and net income
to be overstated and its stock price to be artificially inflated. Following comprehensive briefing
opposing defendants' initial motion to dismiss, the Court denied virtually all of defendants' motion.
Defendants filed subsequent motions to dismiss challenging the amended complaint which had added
additional allegations. The Court denied defendants' motions to dismiss the claims under § 10(b) and
§ 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. See Middlesex Retirement System v. Quest Software,
Inc., 527 F. Supp.2d 1164 (C.D. Cal. 2007); and Amended Order (C.D. Cal. July 10, 2008). After
comprehensive discovery and the giant of plaintiff's motion to compel discovery and plaintiff's motion
for class certification, see Middlesex Retirement System v. Quest Software Inc. Order, CV 06-6863DOC (RNBx) (C.D. Cal. Jul. 8, 2009), aff'd, Order (C.D. Cal. Sept. 18, 2009) (order granting
Plaintiff's motion to compel); and Order, CV 06-6863-DOC (RNBx) (C.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2009)
(Granting Lead Plaintiff's Motion for Class Certification), the parties entered into a proposed
settlement of the action for $29.4 million (plus the cost of providing notice of the settlement to the
class). The Court preliminarily approved the settlement, stating "[Thu really have the court's
profound congratulations and compliments," and, on April 26, 2010, gave final approval to the
settlement.
•
In Huberman v. Tag-It Pacific Inc., Case No. 2:05-cv-07352-R(Ex) (C.D. Cal.), Wolf
Popper successfully appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendants and the
denial of class certification. In addition to reversing summary judgment, the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals also reversed the district court's denial of class certification, and ordered the district court to
certify the class. Huberman v. Tag-It Pacific Inc., 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 2780 (9 th Cir. Jan. 16, 2009).
The parties have subsequently settled the litigation and the Court approved the settlement on December
7, 2009.
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08105111 Pagel 4 of 74
Wolf Popper LLP
Page -3In Thurber v. Mattel Master File No. CV-99-10368-MRP(CWx) (C.D. Cal.) (§10(b)
•
claims) and Dusek v. Mattel Master File No. CV-99-10864-MRP(CWx) (C.D. Cal.) (§14(a) claims),
Wolf Popper was a member of the Executive Committee of Plaintiffs' counsel, but was also specifically
appointed by the Federal Court to have primary responsibility for the prosecution of the Dusek v.
Mattel §14(a) claims. After more than three years of extremely hard-fought litigation, including two
rounds of motions to dismiss, the production of millions of documents, and the taking or defending of
more than 40 depositions, both cases settled for the aggregate sum of $122 million, with $61 million
allocated for the Dusek v. Mattel §14(a) claims, believed to be the largest settlement of a § 14(a) case.
Upon approving the settlement, the Judge complimented counsel saying that the settlement was an
"awfully good result." The Judge also specifically found that "Wolf Popper LLP vigorously prosecuted
the Dusek action and zealously represented the interests of the Dusek class members" and that Wolf
Popper zealously performed in a "very capable and professional manner."
•
Wolf Popper LLP was a co-lead settlement counsel for the plaintiff class in In re Service
Corporation Internat'l Civil Action No. H-99-280 (S.D. Tex.). The action alleged that defendants
made material misrepresentations in connection with Service Corp.'s January 1999 stock-for-stock
acquisition of Equity Corp. International. Based on the strength of the amended complaint, and
presentation at mediation sessions, Wolf Popper recovered $63 million for the plaintiff class. The
settlement, approved in 2004, was an extraordinary recovery inasmuch as there were no allegations of
insider trading, a SEC investigation, or an accounting restatement, and the District Court had spent over
four years deliberating over defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint, lessening plaintiffs' leverage
in settlement negotiations.
•
In Stanley v. Safeskin, Lead Case No. 99cv454-BTM(LSP) (S.D. Cal.), Wolf Popper
served as Court-appointed Co-lead Counsel for Plaintiffs, in which the Court approved a $55 million
settlement in favor of plaintiffs on March 20, 2003. The Honorable Barry T. Moskowitz thereafter
complimented Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel, noting his "incredible respect for the work that the lawyers
did." Describing Plaintiffs' counsel as "highly skilled in these cases," Judge Moskowitz commented
that he was "kind of looking forward to trying this case, because it would have the best lawyers in the
country trying this case...." The Court subsequently further complimented Co-Lead Counsel, stating
that "competency is too weak of a word -- the extraordinary ability of these firms * * * I really thought
that the Plaintiffs' law firms in this case not only had extraordinary ability to deal with the complicated
factual issues -- and it certainly was a difficult case, and you should be applauded in that regard."
Paying Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel perhaps an ultimate compliment, the Court further said, "From the
plaintiffs' perspective -- and I say this for all the firms -- you handled it on a much higher plane,
probably on a textbook or ideal plane. If they would teach people how it should be done in law school,
this would be the example of, how the lawyers handle this case."
•
In Buxbaum v. Deutsche Bank, A.G. 98 Civ. 8460 (JGK) (S.D.N.Y.), Wolf Popper
recovered $58 million as co-lead counsel in a major securities fraud action against Deutsche Bank,
A.G. and its senior officer. The action alleged that Deutsche Bank defrauded Bankers Trust
shareholders by misrepresenting the status of takeover negotiations for Deutsche Bank to acquire
Bankers Trust. The District Court's opinion denying defendants' motion to dismiss is reported at Fed.
Sec. L. Rep. (CCH)1j90,969 (S.D.N.Y. 2000). The decision denying defendants' motion for summary
judgment is reported at 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1893 (S.D.N.Y., Jan. 30, 2002). The $58 million
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Documentl 6 Filed08105111 Pagel 5 of 74
Wolf Popper LLP
Page -4recovery, obtained on the eve of trial, was equivalent to approximately 48% of the class' maximum
possible recovery, and approximately 96% of the class' most likely recovery.
•
In In re Sunbeam Sec. Litig. 98-8258-Civ.-Middlebrooks (S.D. Fl.), Wolf Popper was
appointed co-lead counsel. The case was brought against Sunbeam, its auditors, and former officers
and directors of the company, including "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap. Plaintiffs reached a partial settlement
with Sunbeam's auditors, Arthur Andersen, for $110 million - one of the largest settlements ever with
an accounting firm in a securities class action - and reached a separate settlement with the individual
defendants that included more than $18 million in cash plus a separate $13 million recovery from the
company's excess insurance policies.
•
In In re Providian Financial Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1301 (E.D. Pa.), Wolf Popper was colead counsel for the plaintiff class and obtained a $38 million recovery from the defendants. The Court,
in approving the settlement in June 2002, remarked on the "extremely high quality" and "skill and
efficiency" of plaintiffs' counsel's work, which the Court stated it had seen throughout the litigation.
The Court also noted the "extremely high quality" of Wolf Popper's work is reflected in the result
which it obtained and in the fact that it is a nationally prominent firm with extensive experience in the
field.
•
In In re FTD.com , Inc. Shareholder Litig. C.A. No. 19458-NC (Del. Ch.), Wolf Popper
was co-lead counsel in an action in Delaware Chancery Court that alleged that members of the board
of directors of FTD.com abused their control of the company by taking FTD.com private under terms
advantageous to them but not to FTD.com's public shareholders. After mediation, co-lead counsel
obtained a recovery which came to more than 99% of the damages claimed by members of the class.
In Danis v. USN Communications, Inc., No. 98 C 7482 (N.D. Ill., May 30, 2001), the
•
Court approved a settlement Wolf Popper obtained of approximately $45 million for investors,
expressly thanking Plaintiffs' co-lead counsel "for all the work you have done and constructive
results."
•
In Retsky Family Limited Partnership v. Price Waterhouse LLP No. 97 C 7694 (N.D.
Ill., June 18, 2001), an arbitration before a court appointed arbitrator, after a full hearing and several
days of testimony, the arbitrator awarded plaintiffs the total damages claimed.
•
Wolf Popper achieved a benefit of over $50 million in the settlement of the litigation
over the merger of the American Stock Exchange and the NASD in Philipson v. American Stock
Exchange 98 Civ. 4219 (DC) (S.D.N.Y., Transcript of Proceedings, February 18, 1999, at 8-11), in
which the Court complimented the Firm for its "terrific job" in negotiating a "substantial [recovery]."
Wolf Popper was co-lead counsel in In re Chambers Development Co. Sec. Litig. C.A.
•
No. 92-0679 (W.D. Pa.) that resulted in a $95 million cash settlement for the class in 1996.
•
Wolf Popper was the Chair of Plaintiffs' Executive and Scheduling Committees in the
consolidated litigation arising out of the national scandal at Wedtech Corporation. In re Wedtech Sec.
Litig. M 21-36 (LBS) MDL 735 (S.D.N. Y.). The action was settled in 1992 for $77.5 million, one of
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08105111 Pagel 6 of 74
Wolf Popper LLP
Page -5the then largest settlements in a securities fraud action.
•
Wolf Popper served as co-lead counsel in In re Prime Motor Inns Shareholder Litig.
Master File No. 90-87 (DRD) (D.N.J.). At the conclusion of the case in 1993, Judge Debevoise
complimented plaintiffs' counsel, stating, "The plaintiffs' attorneys have performed their work
aggressively, skillfully and with good effect."
•
Wolf Popper served as a member of Plaintiffs' Executive Committee and as Plaintiffs'
Lead Settlement Counsel in In re Gulf Oil/Cities Service Tender Offer Litig., 82 Civ. 5253 (MBM)
(S.D.N.Y.), where a settlement of $34 million, achieved only after the case was fully prepared for trial,
was approved by the Court in May 1992.
•
Wolf Popper was the plaintiffs' co-trial counsel in Bella Abzug et ano. v. Kerkorian
et al. CA 000981, Superior Court, Los Angeles, California, which was settled during trial in October
1990 for $35 million.
•
Wolf Popper was the plaintiffs' co-lead counsel in a litigation that resulted in the then
largest recovery in the history of securities class actions. In In re The Standard Oil Company/British
Petroleum Litig., Consolidated Case No. 12676, Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, Ohio,
plaintiffs' counsel negotiated and obtained a benefit for the class in excess of $600 million. In its ruling
which approved in full counsels' application for attorneys' fees, the Court commented favorably on the
quality of co-lead counsel:
The professional skill required to achieve the resultant benefits to this Class has been
evidenced on nearly a daily basis by this Court.
As a result of this professional skill and excellent representation, these benefits to the
Class would not have otherwise been achieved.
The Court has fully weighed in its decision the benefits bestowed on the Class. At this
juncture the Court finds that the benefit is unprecedented.
•
Wolf Popper was co-lead counsel in the case producing the largest recovery in a
securities class action prior to the Standard Oil litigation. In Joseph, et al v. Shell Oil Company, et al.
Consolidated Civil Action No. 7450 (Del. Ch., April 19, 1985), the plaintiff stockholders successfully
petitioned the Delaware Chancery Court to enjoin the proposed merger of Shell Oil Company and
Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, 482 A.2d 335, Del. Ch. 1984). In approving the $205 million
recovery in the Shell Oil Litigation Vice Chancellor Maurice Hartnett stated . "The results achieved
in this case for the class are outstanding."
•
Wolf Popper played a major role in representing the rights of shareholders in the
notorious Boesky/Drexel/Milken trading scandal involving Ivan F. Boesky, Dennis B. Levine, Kidder
Peabody & Co. Incorporated, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Drexel, Michael R. Milken, and others. These
actions arose from the illegal use by various individuals of non-public information about publicly
traded corporations, conveyed to them from high level executives at these large investment firms, to
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08105111 Pagel 7 of 74
Wolf Popper LLP
Page -6reap illicit profits for personal gain. Wolf Popper was appointed co-lead counsel in several of these
actions, including the Boesky insider trading class litigation pending in the Southern District of New
York, to represent classes of shareholders who suffered losses as a result of these illicit activities. In
re Ivan F. Boesky Sec. Litig., MDL 732, MDL-21-45-MP (S.D.N. Y.). The Firm is also one of the lead
counsel in the Drexel/Milken litigation also pending in the Southern District of New York. In re Drexel
Burnham Lambert Group Inc. et al. Debtors, 90 Civ. 6954 (MP), 90-B-10421 (FGC) (S.D.N.Y.).
After intensive litigation, the Firm helped recover in excess of $800 million for investors. In the global
settlement of these Milken related litigations, the Court specifically certified a worldwide class of
investors after notice was given throughout the world, in addition to publications in newspapers
worldwide.
•
Wolf Popper was a court-appointed co-lead counsel representing a class of Salomon
Brothers securities purchasers who brought an action under the federal securities laws arising out of
violations of rules of the United States Department of the Treasury in connection with certain auctions
of government securities, In re Salomon Brothers Inc. Sec. Litig. 91 Civ. 5442 (RPP) (S.D.N.Y.). The
litigation ultimately settled for over $54 million.
•
The Firm was co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in litigation involving the alleged
"greenmail" of Walt Disney Company by Saul Steinberg and his Reliance Group, Heckmann v.
Ahmanson C.A. 000851 (Superior Court, Cal.) (co-lead counsel for derivative actions). There the Los
Angeles Superior Court in September 1989 approved a settlement providing for a cash payment of $45
million plus the therapeutic benefit of the termination of certain defendants' claim for rescission which
potentially would have cost the company in excess of a billion dollars.
Numerous other cases in which the Firm acted as sole lead or co-lead counsel for plaintiffs
resulted in multi-million dollar settlements in favor of plaintiffs, including, for example:
• In re Grand Casinos, Inc. Sec. Litig., Master File No. 4-96-890 (JRT/RLE) (settled in August
2001; in one of the very early decisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, the court sustained various claims finding that plaintiffs met rigorous pleading standards
of the then new Act, 988 F. Supp. 1270 (D. Minn. 1997));
• Jonas v. Aspec Technology, Inc., Lead Case No. CV775037 (Superior Court of the State of
California, County of Santa Clara (approved in 2001);
• In re Adac Laboratories Sec. Litig., Master File No. C-98-4934-MHP;
• In re Exide Corp. Sec. Litig. 98-CV-60061-AA (E.D. Mich.)
• In re Archer Daniels Midland Co. Securities Litig., (C.D. Ill.) ($30 million recovery approved
in 1997);
• In re JWP, Inc. Sec. Litig.,Master File No. 92 Civ. 5815 (S.D.N.Y.) (recovery of $36.2
million from officers, directors, and outside auditors, approved in 1996);
• Polikoff v. Eamer Case No. BCO39354 (Superior Court, Los Angeles, Cal.) ( equitable and
therapeutic relief in addition to substantial damages approved in 1996);
• PS Group Inc. Sec. Litig. Master File No. 93-2046 (C.D. Ill., October 1995) (approved in
1995);
• In re Pacific Enterprises Sec. Litig., CV920841 JSL (EEx) (C.D. Ca., March 28, 1994) ($35
million recovery approved in 1994)(where the Judge complimented plaintiffs' co-lead counsel
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Page -7as being "outstanding lawyers" who "could not be improved on for this kind of litigation," and
"this group of lawyers merits [respect].");
• In re American Business Computers Corporation Sec. Litig. Docket No. MDL 913 (CLB)
(S .D.N. Y.)
• In re McDonnell Douglas Equipment Leasing Sec. Litig. MDL No. 873 (S.D.N.Y.)(the Court
described the Firm as "experienced and competent counsel");
• In re: Fleet/Norstar Sec. Litig., C.A. No. 90-0173-B (FJB)(D.R.I.);
• In re Marion Merrell Dow Inc. Sec. Litig. Master File No. 92-0609-CV-W-6 (W.D. Mo.);
• Hwang v. Smith Corona Corp. CA B 89-450 (TFGD) (D. Conn.) ($24.5 million recovery);
• Pill v. Metromedia, (Del. Ch. Court);
• Watkins v. Beatrice (Del. Ch. Court) ($190 million recovery);
• In re International Systems & Controls Sec. Litig. MDL 440 (S.D. Tex.) (recovery for the
class members of 100% of their damages);
• American Southwest Mortgage Sec. Litig. Civ. 89-462 TUC RMB (D. Az. 1992);
• Seidman v. Stauffer Chemical Co. (D.Conn.);
• Flohr v. Borman's, (S.D.N.Y.) (recovery for class members of over 90% of their damages);
• In re Elscint, Ltd. Sec. Litig. MDL 675 (D. Mass.);
• Zinberg v. Washington Bancorp Inc., (D.N.J.) (recovery for the class members of 200% of
their damages);
• In re Philips N.V. Sec. Litig. Master File 90 Civ. 3044 (RPP) (S.D.N.Y.);
• Rand v. Lorimar 88 Civ. 3179 (LLS) (S.D.N.Y.);
• In re Jefferson Smurfit Corporation Shareholders' Litig., consolidated C A No. 11006 (Del.
Ch.);
• In re National Education Corp. Sec. Litig. Master File No. SACV-89-405-AHS (RWRX)
(C.D. Cal.);
• In re Phillips Petroleum Sec. Litig., Master File No. Misc. 85-75-MMS (D. Del.);
• Fine, et al. v. Houston Oil Trust, et al. C.A. No. H-82-551 (S.D. Tex.) (settlement of
approximately $45 million);
• In re Beverly Enterprises Sec. Litig., Master File No. CV-88-01189 (RSWL) (Tx) (C.D.
Cal.);
• In re Tenneco Inc. Sec. Litig. Master File No. H-912010 (S.D. Tex.) ($50 million
settlement);
• In re Telerate, Inc. Shareholders Litig. Civil Action No. 1115 (consolidated) (Del. Ch.)
(acquiring company required to pay $3 more per share);
• In re Henley Manufacturing Corporation Shareholders Litig. Consolidated Civil Action No.
10445 (Del. Ch.) (class recovery of $10 per share increase in tender offer price, a $26 million
benefit, plus additional therapeutic benefits);
• In re Kaypro Corporation Shareholder Litig., Master File No. 84-2091 N(M) (S.D. Cal.);
• Rand v. Lorimar Telepictures Corp. 88 Civ. 3179 (LLS) (S.D.N.Y.);
• Grobow v. Dingman Civil No. 575076 (Superior Court, Cal.) and Civil No. 87-0889 JLI
(IEG) (S.D. Cal.) (settlement, comprised of monetary and equitable relief, valued by experts
at in excess of $52 million, of federal and state class and derivative actions);
• In re E.F. Hutton Banking Practices Litig. MDL No. 649 (WK);
• Weinberger v. Shumway Civil No. 547586 (Superior Court., Cal.);
• In re Saxon Sec. Litig. 82 Civ. 3103 (S.D.N.Y.);
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Page -8• Rubenfeld and Polikoff v. Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. Civil Action Nos. 7558, 7565
(Del. Ch.);
• Bacine v. Scharffenberger C.A. 7862 (Del. Ch.);
• In re Itel Sec. Litig., C-79-2168A (N.D. Cal.) ($40 million recovery);
• In re United States Surgical Corp., (D. Conn. No. B-83-775);
• In re Digital Equipment Corporation Sec. Litig. Master File No. CA 83-3255 Y (D. Mass.).
Consumer Class Actions:
Wolf Popper's strong presence in prosecuting class actions on behalf of defrauded consumers
has similarly resulted in the return of millions of dollars to thousands of victims of unfair business
practices. These litigations in which the Firm served as sole lead or co-lead counsel include, among
others:
CLRB Hanson Industries, LLC v. Google, Inc. Case No. C 05-03649 JW PVT (N.D.
•
Cal.), in which Wolf Popper is lead counsel, representing advertisers who allege that Google
improperly overcharged them in connection with Google's Ad Words program. The settlement of the
action in the amount of $20 million was approved by the court in 2009.
•
In re Coordinated Title Insurance Cases, Index No.009600/03 (Sup. Ct., Nassau County,
NY), a New York consumer fraud action brought against various Title Insurance Companies for their
failure to charge the discounted rate for title insurance premiums in qualified refinancing transactions
and their failure to provide borrowers with notice of the discount. In approving the settlement of over
$31 million, one of the largest consumer class actions in the history of that court, at the hearing held
on July 29, 2005, the court stated:
And it's this Court's very strong opinion that what we have had before
us on all sides — Plaintiffs' side, which involves two firms, and the
Defendants, eight Defendants which involve five firms representing the
eight different Defendants — was lawyering of the highest quality. It's
always enjoyable for the Court to have high quality lawyering in front
of it. It's always my opinion that it raises the level of the Bench when
the lawyers before it proceed in a very high fashion, which has happened
in this case.
Sims v. First Consumers National Bank, Index No. 01/604536 (Sup. Ct., NY County),
•
this consumer fraud action challenged the misleading disclosure of fees in fine print in connection with
the issuance of the bank's credit cards. The lower court's dismissal of the action was unanimously
reversed by the appellate court and the action was settled in 2005 with a recovery of 100% of the
damages for the class.
•
Canning v. Concord EFS Inc. Docket No. L-6609-02 (Super. Ct., NJ, Law Division,
Camden County), a consumer fraud action brought in New Jersey on behalf of recipients of certain
public assistance benefits who were being illegally surcharged to access their benefits through ATM
machines. The settlement, approved in May 2005, provided for a recovery of 90% of the surcharges
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Page -9and an injunction halting the illegal surcharging.
•
Taylor v. American Bankers Insurance Group, Inc. 700 N. Y.S.2d 458 (App. Div., 1'
Dept. 1999), in which the Firm successfully defended against an appeal by defendants of the
certification of a nationwide class on behalf of consumers who alleged that defendants had violated
§§349 and 350 of the General Business Law by misleading consumers about the purchase of insurance
and improperly denying insurance claims. The Firm achieved a complete recovery for class members
as defendants agreed to pay class members' disputed coverage claims in full, as well as revise their
solicitations to prevent a recurrence.
•
Champod v. Iomega Corp. No. 98/600887 (Sup. Ct, N.Y. Cty. 1999), in which
purchasers of computer storage devices alleged that the product could not read certain tapes that it was
advertised as being capable of reading, and that they were improperly charged for customer assistance
calls. The Firm achieved a settlement that provided a software fix to correct the problem with reading
the tapes or, if not corrected, ultimately provided for a return of the product; the Firm also obtained a
refund of 50% of the charges for the customer assistance calls.
•
Princeton Economics Group, Inc. v. American Telephone & Telegraph Co., Civil Action
No. L-91-3221 (N.J. Super. Ct. 1995), the largest class action ever brought in New Jersey State Court.
The action, based upon AT&T's marketing and sales of a telephone system that it advertised as well
suited to small businesses because of its "conference call" features, revealed that the phone system did
not function as advertised. The participants to calls could not hear each other because the conference
feature lacked amplification. This litigation resulted in a settlement valued by the Court at $85-90
million. At the conclusion of the case, the Court noted the complexity and difficulty of the issues
involved and favorably commented that, "Ulf not for the skill and experience of class counsel, a
settlement may not have been reached or, if it had been reached, may have resulted in a significantly
diminished recovery for the class."
•
Tanzer v. HIP, (1997 WL 773695), in a unanimous decision obtained by the Firm, the
New York Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, upheld a class action complaint on behalf of
insureds who had been denied medical insurance coverage. The Firm subsequently obtained partial
summary judgment against HIP for breach of HIP's contract with its health insurance subscribers for
failing to reimburse the subscribers for anesthesia-related expenses in conjunction with surgical
procedures performed in New York State since June 7, 1993. Tanzer v. HIP Index No. 114263-95,
slip op., January 27, 1999. Ultimately, a settlement was reached which paid members of the class
100% of their damages.
•
Feinberg v. Empire Blue Cross-Blue Shield Consumer Litig. 88 Civ. 2532 (RO)
(S.D.N.Y.), in which participants in a Blue Cross Blue Shield medical insurance program alleged that
the program breached its contract with customers by paying subscribers amounts below the "usual and
customary" rates that it represented it would pay in its contract of insurance. The action was ultimately
settled with Empire agreeing to reimburse subscribers.
ERISA Litigation
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Page -10Wolf Popper has been appointed co-lead counsel in several class actions on behalf of
participants and beneficiaries of 401(k) plans, including, for example, on behalf of Citigroup and AIG.
•
On October 7, 2008, the Court approved the settlement reached by Wolf Popper LLP
and its co-counsel, on behalf of former and current employees of AIG, in the amount of $24.2 million
in In re AIG ERISA Litigation No. 04 Civ. 9387 (JES), stating that "without the work of these
[plaintiffs] attorneys there would be nothing."
Transactional Litigation
Wolf Popper's transactional litigation department has represented plaintiffs in Delaware and
other states' courts when investors in merged or acquired companies are offered inadequate
compensation for their stock or are provided inadequate information to allow such investors to make
an informed decision whether to vote for such a transaction, tender their shares in a tender offer, or seek
appraisal. Examples of merger and acquisition litigation challenging such transactions where Wolf
Popper acted as lead or co-lead counsel and contributed to the benefit include:
• Ehrenhaus v. Baker (Wachovia Corp.) Civil Action No: 08-CVS-22632 (N.C. Super. Ct.)
• Rice v. Lafarge North America, Inc. Civ. No. 268974-V (Md. Cir.) ($383 million aggregate
benefit)
• In re Aramark Corp. Shareholders Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2117-N (Del. Ch.) ($222 million
aggregate benefit).
• In re Nortek, Inc. Shareholder Litig. Consol. C.A. No. 19538-NC (Del. Ch.) ($63 million
aggregate benefit)
• In re New Valley Corp. Shareholder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 1678-N (Del. Ch.) ($28 million
aggregate benefit).
• In re Net2Phone, Inc. Shareholders Litig. Consol. C.A. No. 1467-N (Del. Ch.)
• In re William Lyon Homes Shareholder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2015-N (Del. Ch.)
• In re ftd.com Inc. Shareholder Litig. Consol. C.A. No. 19458 (Del. Ch.)
Wolf Popper has served as lead or co-lead counsel in other cases challenging transactions
involving, among others: The Topps Co., EDO Corp., James River Group, Inc., CentraCore Properties
Trust, Bioenvision, Inc., Mossimo, Inc., Genencor International Inc., Uni-Marts, Inc., Nassda Corp.,
and Chaparral Steel, Co.
Antitrust Actions:
Wolf Popper's antitrust department has represented plaintiffs nationwide in price fixing cases
and other violations of the federal antitrust laws. For example, in In the Matter of the Ocean Shipping
Antitrust Litig., MDL 395 (S.D.N.Y.) Wolf Popper was co-lead counsel and recovered over $50 million
on behalf of transatlantic shippers of goods who brought an action against the leading carriers of
containerized shipping in the United States-Europe trade for conspiracy to fix the charges made for
shipping services. The Firm served as lead or co-lead counsel in numerous other antitrust class actions,
including: Wholesale Tobacco Distributors antitrust litigation and in In re Milk Antitrust Litig. 81Civ.
1963 (RO), (S.D.N.Y. 1980; In re Bread Antitrust Litig. Master File No. CV-85-2013 (CPS)
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Page - 11(E.D.N.Y.); In re Shopping Carts Antitrust Litig. M.D.L. No. 451 (S.D.N.Y.); In re Wiring Device
Antitrust Litig., MDL 331(E.D.N.Y.) (where Chief Judge Weinstein described counsel for the plaintiffs
as "outstanding and skillful").
Environmental Or Health Actions:
The Firm's strong commitment to and experience in class actions concerning environmental
or health matters is demonstrated by the Firm's strong presence and important roles in several cases
arising from environmental disaster and health hazards. These include, among other cases, In re Exxon
Valdez Oil Spill Litig., 3AN-89-2533 Civil (Sup. Ct. Alaska) and A-89-095 Civil (D. Alaska) in which
the jury awarded judgment for the plaintiffs in the amount of $5 billion; In re Asbestos School Litig.
83-0268 (ED. Pa.); Holifield v. BP America Inc. CV-90-0722 RJX (C.D. Cal.); In re Johns-Manville
Corporation, Debtors 82 B 11656-11676 (BRL) (Bkr. S.D.N.Y.); and Ross v. A. H. Robins, Inc., 77
Civ. 1407 (CBM).
Trial Experience:
One of the reasons Wolf Popper maintains a favorable, formidable reputation is because of the
Firm's demonstrated willingness to prosecute cases through trial in order to achieve a favorable result
for our clients. The Firm's trial (and arbitration) experience includes, among other cases:
•
Zuckerman v. FoxMeyer Health Corp., 3-96-CV 2258-L (N.D. Tex. 2002), where Wolf
Popper successfully prosecuted a mini-trial before a former Magistrate Judge from the N.D. Cal. in the
context of an ADR Proceeding to determine a binding fair value of a settlement of the action.
Notwithstanding the fact that the defendant company was on the brink of insolvency (and subsequently
filed for bankruptcy), the company providing the initial layer of insurance coverage was in liquidation,
and the individual defendants were not wealthy, after presentation of the evidence, the neutral arbiter
determined in plaintiffs' favor.
•
In an arbitration before a court appointed arbitrator in Retsky Family Limited
Partnership v. Price Waterhouse LLP, No. 97 C 7694 (N.D. Ill., June 18, 2001), after a full hearing and
several days of testimony, the arbitrator awarded plaintiffs the total damages claimed.
•
The Firm served as arbitration counsel in 1997, 1998, and 1999 in several extensive
commercial arbitrations on behalf of an international airline.
•
Plaintiffs' co-trial counsel in Abzug et ano. v. Kerkorian et al. CA 000981, Superior
Court, Los Angeles, California, which was settled during trial in October 1990 for $35 million.
•
The Firm was co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in litigation involving the alleged
"greenmail" of Walt Disney Company by Saul Steinberg and his Reliance Group, Heckmann v.
Ahmanson C.A. 000851 (Superior Court, Cal.) (co-lead counsel for derivative actions). There the Los
Angeles Superior Court in September 1989 approved a settlement at trial providing for a cash payment
of $45 million plus the therapeutic benefit of the termination of certain defendants' claim for rescission
which potentially would have cost the company in excess of a billion dollars.
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Page -12•
Citron v. E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co. Del. Ch. (Civil Action No. 6219), in Delaware
Chancery Court in which the Vice-Chancellor complimented plaintiffs' counsel "for the able way in
which they presented the case," their "well-done" pre-trial briefs, and the "good job" done.
•
Odmark v. Westside Bancorporation, Inc. No. C85-1099R (W.D. Wash.), settled midway through trial in Seattle, Washington.
•
Co-trial counsel for a plaintiff class in Kreindler v. Sambo's 79 Civ. 4538
(WK)(S.D.N.Y.), which was settled during trial.
•
Co-counsel for the plaintiff class in the successful trial of Sirota v. Solitron Devices,
Inc. 75 Civ. 1383 (CLB) (S.D.N.Y.), a complex securities fraud class action prosecuted under §10(b)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. After an eleven-day trial, the jury brought in a verdict for the
plaintiff class on all issues of liability and damages which was sustained on appeal. See Sirota v.
Solitron Devices Inc. 673 F.2d 566 (2d Cir. 1982).
•
Baum v. Centronics Data Computer Corp., 85-363-L (D.N.H.), settled after trial had
commenced in New Hampshire.
•
The Firm also has tried several other actions on behalf of plaintiff classes in securities
actions in Delaware and elsewhere.
Court Commentary On The Firm:
Throughout the history of the Firm, the Courts before whom Wolf Popper has appeared have
commented favorably and repeatedly on the ability and performance of the Firm and its members. A
sampling of some of the praise the Firm has consistently received over the course of its practice include
the following cases:
•
In Middlesex Retirement System v. Quest Software Inc. CV 06-6863 DOC (RNBx)
(C. D. Cal. Dec. 7, 2009), in which Wolf Popper had been appointed by the Court as Lead Counsel and
Class Counsel, the Court stated in preliminarily approving the $29.4 million (plus cost of providing
notice) proposed settlement of the action, "once again on the record. . .I want to compliment counsel
for working extraordinarily hard;. ..this appears to be an extraordinarily fair settlement for all parties
concerned. * * * [Y]ou really have the court's profound congratulations and compliments."
•
In approving the $190,000,000 recovery for the Class in the Motorola Sec. Litig.
03C287 (N.D. Ill.), where Wolf Popper represented the lead plaintiff, the Court stated as follows "You
did a great very professional job here. This was a hard fought, but extremely professionally fought
battle and I appreciate it Thank you."
•
Wolf Popper served as co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in Conolly v. Universal American
Financial Corp., Civ. A. No. 13422/07 (Sup. Ct. NY, Dec. 9, 2008 Tr. at 74-75). At the final hearing
in the action, Hon. Alan D. Scheinkman complimented plaintiffs' co-lead counsel, stating: "The Court
has had the opportunity to see these lawyers on numerous occasions and read their submissions, not
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Wolf Popper LLP
Page -13just those relating to fees but those relating to the merits of the case and the Court has become familiar
with counsel and is impressed with their skill and knowledge and their professionalism."
•
On October 7, 2008, the Court approved the settlement reached by Wolf Popper LLP
and its co-counsel, on behalf of former and current employees of AIG, in the amount of $24.2 million
in In re AIG ERISA Litigation No. 04 Civ. 9387 (JES), stating that "without the work of these
[plaintiffs] attorneys there would be nothing."
•
In In re TJX Companies Retail Security Breach Litig., Master Docket Civil Action No.
07-10162, MDL Docket No. 1838, in which Wolf Popper was Co-Lead Counsel, the Court in
approving the settlement on July 15, 2008, stated that Plaintiffs' counsel achieved an "excellent
settlement" for the consumer class, that they "have been very creative" and performed "a wonderful
job."
Wolf Popper was appointed interim co-lead counsel by Judge Sidney Stein in January
•
2008, in Gray v. Citigoup Inc., Case No. 07-CV-9790 (S.D.N.Y.) (SHS) (DCF), a consolidated
ERISA class action on behalf of participants and beneficiaries of certain of Citigroup's retirement
plans. In appointing Wolf Popper as co-lead counsel over competing groups of counsel, Judge Stein
stated that "... I think the group most able to represent the plaintiffs as interim lead counsel will be
Wolf Popper..." because it has "...the deeper experience overall."
In Dusek v. Mattel Master File No. CV-99-10864-MRP (CWx) (C.D. Cal.), in
•
approving the settlement of the action along with a companion action, for $122 million, the Judge, in
her Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law entered on November 6, 2003, complimented counsel
saying that "Wolf Popper LLP vigorously prosecuted the Dusek action and zealously represented the
interests of the Dusek Class members," and that Wolf Popper performed in a "very capable and
professional manner."
•
The Firm served as Co-Lead Counsel for plaintiffs in Stanley v. Safeskin Lead Case
No. 99cv454-BTM(LSP) (S.D. Cal.), in which the Judge noted in approving a $55 million settlement
that "Plaintiffs' counsel are highly skilled in these cases" and that he was "kind of looking forward to
trying this case, because it would have the best lawyers in the country trying this case. . . ." The
Honorable Barry T. Moskowitz subsequently further complimented Co-Lead Counsel at a hearing on
November 20, 2003, stating:
I think I learned more about the honorability of the firms and the competency -- and
competency is too weak of a word -- the extraordinary ability of these firms in handling
the cost aspects of it, and expenses aspect of it, . . don't think I've seen lawyers so
honest with the Court. . . .I really thought that the Plaintiffs' law firms in this case not
only had extraordinary ability to deal with the complicated factual issues -- and it
certainly was a difficult case, and you should be applauded in that regard.
***
And it's not usual that the court sees lawyers behave -- we usually see them behave
well, but this is extraordinarily positive. And I wanted to make that notation... I can -come out of it having incredible respect for the work that the lawyers did in this case.
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Page -14***
From the plaintiffs' perspective -- and I say this for all the firms -- you handled it on a
much higher plane, probably on a textbook or ideal plane. If they would teach people
how it should be done in law school, this would be the example of, how the lawyers
handle this case.
•
In approving the settlement of the In re Exide Corp. Sec. Litig. Case No. 98-CV-60061AA (E.D. Mich., Transcript of Proceedings, September 2, 1999, at 34, 35-6), the Honorable George
Caram Steeh complimented the Firm for its diligence and skill, saying:
The court is satisfied indeed that the settlement that was reached in arm's length
bargaining, that was undertaken only after very thorough preparation on the part of
plaintiffs counsel. That the counsel itself was extremely competent and considerable
experience in pursuing such matters. . . .
***
So the court is satisfied that the attorneys on both sides of this litigation should
be commended for their effort and professionalism in developing and presenting the
issues and for their common sense in arriving at the settlement as it has been presented
to the court for confirmation.
•
In the In re Marketspan Corporation /LILCO Shareholder Litig., Index No. 15731/98
(Sup. Ct., NY, Transcript of Proceedings, April 28, 1999, at 9), Justice Ute Wolff Lally commended
the Firm when he preliminarily approved a proposed settlement, stating:
Let me first state that having had the stipulation of settlement prior to today, I
have, of course, perused it at length, and I want to thank and I want to commend the
executive committee and the head law firm, Wolf Popper, in adhering to the timetable
which this Court has set in the various orders that have been issued and in completing
the discovery and the complex negotiations in accordance with the Court's order. The
court appreciates that because it was an enormously complex litigation, and I certainly
commend you for reaching this agreement.
•
In approving the proposed settlement of the litigation over the merger of the American
Stock Exchange and the NASD, Judge Denny Chin stated in Philipson v. American Stock Exchange
98 Civ. 4219 (DC) (S.D.N.Y., Transcript of Proceedings, February 18, 1999, at 8-11):
I've considered the papers and what I have heard today, and I find that the
settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate The recovery is substantial. There is the
$30 million for the seat market program. . . . There is the potential revenue sharing,
which I think at a reasonable estimate would be $20.7 million at least, . . . .
So the benefits of the proposed settlement are substantial. * * * I think that the benefits
of the proposed settlement compare very well to any conceivable reasonable potential
recovery. * * * There are very experienced and very good counsel on both sides. The
negotiations were difficult and went on for quite a long time. * * * So, having
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Page -15considered all those factors, I conclude that the settlement is fair, reasonable and
adequate and is approved.
***
Terrific job on both sides.
Judge Donna F. Martinez complimented the Firm when she approved the settlement of
•
a securities fraud action in Germano v. Cognitronics Securities Corp., Docket No. 3:93-CV-00539
(DFM) (D. Conn., Transcript of Proceedings, September 11, 1998, at 2, 3-4), stating:
Your presentations...were extraordinary — extraordinarily thorough and highly
expert. . . .
***
The issues presented were complicated. They were difficult, and as we've all
said more than once now, they were bitterly and expertly fought.
***
You've ended a long piece of litigation. I know that there was hard work involved not
only in the litigation, but a lot of hard work and considerable number of hours that went
into the efforts to resolve the case, and you're all to be commended for your very, very
excellent representation of your respective clients.
•
In a securities fraud action against Caremark International, Inc. arising out the
company's failure to disclose violations of state fraud statutes, the Firm served as Co-Lead Counsel
for plaintiffs and recovered $25 million on behalf of defrauded investors. The Court complimented
plaintiffs' counsel on their handling of the case, stating:
Congratulations * * *I know [this case] was a complex piece of litigation. * * * thank
you very much for your efforts. I think the class and the defense were very well
represented.
In re Caremark International Inc. Sec. Litig. Docket No. 94 C 4751 (Transcript of proceedings,
December 15, 1997, at 7-8).
•
In the investor actions arising out of the failed public offering involving In-Store
Advertising in which the Firm was co-lead counsel, Judge Peter K. Leisure, in approving the settlement
stated at the settlement hearing held on December 18, 1996:
Now, having reviewed the excellent work of counsel with regard to the
preparation of the papers, and the research that was done, and having conducted
independent research on the law, I am fully satisfied with the quality of the lawyers'
work in this matter.
In re In Store Advertising Sec. Litig., Master File No. 90 Civ. 5594 (PKL) (S.D.N.Y., December 18,
1996)
•
Wolf Popper was lead counsel in Carpi v. McDonnell Douglas Capital Income Fund-I
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Page -1690 Civ. 3448 (JMC) where 95% of the class damages was recovered for the class. Judge Cannella
praised lead counsel in a decision dated January 21, 1994, as follows:
Plaintiffs' lead counsel has at all times demonstrated to this Court the highest caliber
of representation, measurable both in quantitative terms (i.e., the benefits of the
settlement to the class members), and in the professionalism, the timeliness, and the
thoroughness of lead counsel's written submissions.
•
Wolf Popper was co-lead counsel in investor actions brought against Valley National
Bank of Arizona. Judge Robert C. Broomfield stated in approving a settlement on January 31, 1994:
I commend counsel, particularly counsel who litigated this matter, on the quality oftheir
representation of their respective counsel. The quality of representation was very high
on behalf of all parties.
Hoexter, et al. v. Simmons et al. No. CV-89-1069-PHX-RCB (D. Az.).
•
Judge James F. Holderman complimented counsel for the quality of their efforts in In
re Salton/Maxim Sec. Litig. Docket No. 91 C 7693 (N.D. Ill.), in which Wolf Popper was Co-Lead
Counsel, at the hearing approving the settlement and awarding counsel fees, the Court stated.
I want to not only compliment you lawyers for the professionalism that you
showed in the course of reaching this compromise resolution, but I want to compliment
you on the professionalism that you showed during the course of the litigation. This
was a hard fought litigation. It was well briefed. The issues were presented
crisply. . . . [A's a judge presiding over this case, it was a pleasure to preside over it
because of the skill and the quality of the lawyering on everyone's part in connection
with this case.
•
Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise stated at the February 3, 1993 hearing at which he
approved the settlement in In re Prime Motor Inns Shareholder Litig. Master File No. 90-87 (DRD)
(D.N.J.):
The plaintiffs' attorneys have performed their work aggressively, skillfully and with
good effect. I do not detect any duplication of work... .The attorneys have earned
generous compensation.
•
Judge Leonard B. Sand of the Southern District of New York, in In re Wedtech Sec.
Litig. 21-46 (LBS) MDL 735 (S.D.N.Y.), in approving the settlement and counsel's fee application
(in which the Firm was Chair of the Plaintiffs' Executive and Scheduling Committees in the consolidated litigation), stated.
My observation has been that this litigation has at all times been conducted at a very
high-skilled professional level. I have had no sense in this case of make-work activity
or any sense that the matter was not pursued by all parties diligently but not excessively
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Wolf Popper LLP
Page -17. . . .
•
In the In re Gulf Oil/Cities Service Tender Offer Litig., 82 Civ. 5253 (MBM)(S.D.N.Y.)
litigation, where Wolf Popper served as Plaintiffs' Lead Settlement Counsel and as a member of
Plaintiffs' Executive Committee and in which a settlement of $34 million was achieved only after the
case was fully prepared for trial, the Honorable Michael B. Mukasey stated to the Wolf Popper partner
in charge of the case, at a hearing held on January 3, 1992, "to the extent you have fiduciary
obligations, you have discharged them magnificently in this case. You have gotten the best settlement
that you can negotiate for your client." Judge Mukasey further stated in his Opinion and Order
approving the settlement and awarding counsel fees:
[P]laintiffs' counsel] did all the work on their own.... class counsel consistently have
been skillful, resourceful and diligent without also being captious -- no mean feat. They
invested time and money in this case, and well deserve the payment they request.
In re Gulf Oil/Cities Service Tender Offer Litig. Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) lf 96,845, at 93,391
(S.D.N.Y. 1992).
In the International Systems & Controls Sec. Litig. MDL 440 (S.D. Tx.) case, Judge
•
Black stated at the conclusion of the action that the quality of the plaintiffs' lawyers was
"extraordinary." In Seidman v. Stauffer Chemical Co. B-84-543 (D. Conn.) at the conclusion of the
case, Chief Judge Daly remarked, in approving the settlement, that plaintiffs' co-lead counsel had acted
throughout the litigation "...in accord with the highest standards of the bar, and it was a pleasure to deal
with you and to listen to you, and to review your work...".
•
Judge Nicholas H. Politan stated at the hearing approving the settlement in In re ElectroCatheter Corporation Sec. Litig. Civil No. 87-41 (D.N.J. September 7, 1989), in which the Firm was
co-lead counsel:
I'm satisfied that counsel in this case are highly competent, very skilled in this
very specialized area and were at all times during the course of the litigation that I
participated in, which was perhaps the major portion of the Court litigation here, always
well prepared, well spoken, and knew their stuff and they were a credit to their
profession. They are the top of the line. It is good to see top-of-the-line people come
in here and top-of-the-line people should be paid top-of-the-line fees. . . . I'm very
satisfied with counsel. . . . I compliment them. . . .
•
At the settlement hearing held on September 30, 1985 in In re Saxon Sec. Litig., 81 Civ.
3103 (S.D.N. Y.), in which the Firm served as co-lead counsel, Judge Mary Johnson Lowe praised the
quality of work performed in the case:
I have never had the pleasure of working with such an outstanding group of
attorneys. . . .
***
We had claims which aggregated many times the value of what was available, and I
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Wolf Popper LLP
Page -18think you were all just superb, and from this Court to all of the lawyers who participated
you have my admiration, my thanks -- and I don't know what other accolades I can give
you other than that, but that is the way I feel about what happened here, and I am very
proud to be a lawyer to be associated with you.
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Wolf Popper LLP
Page -19Lester L. Levy is the Chairman and Managing Partner of Wolf Popper LLP. He is a graduate
of Columbia Law School. Mr. Levy has prosecuted hundreds of class actions and has recovered over
one billion dollars for the class members he has represented. He is a recognized leader in the field of
complex class action litigation and he has lectured in complex litigation at the University of Illinois and
the University of Miami Law Schools.
Mr. Levy's ability to prosecute sophisticated class actions successfully has often been the
subject of judicial recognition.
In the Motorola Securities Litigation, No. 03 C 287 (United States District Court, Northern
District of Illinois), Mr. Levy represented the lead plaintiff, the State of New Jersey, Department of
Treasury, Division of Investment. While approving a $190 million recovery, the Court stated: "You
did a great very professional job here. This was hard fought, but extremely professionally fought battle
and I appreciate it Thank you."
In Buxbaum v. Deutsche Bank, A.G., 98 Civ. 8460 (JGK) (S.D.N.Y.), Mr. Levy was co-lead
counsel for the class in a major securities fraud action against Deutsche Bank, A.G. that recovered $58
million on behalf of defrauded Bankers Trust shareholders. The District Court's opinion denying
defendants' motion to dismiss is reported at Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH)1j90,969 (S.D.N.Y. 2000). The
decision denying defendants' motion for summary judgment is reported at 196 F. Supp. 2d 367
(S.D.N.Y. 2002). The $58 million recovery, obtained on the eve of trial, was equivalent to
approximately 48% of the class's maximum possible recovery, and approximately 96% of the class's
most likely recovery.
In In re Providian Financial Securities Litigation MDL No. 1301 (E.D. Pa), Mr. Levy was colead counsel for the plaintiff class and obtained a $38,000,000 judgment from the defendants. The
Court, in approving the settlement in June, 2002, remarked on the "extremely high quality" and "skill
and efficiency" of plaintiffs' counsel's work, which the Court stated it had seen throughout the
litigation.
Judge James F. Holderman remarked on the quality of counsel's efforts in In re Salton/Maxim
Securities Litigation, Docket No. 91 C 7693, (United States District Court_Northern District of
Illinois), an action in which Mr. Levy was plaintiffs' co-lead counsel. At the hearing approving the
settlement, the Court stated.
I want to not only compliment you lawyers for the professionalism that you
showed in the course of reaching this compromise resolution, but I want to
compliment you on the professionalism that you showed during the course of
the litigation. This was a hard fought litigation. It was well briefed. The issues
were presented crisply. . . . [As a judge presiding over this case, it was a
pleasure to preside over it because of the skill and the quality of the lawyering
on everyone's part in connection with this case.
Mr. Levy was co-lead counsel in one of the largest class actions brought in New Jersey State
Court, Princeton Economics Group, Inc. v. American Telephone and Telegraph Company, (N.J. Super.
Ct. 1995). That case resulted in a settlement valued at $85-90 million. At the conclusion of the case,
the Court noted the high level of skill possessed by class counsel and stated that... "If not for the skill
and the experience of class counsel, a settlement may not have been reached or, if it had been reached,
may have resulted in a significantly diminished recovery for the class."
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Wolf Popper LLP
Page -20Mr. Levy was also the lead counsel in In re Coordinated Title Insurance Cases, Index
No.009600/03 (Sup. Ct., Nassau County, NY), a New York consumer fraud action brought against
various Title Insurance Companies for their failure to charge the discounted rate for title insurance
premiums in qualified refinancing transactions and their failure to provide borrowers with notice of the
discount. In approving the settlement of over $31 million, one of the largest consumer class actions
in the history of that court, at the hearing held on July 29, 2005, the court stated.
And it's this Court's very strong opinion that what we have had before
us on all sides — Plaintiffs' side, which involves two firms, and the
Defendants, eight Defendants which involve five firms representing the
eight different Defendants — was lawyering of the highest quality. It's
always enjoyable for the Court to have high quality lawyering in front
of it. It's always my opinion that it raises the level of the Bench when
the lawyers before it proceed in a very high fashion, which has happened
in this case.
Mr. Levy also headed the class action litigation in the State of New York against American
Bankers Ins. Group Inc. He obtained a nationwide class [Taylor v. American Bankers Ins. Group Inc.
700 N.Y. S. 2d 458 (1st Dept. 1999)] and achieved a complete recovery for class members as the
defendant agreed to pay the class members' disputed coverage claims in full. The defendant also agreed
to revise its solicitations to prevent a recurrence.
Mr. Levy was plaintiffs' co-lead counsel in Seidman v. Stauffer Chemical Co., B-84-543
(United States District Court, District of Connecticut) where at the successful conclusion of the case,
Chief Judge Daly remarked that plaintiffs' co-lead counsel had acted throughout the litigation "...in
accord with the highest standards of the bar, and it was a pleasure to deal with you
and to listen to you, and to review your work...".
Mr. Levy played a leading role in the landmark Joseph v. Shell Oil Litigation wherein the
plaintiff stockholders successfully petitioned the Delaware Chancery Court to enjoin the proposed
merger of Shell Oil Company and Royal Dutch Petroleum Company. At the conclusion ofthe litigation,
which resulted in a $205,000,000 recovery for the class, the Court said that "the results achieved in this
case for the class are outstanding".
In In re Fidelity Medical, Inc. Securities Litigation 92-1908 (United States District Court,
District of New Jersey), where Mr. Levy was a member of plaintiffs' Executive Committee that
prosecuted the case, the Court at the conclusion of the case complemented counsel for their skill and
professionalism and thanked them for the way the litigation was conducted.
Mr. Levy was co-lead counsel in the TJX Companies Retail Security Breach Litigation (United
States District of Mass.). At the end of the case, the Court commented that co-lead counsel was "quite
creative" in crafting an "excellent settlement" for the class.
The periodical, Securities Class Action Alert, noted in reporting on the Borman's Inc. class
action, wherein Mr. Levy was the Class Counsel:
Lester Levy of Wolf Popper Ross Wolf & Jones made short work of this
case by winning a quick handsome return for shareholders. In one of the
highest payout ratios in recent memory, eligible investors recovered
93% of the money they were deprived of Levy obtained the settlement
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Wolf Popper LLP
Page -21in just 15 months and investors received their checks within 6 months
after the claim deadline date!
Securities Class Action Alert, p.60 (April 1991).
Other important class actions, wherein Mr. Levy was either lead counsel or co-lead counsel
include:
In re Archer Daniels Midland Co. Securities Litigation United States District Court, Central
District of Illinois ($30 million recovery for the class);
Hwang v. Smith Corona Corp., et al United States District Court, District Court of Connecticut
($24.5 million recovery for the class);
Watkins v. Beatrice Delaware Chancery Court ($190 million recovery for class);
In re Adac Securities Litigation (United States District Court, Northern District of Calif.)
(recovery of approximately $20 million for the Class);
In re Caremark Securities Litigation United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
(recovery of $25 million for the class); and
Zinberg v. Washington Bancorp Inc., (United States District Court, District New Jersey)
(recovery for the class members of 200% of their damages).
In 1997, Mr. Levy argued before the New York Court of Appeals in Tanzer v. Health Insurance
Plan of Greater New York, 91 N.Y.2d 850 and won a unanimous decision upholding a class action
complaint on behalf of insureds who had been denied medical insurance coverage. Thereafter, the Class
received 100% of their damages.
Mr. Levy serves as an arbitrator for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
New York. Mr. Levy is also active in charitable work. He has received the Lifetime Trustee Award
from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for "outstanding service to the MS community."
James C. Kelly is an associate at Wolf Popper. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Brooklyn
Law School, where he received the CALI Award for Excellence in Securities Regulation. Mr. KellyKowlowitz obtained a B.S. in Accounting from the State University of New York at Binghamton,
where he was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, National Honor Society. During law school, Mr. KellyKowlowitz interned for the Honorable Allan L. Gropper at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, S.D.N.Y., and
interned for the New York City Department of Finance, Office of Legal Affairs. Mr. Kelly-Kowlowitz
is also a Certified Public Accountant with extensive knowledge of accounting and financial reporting.
Mr. Kelly-Kowlowitz is admitted to the Bar of the State of New York and the Bar of the United
States District Court of the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.
Case3:11-cv-02732-CRB Document16 Filed08/05/11 Page33 of 74
EXHIBIT E
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BERMAN DEVALERIO
THE FIRM
The law firm of Berman DeValerio prosecutes class actions nationwide on behalf of victims of
securities and antitrust law violations. Founded in 1982, Berman DeValerio has 37 attorneys in
offices in Boston, San Francisco and South Florida. The firm holds leadership positions in
securities and antitrust actions around the country.
The attorneys at Berman DeValerio have prosecuted hundreds of class actions on behalf of
defrauded individuals and institutions, recovering billions of dollars overall for their clients and
the classes they have represented. In addition to financial recoveries, the firm has achieved
significant changes in corporate governance and business practices of defendant companies.
Results
SECURITIES SETTLEMENTS
Berman DeValerio's securities litigation practice group has been selected as monitoring,
evaluation and/or litigation counsel by more than 90 institutional investors, including four of
the five largest public pension funds in the nation and more than a third of all U.S. public funds
with more than $5 billion in defined-benefit assets under management.'
Since the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA") was enacted, the firm has
acted as lead or co-lead counsel in approximately 100 shareholder lawsuits resulting in more
than $2.7 billion in recoveries. The following is a selection of significant results in securities
litigation:
Carlson v. Xerox Corp., et al., 00cv1621 (D. Conn.). Representing the Louisiana State Employees'
Retirement System as co-lead counsel, Berman DeValerio negotiated a $750 million settlement
to resolve claims of securities fraud against Xerox, certain top officers and its auditor KPMG LLP.
When it received final court approval in January 2009, the recovery was the 10th largest
securities class action settlement of all time.
In re Bristol-Myers Squibb Sec. Litig., 02cv2251 (S.D.N.Y.). Berman DeValerio represented the
Fresno County Employees' Retirement Association and Louisiana State Employees' Retirement
System as co-lead plaintiffs and negotiated a settlement of $300 million in July 2004. At that
time, the settlement was the largest by a drug company in a U.S. securities fraud case.
In re WorldCom, Inc. Sec. Litig., 02cv3288 (S.D.N.Y.). As counsel to court-appointed bondholder
representatives, the County of Fresno, Calif. and the Fresno County Employees' Retirement
Association, Berman DeValerio helped a team of lawyers representing the lead plaintiff, the
New York State Common Retirement Fund, obtain settlements worth more than $6.13 billion.
According to a January 2011 query of Standard & Poor's Money Market Directories. Asset valuation dates vary.
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BERMAN DEVALERIO
In re El Paso Sec. Litig., H-02-2717 (S.D. Tex.). Representing the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension
and Retirement System as co-lead plaintiff, Berman DeValerio helped negotiate a settlement
totaling $285 million, including $12 million from auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers. The court
granted final approval of the settlement in March 2007.
In re Digital Lightwave Sec. Litig., 98-152cvT-24C (M.D. Fla.). As co-lead counsel, Berman
DeValerio negotiated a settlement that included changing company management and
strengthening the company's internal financial controls. The class received 1.8 million shares of
freely tradable common stock that traded at just below $4 per share when the court approved
the settlement. At the time the shares were distributed to the members of the class, the stock
traded at approximately $100 per share, and class members received more than 200% of their
losses after the payment of attorneys' fees and expenses. The total value of the settlement, at
the time of distribution, was almost $200 million.
In re Symbol Technologies, Inc. Sec. Litig., 2:02cv01383 (E.D.N.Y.). Berman DeValerio
represented the Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System as co-lead plaintiff,
obtaining a $139 million partial settlement in June 2004. Subsequently, Symbol's former
auditor, Deloitte & Touche LLP, agreed to pay $24 million. The court granted final approval in
September 2006.
In re Lernout & Hauspie Sec. Litig., 00-11589 (D. Mass.), and Quaak v. Dexia, S.A., 03-11566 (D.
Mass.). As co-lead counsel, Berman DeValerio negotiated in December 2004 what was then the
third-largest settlement ever paid by accounting firms in a securities class action — a $115
million agreement with the U.S. and Belgian affiliates of KPMG International. The case
stemmed from KPMG's work for Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, a software company
driven into bankruptcy by a massive fraud. In March 2005, the firm reached an additional
settlement worth $5.27 million with certain of Lernout & Hauspie's former top officers and
directors. In the related Quaak case, the Firm negotiated a $60 million settlement with Dexia
Bank Belgium to settle claims stemming from the bank's alleged role in the fraudulent scheme
at Lernout & Hauspie. The court granted final approval of the Dexia settlement in June 2007,
bringing the total settlement value to more than $180 million.
In re Prison Realty Sec. Litig., 3:99cv0452 (M.D. Tenn.), (In re Old CCA Sec. Litig., 3:99cv0458).
The firm represented the former shareholders of Corrections Corporation of America, which
merged with another company to form Prison Realty Trust, Inc. The action charged that the
registration statement issued in connection with the merger contained untrue statements.
Overcoming arguments that the class' claims of securities fraud were released in prior litigation
involving the merger, the firm successfully defeated the motions to dismiss. It subsequently
negotiated a global settlement of approximately $120 million in cash and stock for this case and
other related litigation.
2
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Oracle Cases, Coordination Proceeding, Special Title (Rule 1550(b)) No. 4180 (Cal. Sup. Ct., SM
Cty.). In this coordinated derivative action, Oracle Corporation shareholders alleged that the
company's Chief Executive Officer, Lawrence J. Ellison, profited from illegal insider trading.
Acting as co-lead counsel, the firm reached a settlement, pursuant to which Mr. Ellison would
personally make charitable donations of $100 million over five years in Oracle's name to an
institution or charity approved by the company and pay $22 million in attorneys' fees and
expenses associated with the prosecution of the case. This innovative agreement, approved by
a judge in December 2005, benefited Oracle through increased goodwill and brand recognition,
while minimizing concerns that would have been raised by a payment from Mr. Ellison to the
company, given his significant ownership stake. The lawsuit resulted in important changes to
Oracle's internal trading policies that decrease the chances that an insider will be able to trade
in possession of material, non-public information.
In re International Rectifier Sec. Litig., 07cv2544 (C.D. Cal.). As co-lead counsel representing the
Massachusetts Laborers' Pension Fund, the firm negotiated a $90 million settlement with
International Rectifier Corporation and certain top officers and directors. The case alleged that
the company engaged in numerous accounting improprieties to inflate its financial results. The
court granted final approval of the settlement in February 2010.
In re State Street Bank & Trust Co. ERISA Litig., 07cv8488 (S.D.N. Y.). The firm acted as co-lead
counsel in this consolidated class action case, which alleged that defendant State Street Bank
and Trust Company and its affiliate, State Street Global Advisors, Inc., (collectively, "State
Street") breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 ("ERISA") by failing to prudently manage the assets of ERISA plans invested in State Street
fixed income funds during 2007. After well over a year of litigation, during which Berman
DeValerio and its co-counsel reviewed approximately 13 million pages of documents and took
more than 30 depositions, the parties negotiated an all-cash $89.75 million settlement, which
received final approval in 2010.
In re Philip Services Corp. Sec. Litig., 98cv0835 (S.D.N.Y). As co-lead counsel, Berman DeValerio
negotiated settlements totaling $79.75 million with the bankrupt company's former auditors,
top officers, directors and underwriters. The case alleged that Philip Services and its top
officers and directors made false and misleading statements regarding the company's publicly
reported revenues, earnings, assets and liabilities. The district court initially dismissed the
claims on grounds of forum non conveniens, but the firm successfully obtained a reversal by the
Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court granted final approval of the settlements in
March 2007.
In re Reliant Sec. Litig., 02cv1810 (S.D. Tex.). As lead counsel representing the Louisiana
Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System, the firm negotiated a $75 million cash
settlement from the company and Deloitte & Touche LLP. The settlement received final
approval in January 2006.
3
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BERMAN DEVALERIO
In re KLA-Tencor Corp. Sec. Litig., 06cv04065 (N.D. Cal.). Representing co-lead plaintiff Louisiana
Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System, Berman DeValerio negotiated a $65 million
agreement to settle claims that KLA-Tencor illegally backdated stock option grants, issued false
and misleading statements regarding grants to key executives and inflated the company's
financial results by understating expenses associated with the backdated options. The court
granted final approval of the settlement in 2008.
Ehrenreich v. Witter, 95cv6637 (S.D. Fla.). The firm was co-lead counsel in this case involving
Sensormatic Electronics Corp., which resulted in a settlement of $53.5 million. When it was
approved in 1998, the settlement was one of the largest class action settlements in the state of
Florida.
In re Thomas & Betts Sec. Litig., 2:00cv2127 (W.D. Tenn.). The firm served as co-lead counsel in
this class action, which settled for more than $51 million in 2004. Plaintiffs had accused the
company and other defendants of issuing false and misleading financial statements for 1996,
1997, 1998, 1999 and the first two quarters of 2000.
In re Enterasys Networks, Inc. Sec. Litig., C-02-071-M (D.N.H.). Berman DeValerio acted as sole
lead counsel in a case against Enterasys Networks, Inc., in which the Los Angeles County
Employees Retirement Association was lead plaintiff. The company settled in October 2003 for
$17 million in cash, stock valued at $33 million and major corporate governance improvements
that opened the computer networking company to greater public scrutiny. Changes included
requiring the company to back a proposal to eliminate its staggered board of directors, allowing
certain large shareholders to propose candidates to the board and expanding the company's
annual proxy disclosures. The settlement received final court approval in December 2003.
Giarraputo v. UNUMProvident Corp., 2:99cv00301 (D. Me.). As a member of the executive
committee representing plaintiffs, Berman DeValerio secured a $45 million settlement in a
lawsuit stemming from the 1999 merger that created UNUMProvident. Shareholders of both
predecessor companies accused the insurer of misleading the public about its business
condition before the merger. The settlement received final approval in June 2002.
In re UCAR International, Inc. Sec. Litig., 98cv0600 (D. Conn.). The firm represented the Florida
State Board of Administration as the lead plaintiff in a securities claim arising from an
accounting restatement. The case settled for $40 million cash and the requirement that UCAR
appoint an independent director to its board of directors. The settlement was approved in
2000.
In re American Home Mortgage Sec. Litig., 07-MD-1898 (E.D.N.Y.). As co-lead counsel
representing the Oklahoma Police Pension & Retirement System, the firm negotiated a $37.25
million settlement — including $4.75 million from auditors Deloitte & Touche and $8.5 million
4
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BERMAN DEVALERIO
from underwriters — despite the difficulties American Home's bankruptcy posed to asset
recovery. The plaintiffs contended that American Home had failed to write down the value of
certain loans in its portfolio, which declined substantially in value as the credit markets
unraveled. The settlement received final approval in 2010.
In re SmartForce PLC d/b/a Ski//Soft Sec. Litig., 02cv544 (D.N.H.). Representing the Teachers'
Retirement System of Louisiana as co-lead plaintiff, Berman DeValerio negotiated a $30.5
million partial settlement with SkillSoft. Subsequently, the firm also negotiated an $8 million
cash settlement with Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants and Ernst & Young LLP, SkillSoft's
auditors at the time. The settlements received final approval in September 2004 and
November 2005, respectively.
In re Centennial Technologies Sec. Litig., 97cv10304 (D. Mass.). Berman DeValerio served as
sole lead counsel in a class action involving a massive accounting scandal that shot down the
company's high-flying stock. Berman DeValerio negotiated a settlement that permitted a
turnaround of the company and provided a substantial recovery for class members. The firm
negotiated changes in corporate practice, including strengthening internal financial controls
and obtaining 37% of the company's stock for the class. The firm also recovered $20 million
from Coopers & Lybrand, Centennial's auditor at the time. In addition, the firm recovered $2.1
million from defendants Jay Alix & Associates and Lawrence J. Ramaekers for a total recovery of
more than $35 million for the class.
In re Avant, Sec. Litig., 96cv20132 (N.D. Cal.). Avant!, a software company, was charged with
securities fraud in connection with its alleged theft of a competitor's software code, which
Avant! incorporated into its flagship software product. Serving as lead counsel, the firm
recovered $35 million for the class. The recovery resulted in eligible class claimants receiving
almost 50% of their losses after attorneys' fees and expenses.
In re Sykes Enterprises, Inc. Sec. Litig., 8:00cv212-T-26F (M.D. Fla.). The firm represented the
Florida State Board of Administration as co-lead plaintiff. Sykes Enterprises was accused of
using improper means to match the company's earnings with Wall Street's expectations. The
firm negotiated a $30 million settlement, which received final approval in March 2003.
In re Valence Sec. Litig., 95cv20459 (N.D. Cal.). Berman DeValerio served as co-lead counsel in
this action against a Silicon Valley-based company for overstating its performance and the
development of an allegedly revolutionary battery technology. After the Ninth Circuit reversed
the District Court's decision to grant summary judgment in favor of defendants, the case settled
for $30 million in Valence common stock.
In re Sybase II, Sec. Litig., 98cv0252-CAL (N.D. Cal.). Sybase was charged with inflating its
quarterly financial results by improperly recognizing revenue at its wholly owned subsidiary in
Japan. Acting as co-lead counsel, the firm obtained a $28.5 million settlement.
5
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BERMAN DEVALERIO
In re Force Protection Inc. Sec. Litig., 08-cv-845 (D.S.C.). As co-lead counsel representing the
Laborers' Annuity and Benefit System of Chicago, the firm negotiated a $24 million settlement
in a securities class action against armored vehicle manufacturer Force Protection, Inc. The
settlement addressed the claims of shareholders who accused the company and its top officers
of making false and misleading statements regarding financial results, failing to maintain
effective internal controls over financial reporting, and failing to comply with government
contracting standards.
In re ICG Communications Inc. Sec. Litig., 00cv1864 (D. Colo.). As co-lead counsel representing
the Strategic Marketing Analysis Fund, the firm negotiated an $18 million settlement with ICG
Communications Inc. The case alleged that ICG executives misled investors and misrepresented
growth, revenues and network capabilities. The court granted final approval of the settlement
in January 2007.
In re Critical Path, Inc. Sec. Litig., 01cv0551 (N.D. Cal.). The firm negotiated a $17.5 million
recovery to settle claims of accounting improprieties at a California software development
company. Representing the Florida State Board of Administration, the firm was able to obtain
this recovery despite difficulties arising from the fact that Critical Path teetered on the edge of
bankruptcy. The settlement was approved in June 2002.
In re Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. Sec. Litig., 07cv00102 (D.D.C.). A federal judge granted final
approval of a $13.5 million settlement between Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement
System, represented by Berman DeValerio, and Sunrise Senior Living Inc.
Hallet v. Li & Fung, Ltd., et at, 95cv08917 (S.D.N.Y.). Cyrk Inc. was charged with
misrepresenting its financial results and failing to disclose that its largest customer was ending
its relationship with the company. In 1998, Berman DeValerio successfully recovered more
than $13 million for defrauded investors.
In re Warnaco Group, Inc. Sec. Litig., 00cv6266 (S.D.N.Y.). Representing the Fresno County
Employees' Retirement Association as co-lead plaintiff, the firm negotiated a $12.85 million
settlement with several current and former top officers of the company.
Gelfer v. Pegasystems, Inc., et al., 98cv12527 (D. Mass.). As co-lead counsel, Berman DeValerio
negotiated a settlement valued at $12.5 million, $4.5 million in cash and $7.5 million in shares
of the company's stock or cash, at the company's option.
Sand Point Partners, L.P. v. Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., 99cv6181 (S.D. Fla.). Berman
DeValerio represented the Florida State Board of Administration, which was appointed co-lead
plaintiff along with several other public pension funds. The complaint accused Pediatrix of
Medicaid billing fraud, claiming that the company illegally increased revenue and profit margins
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by improperly coding treatment rendered. The case settled for $12 million on the eve of trial in
2002.
In re Molten Metal Technology Inc. Sec. Litig., 1:97cv10325 (D. Mass.), and Axler v. Scientific
Ecology Group, Inc., et al., 1:98cv10161 (D. Mass.). As co-lead counsel, Berman DeValerio
played a key role in settling the actions after Molten Metal and several affiliates filed a petition
for bankruptcy reorganization in Massachusetts. The individual defendants and the insurance
carriers in Molten Metal agreed to settle for $11.91 million. After the bankruptcy, a trustee
objected to the use of insurance proceeds for the settlement. The parties agreed to pay the
trustee $1.325 million of the Molten Metal settlement. The parties also agreed to settle claims
against Scientific Ecology Group for $1.25 million, giving Molten Metal's investors $11.835
million.
In re CHS Electronics, Inc. Sec. Litig., 99-8186-CIV (S.D. Fla.). The firm helped obtain an $11.5
million settlement for co-lead plaintiff Warburg, Dillon, Read, LLC (now UBS Warburg).
In re Summit Technology Sec. Litig., 96cv11589 (D. Mass.). Berman DeValerio, as co-lead
counsel, negotiated a $10 million settlement for the benefit of the class.
In re Exide Corp. Sec. Litig., 98cv60061 (E.D. Mich.). Exide was charged with having altered its
inventory accounting system to artificially inflate profits by reselling used, outdated or
unsuitable batteries as new ones. As co-lead counsel for the class, Berman DeValerio recovered
more than $10 million in cash for class members.
In re Fidelity/Micron Sec. Litig., 95cv12676 (D. Mass.). The firm recovered $10 million in cash
for Micron investors after a Fidelity Fund manager touted Micron while secretly selling the
stock.
In re lnterspeed, Inc. Sec. Litig., 00cv12090-EFH (D. Mass.). Berman DeValerio served as co-lead
counsel and negotiated a $7.5 million settlement on behalf of the class. The settlement was
reached in an early stage of the proceedings, largely as a result of the financial condition of
Interspeed and the need to salvage a recovery from its available assets and insurance.
In re Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Sec. Litig., M21-83 (S.D.N.Y). As a member of the executive
committee in this case, the firm recovered more than $6 million on behalf of investors. The
case alleged that the clothing company misled investors with respect to declining sales, which
affected the company's financial condition. The court granted final approval of the settlement
in January 2007.
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ANTITRUST SETTLEMENTS
Over the past two decades, Berman DeValerio has held leadership roles in scores of complex
antitrust cases, negotiating substantial settlements for its clients. These include:
In re Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) Antitrust and Patent Litigation, MDL 05-1671 (C.D. Cal.).
Berman DeValerio, as one of four co-lead counsels in the case, negotiated a $48 million
settlement with Union Oil Company and Unocal. The agreement settled claims that the
defendants manipulated the California gas market for summertime reformulated gasoline and
increased prices for consumers. The settlement is noteworthy because it delivers to consumers
a combination of clean air benefits and the prospect of funding for alternative fuel research.
The settlement received final court approval in November 2008.
In re Foreign Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litig., MDL 1409 (S.D.N.Y.). Berman DeValerio,
as head of discovery against defendant Citigroup Inc., played a key role in reaching a $336
million settlement. The agreement settled claims that the defendants, which include the VISA,
MasterCard and Diners Club networks and other leading bank members of the VISA and
MasterCard networks, violated federal and state antitrust laws in connection with fees charged
to U.S. cardholders for transactions effected in foreign currencies.
Sullivan et at v. DB Investments, Inc. et. at, Case No. 04-02819 (D.N.J.). Berman DeValerio
represented the class in this case, alleging that the De Beers group of companies unlawfully
monopolized the worldwide supply of diamonds in a scheme to overcharge resellers and
consumers. In May 2008, a federal judge approved the settlement, which included a cash
payment to class members of $295 million, an agreement by DeBeers to submit to the
jurisdiction of the United States court to enforce the terms of the settlement and a
comprehensive injunction limiting DeBeers' ability to restrict the worldwide supply of diamonds
in the future. This case is significant not only because of the large cash recovery, but also
because previous efforts to obtain jurisdiction over DeBeers in both private and government
actions had failed. On August 27, 2010, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear
arguments over whether to uphold a district court's certification of the class. By agreeing to
schedule an en banc appeal before the full Court, the Third Circuit vacated a July 13, 2010 ruling
by a three-judge panel of the appeals court that, in a 240-1 decision, had ordered a remand of
the case back to the district court, which may have required substantial adjustments to the
original settlement. The settlement funds remain in an escrow account awaiting final
disposition.
In re DRAM Antitrust Litig., M:02cv01486 (N.D. Cal). As liaison counsel, the firm actively
participated in this Multi-District Litigation, which ultimately resulted in significant settlements
with some of the world's leading manufacturers of Dynamic Random Access Memory ("DRAM")
chips. The defendant chip-makers allegedly conspired to fix prices of the DRAM memory chips
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sold in the United States during the class period. The negotiated settlements totaled nearly
$326 million.
In re Sorbates Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litig., C 98-4886 CAL (N.D. Cal.). The firm served as
lead counsel alleging that six manufacturers of Sorbates, a food preservative, violated antitrust
laws through participation in a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices and allocations to customers
in the United States. The firm negotiated a partial settlement of $82 million with four of the
defendants in 2000. Following intensive pretrial litigation, the firm achieved a further $14.5
million settlement with the two remaining defendants, Japanese manufacturers, in 2002. The
total settlement achieved for the class was $96.5 million.
In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig., MDL 1030 (M.D. Fla.). Attorneys in the Florida
office acted as co-lead counsel and chief trial counsel. Representing both a national class and
the State of Florida, the firm helped secure settlements from defendants Bausch & Lomb and
the American Optometric Association before trial and from Johnson & Johnson after five weeks
of trial. The settlements were valued at more than $92 million and also included significant
injunctive relief to make disposable contact lenses available at more discount outlets and more
competitive prices.
In re Cardizem CD Antitrust Litig., 99-01278 (E.D. Mich.). In another case involving generic drug
competition, Berman DeValerio, as co-lead counsel, helped secure an $80 million settlement
from French-German drug maker Aventis Pharmaceuticals and the Andrx Corporation of
Florida. The payment to consumers, state agencies and insurance companies settled claims
that the companies conspired to prevent the marketing of a less expensive generic version of
the blood pressure medication Cardizem CD. The state attorneys general of New York and
Michigan joined the case in support of the class.
In re Toys "R" Us Antitrust Litig., MDL 1211 (E.D.N.Y.). The California office negotiated a $62
million settlement to answer claims that the retailer violated laws by colluding to cut off or limit
supplies of popular toys to stores that sold the products at lower prices. The case developed
the antitrust laws with respect to a "hub and spoke" conspiracy, where a downstream power
seller coerces upstream manufacturers to the detriment of consumers. One component of the
settlement required Toys "R" Us to donate $40 million worth of toys to needy children
throughout the United States over a three-year period.
In re New Motor Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust Litigation, 03-md-1532 (D. Me). Berman
DeValerio is lead counsel and represents car buyers in litigation against automobile
manufacturers and dealer associations. The litigation includes a federal multidistrict action in
the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine as well as state court actions in Arizona,
California, Florida, New Mexico, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The lawsuits allege that the
defendants conspired to reduce competition in the U.S. car market by preventing cheaper, yet
virtually identical, cars from being exported from Canada to the United States during the 2000
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to 2003 time period. Plaintiffs reached partial settlements with Toyota and the Canadian
Automobile Dealers' Association for a total of $35.7 million, which are pending final approval in
the District of Maine. The federal court granted summary judgment to the remaining nonsettling defendants. Litigation continues, however, against certain automakers in the related
state court actions, such as In re Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298 and 4303,
pending in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco.
In re NASDAQ Market-Makers Antitrust Litig., 94cv3996 (S.D.N.Y). The firm played a significant
role in one of the largest antitrust settlements on record in a case that involved alleged pricefixing by more than 30 NASDAQ Market-Makers on about 6,000 NASDAQ-listed stocks over a
four-year period. The settlement was valued at nearly $1 billion.
In re Buspirone Antitrust Litig., MDL 1413 (S.D.N.Y). Berman DeValerio attorneys played a key
role in obtaining a $535 million agreement from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to partially settle
claims that the drug company illegally blocked generic competition for its anxiety medication,
BuSpar.
In re Abbott Laboratories Norvir Antitrust Litig., 04-1511, 04-4203, (N.D. Cal.). Berman
DeValerio acted as co-lead counsel in a case on behalf of indirect purchasers alleging that the
defendant pharmaceutical company engaged in an illegal leveraged monopoly in the sale of its
AIDS boosting drug known as Norvir (or Ritanovir). Plaintiffs were successful through summary
judgment, including the invalidation of two key patents based on prior art, but were reversed
on appeal in the Ninth Circuit as to the leveraged monopoly theory. The case settled for $10
million, which was distributed net of fees and costs on a cy pres basis to 10 different AIDS
research and charity organizations throughout the United States.
Automotive Refinishing Paint Antitrust, J.C.C.P. No. 4199 (Sup. Cal.). In this class action, indirect
purchaser-plaintiffs brought suit in California State Court against five manufacturers of
automotive refinishing coatings and chemicals alleging that they violated California law by
unlawfully conspiring to fix paint prices. Settlements were reached with all defendants totaling
$9.4 million, 55% of which was allocated among an End-User Class consisting of consumers and
distributed on a cy pres, or charitable, basis to thirty-nine court-approved organizations
throughout California, and the remaining 45% of which was distributed directly to a Refinishing
Class consisting principally of auto-body shops located throughout California.
Leadership Roles
The firm currently acts as lead or co-lead counsel in dozens of high-profile securities and
antitrust class actions and also represents investors in individual actions, ERISA cases and
derivative cases.
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SECURITIES CLASS ACTIONS
The following is a list of active securities class action cases in which the firm serves as lead or
co-lead counsel or as executive committee member.
•
In re General Electric Sec. Litig., 09-cv-1951 (S.D.N.Y.) — Lead Counsel.
•
In re IndyMac Mortgage-Backed Litig., 09-cv-4583 (S.D.N.Y.) — Lead Counsel.
•
In re The Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. Sec., Derivative and ERISA Litig., Master File No. 08-MDL
No. 1963 / 08 Civ. 2793 (S.D.N.Y). — Co-lead Counsel.
•
In re Fannie Mae 2008 Sec. Litig., 08-cv-7831 (S.D.N.Y.) — Co-lead Counsel.
•
In re Par Pharmaceutical Sec. Litig., 06cv03226 (D.N.J.) — Member of the Executive
Committee.
•
Hwang v. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., et at, 07cv30238 (D. Mass.) — Lead Counsel.
•
In re Bank United Sec. Litig., 08 CIV 22572 (S.D. Fla.) — Lead Counsel.
INDIVIDUAL SECURITIES CASES
The following are individual securities "opt-out" cases in which the firm acts as plaintiffs'
counsel for major institutional investors.
•
California Public Employees' Retirement System v. Moody's Corp., CGC-09-490241 (Cal.
Super. Ct., SF Cty.) — Plaintiff's Counsel.
•
Florida State Bd. Of Admin. v. American Inel Group, Inc., 05-CIV-7886 (S.D.N.Y.) —
Plaintiffs' Counsel.
•
Fresno Ct. Employees' Ret. Ass'n v. Countrywide Fin. Corp., CV-11-00811 (C.D. Cal.) —
Plaintiffs' Counsel.
•
State Treasurer of the State of Michigan v. Countrywide Fin. Corp., CV-11-00809 (C.D.
Cal.) — Plaintiffs' Counsel.
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ANTITRUST CLASS ACTIONS
The following is a list of active antitrust securities class action cases in which the firm serves as
lead or co-lead counsel or as an executive committee member.
•
Carlin v. DairyAmerica, Inc., 09-CV-00430 (E.D. Cal.) — Member of the Interim Executive
Committee and Liaison Counsel.
•
In re New Motor Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust Litig., 03-MD-1532-P-H (D. Me.) —
Lead Counsel.
•
In re Online DVD Rental Antitrust Litig., 09-MD-2029 (N.D. Cal.) — Co-lead Counsel.
Trial Experience
The firm has significant experience taking class actions to trial. Over the years, Berman
DeValerio's attorneys have tried cases against pharmaceutical companies in courtrooms in New
York and Boston, a railroad conglomerate in Delaware, one of the nation's largest trustee banks
in Philadelphia, a major food retailer in St. Louis and the top officers of a failed New England
bank.
The firm has been involved in more trials than most of the firms in the plaintiffs' class action
bar. Our partners' trial experience includes:
•
In re Metble Demutualization Litig., 00-Civ-2258 (E.D.N.Y.). This case settled for $50
million after the jury was empanelled.
•
White v. Heartland High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund, 00-C-1388 (E.D. Wis.). Firm
attorneys conducted three weeks of a jury trial against final defendant, PwC, before a
settlement was reached for $8.25 million. The total settlement amount was $23.25
million.
•
In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig., MDL 1030 (M.D. Fla.). Settled for $60
million with defendant Johnson & Johnson after five weeks of trial.
•
Gutman v. Howard Savings Bank, 2:90cv02397 (D.N.J.). Jury verdict for plaintiffs after
three weeks of trial in individual action. The firm also obtained a landmark opinion
allowing investors to pursue common law fraud claims arising out of their decision to
retain securities as opposed to purchasing new shares. See Gutman v. Howard Savings
Bank, 748 F. Supp. 254 (D.N.J. 1990).
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•
Hurley v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., 88cv940 (D. Mass.). Bench verdict for
plaintiffs.
•
Levine v. Fenster, 2cv895131 (D.N.J.). Plaintiffs' verdict of $3 million following four-week
trial.
•
In re Equitec Sec. Litig., 90cv2064 (N.D. Cal.). Parties reached a $35 million settlement at
the close of evidence following five-month trial.
•
In re ICN/Viratek Sec. Litig., 87cv4296 (S.D.N.Y.). Hung jury with 8-1 vote in favor of
plaintiffs; the case eventually settled for over $14.5 million.
•
In re Biogen Sec. Litig., 94cv12177 (D. Mass.). Verdict for defendants.
•
Upp v. Mellon, 91-5219 (E.D. Pa.). In this bench trial, tried through verdict in 1992, the
court found for a class of trust beneficiaries in a suit against the trustee bank and
ordered disgorgement of fees. The Third Circuit later reversed based on lack of
jurisdiction.
OUR ATTORNEYS
Partners
DANIEL E. BARENBAUM
A partner in the firm's San Francisco office, Daniel E. Barenbaum focuses his practice on
securities litigation. His current cases include a landmark lawsuit brought by the California
Public Employees' Retirement System against the major credit rating agencies in connection
with the marketing of one of the largest, most complex structured finance securities ever
devised, and a case against Fannie Mae and certain executives relating to risk controls used and
disclosed with regard to the company's mortgage portfolio.
Mr. Barenbaum was formerly a partner at a San Francisco law firm where he represented
clients in securities and antitrust litigation, as well as in mass tort and employment class actions
and in multidistrict litigation. With a business degree in finance in addition to his law degree,
Mr. Barenbaum has also worked for a financial services company, assisting clients with
investment planning and risk mitigation.
Mr. Barenbaum earned his J.D. and M.B.A. degrees in 2000 from Emory University, where he
received the business school award for Most Outstanding Academic Accomplishment. He
obtained his B.A. in English from Tufts University in 1994. Mr. Barenbaum was Notes and
Comments Editor for the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal for 1999-2000. He is the
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author of "Delineating Covered Class Actions Under SLUSA," Securities Litigation Report
(December-January 2005), and Contributing Author to California Class Actions Practice and
Procedures (Elizabeth J. Cabraser, Editor-in-Chief, 2003). Having successfully obtained his Series
7 and 66 licenses, he was previously registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as
both a broker-dealer representative and an investment advisor.
Mr. Barenbaum is admitted to practice law in the State of California.
NORMAN BERMAN
In 1982, Norman Berman co-founded Berman DeValerio & Pease, LLP, a predecessor to Berman
DeValerio. He focuses his practice principally on complex securities and antitrust litigation.
During the course of his career, Mr. Berman has litigated numerous cases to successful
resolution, recovering many millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors. He was among
the lead attorneys in the ICG Communications, Inc. and Philip Services, Corp. class actions. In
the class action against ICG Communications, he helped to successfully secure an $18 million
settlement. Co-lead plaintiffs in the case alleged that ICG executives misled investors and
misrepresented ICG's growth, revenues and network capabilities throughout the class period.
In the case against Philip Services, Mr. Berman assisted in recovering a $79.75 million
settlement.
To date, that settlement includes the largest recovery ever obtained from a Canadian auditor.
Mr. Berman was also part of the team that achieved a $750 million recovery in Carlson v. Xerox
Corp., in which the firm represented the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System as colead counsel. The recovery ranked 10th among all securities class action settlements when it
received final court approval in 2009.
Mr. Berman has acted as trial counsel in a number of successful cases, including Hurley et al v.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., where the court entered an $18 million judgment against the
failed First Service Bank for Savings, and ICN Securities Litigation, which settled after trial for
more than $14.5 million in 1996. The trial team's work in ICN prompted positive judicial
comment.
Prior to co-founding Berman DeValerio & Pease, LLP in 1982, Mr. Berman was associated with
the Boston-based general practice firms Barron & Stadfeld, P.C. and Harold Brown & Associates.
Mr. Berman graduated from Boston University in 1970 and from Suffolk University Law School
in 1974. While in law school, he was a member of the Public Defenders Group and, following
law school, was an intern with the Massachusetts Defenders Committee.
Mr. Berman is co-author of a chapter on expert testimony in a handbook on Massachusetts
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Evidence published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. Martindale-Hubbell.
He is AV rated by
Mr. Berman is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of
Connecticut and the U.S. Supreme Court.
JEFFREY C. BLOCK
A partner in Boston, Jeffrey C. Block focuses his practice on securities litigation and is a member
of the New Case Investigations Team for institutional clients. He is a main point of contact for
many of the firm's public fund clients, including the Illinois State Board of Investment, the
Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board and the Michigan State
Retirement Systems. Mr. Block is one of the firm's lead attorneys representing the Michigan
Systems in the Bear Stearns Companies litigation stemming from the 2008 collapse of the
company.
Mr. Block has worked on numerous securities cases as a lead attorney, obtaining recoveries for
investors in the Lernout & Hauspie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Symbol Technologies and Philip
Services class actions, among others. In Lernout & Hauspie and a related case, Quaak v. Dexia,
S.A., Mr. Block and the case team recovered more than $180 million on behalf of former
shareholders of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V., a bankrupt Belgian software
company. The recovery includes one of the largest settlements ever paid by an accounting firm
in a securities action. Representing the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System in the
Bristol-Myers Squibb_case, Mr. Block helped recover $300 million for the class. In Philip
Services, Mr. Block and the case team recovered a $79.75 million total settlement. To date,
that settlement includes the largest recovery ever obtained from a Canadian auditor.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio, Mr. Block was associated with the New York law firm of
Pomerantz Haudek Block & Grossman, representing shareholders in class actions brought under
the federal securities laws and in state court actions involving claims of breach of fiduciary duty
by corporate directors.
Mr. Block graduated cum laude from the State University of New York at Albany in 1983 and
received his J.D. in 1986 from Brooklyn Law School, where he finished in the top 10 percent of
his class.
Mr. Block is admitted to practice law in the states of New York and Massachusetts. He is a
frequent commentator on investor issues, appearing most recently on CNBC and WGBH-TV to
discuss the Bernard Madoff fraud. In April 2010, Mr. Block participated in a panel about
securities litigation at the Capital Matters conference, which was sponsored by the Labor &
Worklife Program at Harvard Law School.
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GLEN DEVALERIO
Glen DeValerio was a co-founder in 1982 of Berman DeValerio & Pease, LLP, one of the law
firms that formed Berman DeValerio in 2001. He is also the managing partner of the firm's
Boston office and oversees some of the firm's most important cases. As one of the lead
attorneys in Carlson v. Xerox Corp., he helped negotiate a $750 million settlement, which
ranked as the 10th largest securities class action settlement of all time when it received court
approval in January 2009.
Mr. DeValerio is a primary point of contact for many of the firm's public fund clients, including
the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, the Louisiana State
Employees' Retirement System, the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement System, the
Oklahoma Police Pension & Retirement System and the Pennsylvania State Employees'
Retirement System. He was trial counsel in In re Katy Indus. Sec. Litig., 85-CV-459 (D. Del. Aug.
6, 1985).
Mr. DeValerio has prosecuted federal securities law violations, chiefly class and derivative
actions, since the early 1970s. A 1969 graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he received
his law degree in 1973 from the Catholic University Law School and served on the Catholic
University Law Review's editorial board for two years. In 1973 and 1974, he worked as a law
clerk to the Honorable June L. Green, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
A frequent lecturer on complex securities litigation issues, Mr. DeValerio speaks at continuing
legal education seminars sponsored by groups such as PLI, ALI-ABA and the Boston Bar
Association. He served as the President of the National Association of Securities and
Commercial Law Attorneys (NASCAT) from 1996 through 1998.
Mr. DeValerio has been admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as
well as the U.S. Districts Courts for the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Delaware, New
Hampshire and Connecticut. He has also been admitted to practice in the First and Fourth
Circuit Courts of Appeals. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
KATHLEEN M. DONOVAN-MAHER
Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher became a partner at the firm in 1999 and focuses her work in
Berman DeValerio's securities practices.
Ms. Donovan-Maher was a principal attorney in a securities class action involving American
Home Mortgage, in which Berman DeValerio acted as co-lead counsel on behalf of the
Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System. The firm negotiated a $37.25 million
settlement in that case, despite the complications posed by bankruptcy. The settlement
received final approval in January 2010.
During her career, Ms. Donovan-Maher has successfully helped to prosecute numerous class
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actions. She served as discovery captain in the NASDAQ Antitrust Litigation and was a member
of the trial team in the ICN/Viratek Sec. Litig., which settled for $14.5 million when the jury
deadlocked at the conclusion of the 1996 trial. Other cases in which Ms. Donovan-Maher has
played a chief role include, but are not limited to, Enterasys Networks and Ski//Soft. In both
cases, Ms. Donovan-Maher's efforts helped achieve significant financial recoveries for
representing public retirement systems, the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement
Association and the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana, respectively.
In addition to a monetary award, the Enterasys Networks settlement also included corporate
governance improvements, requiring the company to back a proposal to eliminate its staggered
board of directors, allow certain large shareholders to propose candidates to the board
and expand the company's annual proxy disclosures.
Ms. Donovan-Maher graduated from Suffolk University magna cum laude in 1988, receiving a
B.S. degree in Business Administration and earning an award for maintaining the highest grade
point average among students with concentrations in Finance. She graduated from Suffolk
University Law School three years later after serving two years on the Transnational Law
Review.
A member in good standing of the state bar of Massachusetts, Ms. Donovan-Maher is admitted
to practice law in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals, First
Circuit. She is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Ms. Donovan-Maher is a frequent author on continuing legal education issues for such groups
as ALI-ABA and PLI. She is also a member of Phi Delta Phi, Delta Mu Delta National Honor
Society in Business Administration and Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society of
Economics.
PATRICK T. EGAN
A partner in Boston, Patrick T. Egan focuses his practice on securities litigation. Mr. Egan is
currently one of the firm's lead attorneys representing the Michigan State Retirement Systems
in the Bear Stearns Companies litigation stemming from the 2008 collapse of the company.
Mr. Egan has worked on a number of important cases, including Lernout & Hauspie and the
related case, Quaak v. Dexia, S.A. Those cases stem from a massive accounting fraud scheme at
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V., a bankrupt Belgian software company. As co-lead
counsel, the firm recovered more than $180 million on behalf of former Lernout & Hauspie
shareholders.
Prior to joining the firm in 1999 and being named partner in 2006, Mr. Egan worked at the U.S.
Department of Labor, where he served as an attorney advisor for the Office of Administrative
Law Judges.
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Mr. Egan received a B.A. in Political Science cum laude from Providence College in 1993. In
1997, he graduated cum laude from Suffolk University Law School.
While at Suffolk, Mr. Egan served on the editorial board of the Suffolk University Law Review
and authored a note entitled, "Virtual Community Standards: Should Obscenity Law Recognize
the Contemporary Community Standard of Cyberspace" 30 Suffolk University L. Rev. 117
(1996).
Mr. Egan is admitted to practice law in the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York,
as well as the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. He is also admitted to practice before the
U.S. Courts of Appeals in the First and Fourth Circuits.
CHRISTOPHER T. HEFFELFINGER
Christopher T. Heffelfinger focuses on antitrust and securities cases and has litigated class
actions in the high-tech, real estate, pharmaceutical, gasoline and manufacturing industries.
Cases that Mr. Heffelfinger has litigated include the following:
Christopher T. Heffelfinger focuses on securities and antitrust cases and has litigated class
actions in the high-tech, real estate, pharmaceutical, gasoline and manufacturing industries.
Cases that Mr. Heffelfinger has litigated include the following:
•
Co-lead counsel in In re Reformulated Gasoline & Patent Litigation. The court granted
final approval of a $48 million settlement in a case alleging that Unocal violated the
Cartwright Act by entering into unlawful combinations with standard-setting
organizations, refiners and independent contractors by manipulating the California Air
Resources Board rule-making proceedings regarding emissions standards for
reformulated gasoline. The court approved the settlement on a cy pres basis to be
applied toward: (1) a California statewide automobile repair and scrap program to
reduce emissions of hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter; and (2) an
open-grant program for projects demonstrating fuel or clean air emissions benefits.
•
Liaison counsel in In re LDK Solar Company Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.), alleging an
inventory accounting fraud by LDK Solar Company and its principal officers involving the
accounting treatment of different grades of poly silicon used in the production of solar
panels. Actively participated in all phases of discovery including, but not limited to,
deposition practice in Hong Kong, expert work, summary judgment and trial
preparation. The Honorable William H. Alsup gave final approval to a settlement
totaling $16 million.
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•
One of two co-lead counsel on behalf of OpenTV shareholders in Federal Court (San
Francisco) who challenged a proposed buyout transaction (the "Transaction"), initiated
by the controlling shareholders. Co-lead counsel negotiated a settlement that, among
other things, obtained additional disclosures and removed coercive elements from the
Transaction. The Honorable Marilyn H. Patel gave final approval to the settlement on
November 15, 2010.
•
Lead Counsel for reseller indirect purchasers in In re Static Random Access Memory
(SRAM) Antitrust Litigation in settlement fund allocation proceedings.
•
Executive committee member and liaison counsel in In re Dynamic Random Access
Memory (DRAM) Antitrust Litigation. This antitrust case alleged a conspiracy by major
manufacturers of dynamic random access memory chips to fix prices over a four-year
period. Settlements totaling $320 million were approved by the court.
•
Co-Lead counsel in In re Norvir Antitrust Litigation, (N.D. Cal.), a case on behalf of
indirect purchasers alleging that the defendant pharmaceutical company had engaged in
an illegal leveraged monopoly in the sale of its AIDS boosting drug known as Norvir (or
Ritanovir). Plaintiffs were successful through summary judgment, including the
invalidation of two key patents based on prior art, but were reversed on appeal in the
Ninth Circuit as to the leveraged monopoly theory. The case settled for $10 million,
which was distributed net of fees and costs on a cy pres basis to 10 different AIDS
research and charity organizations throughout the United States.
•
Co-lead counsel in In re Warnaco Securities Litigation. This securities fraud case alleged
that defendants had issued materially false and misleading financial statements by
vastly overstating the value of inventory that should have been written off in
accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The case settled for $12
million following a reversal in the Second Circuit in favor of plaintiffs.
•
Co-lead counsel in In re: Toys 'R Us Antitrust Litigation. The firm represented toypurchaser consumers in multidistrict litigation alleging that Toys 'R Us conspired with
certain toy manufacturers, in contravention of federal antitrust laws and various state
unfair competition statutes, not to sell certain popularly promoted toys to deep
discount retailers, such as Costco. A settlement with a combined value of $56 million
consisted of a cash component of $20 million and a cy pres component of $36 million in
toys distributed to charitable organizations and needy children in each of the 50 states
by the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation.
•
Co-lead counsel in In re Valence Technology Securities Litigation. This securities fraud
case alleged that Valence Technology failed to disclose material facts concerning the
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energy densities and performance characteristics of a new solid polymer lithium battery.
A settlement of $20.5 million in cash and stock was achieved.
•
Co-lead counsel for auto-body shops in In re Autopaint Antitrust Litigation. The
California antitrust unfair business practices case alleged a price-fixing conspiracy
among paint manufacturers, and settlements totaling $10 million were achieved.
•
Co-lead counsel in In re Won Securities Litigation. This securities fraud case in the
Eastern District of Washington alleged that Itron had failed to disclose material facts
concerning the performance of its encoder-receiver-transmitter devices. A settlement
of $13 million was achieved.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Heffelfinger practiced securities and bankruptcy/commercial
litigation for nine years with two other firms in San Francisco and in Mann County, California.
Mr. Heffelfinger left the practice of law for nearly one year, from December 1990 — September
1991, when he was recalled as a rifle company officer (Captain) in the U.S. Marine Corps in
support of Operations Desert Shield/Storm. In recent years, Mr. Heffelfinger has performed pro
bono work for both the YWCA Legal Information Clinic in Mann County (before its closure) and
the Episcopal Church in Sausalito. Mr. Heffelfinger is currently a member of the board of the
Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center in San Francisco.
Mr. Heffelfinger is a 1984 graduate of the University of the San Francisco School of Law, where
he was a member of the University of San Francisco Law Review. He graduated from Claremont
Men's College in 1977 with a B.A. in Economics. He has lectured periodically on discovery
matters, including electronically stored information, deposition practice, and evidentiary
foundations in commercial litigation. For 2009, 2010 and 2011, Mr. Heffelfinger was named a
Super Lawyer by Northern California Super Lawyers Magazine. He has an AV ® Preeminent
rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
NICOLE LAVALLEE
A partner in San Francisco, Nicole Lavallee focuses her practice on securities and derivative
litigation and is an integral member of the firm's New Case Investigations Team for institutional
clients. The team investigates potential securities law violations to determine whether a case
meets the firm's exacting standards. Ms. Lavallee is also a member of the Firm's executive
committee.
Ms. Lavallee is also a contact for a number of the firm's institutional clients, including the
Orange County Employees Retirement System, the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement
Association, the Arizona State Retirement System, the Arizona Public Safety Personnel
Retirement System, the Wyoming Retirement System and the Wyoming State Treasurer. She
has prosecuted a number of the firm's high-profile securities fraud cases. For example, she is a
lead attorney representing the Massachusetts Laborers' Pension Fund as co-lead plaintiff in a
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class action alleging that International Rectifier Corp. and certain of its former officers and
directors manipulated the company's financial results. The case settled for $90 million in 2009
and was granted final court approval in February 2010. Ms. LavaIlee was also the lead attorney
representing the Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System as co-lead plaintiff
in the KLA-Tencor Corp. options-backdating class action, which recently settled for $65 million.
At the conclusion of the case, Judge Charles R. Breyer praised plaintiffs' counsel for "working
very hard" in exchange for an "extraordinarily reasonable" fee. "I appreciate the fact that
you've done an outstanding job, and you've been entirely reasonable in what you've done," he
said.
Ms. LavaIlee was also the partner responsible for the day-to-day prosecution of a derivative
insider trading action against Lawrence J. Ellison, the Chief Executive Officer of Oracle
Corporation, which resulted in changes to the company's insider trading policies. As part of the
2005 settlement negotiated by plaintiffs' counsel, Mr. Ellison agreed to make $100 million in
charitable donations in Oracle's name and pay plaintiffs' attorneys' fees and expenses. At the
hearing on summary judgment, the judge praised Ms. Lavallee's work, stating: "Ms. Lavallee, I
just wanted to tell you I thought your brief was excellent."
Ms. Lavallee also represented, as local counsel, the state employee retirement systems of
Colorado, Minnesota and Utah in a successful opt-out action against McKesson/HBOC brought
in San Francisco Superior Court. Though the details of the settlement are confidential, these
clients obtained results that far exceed their pro-rata share of the corresponding class action.
Ms. Lavallee is a 1989 graduate of the French Civil Law School at Universite de Montreal in
Montreal and obtained her Common Law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.
She is a member of the State Bar of California and admitted to practice in all the district courts
of California and the Ninth Circuit. She is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
MICHAEL J. PUCILLO
Michael J. Pucillo has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1978, and is admitted to practice
before the United States Courts of Appeal for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits and the United
States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.
Mr. Pucillo is a member of the Southern District of Florida Trial Bar. During 1989-1990, he
served as President of the Gold Coast Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
He has served from 1994 to 1997 as Chairman of the Palm Beach County Bar Association
Federal Court Practice Committee.
He is a graduate of Williams College (1975) and Georgetown University Law School (1978).
Mr. Pucillo has lectured frequently on class actions and litigation. In 1994, Mr. Pucillo became a
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member of the faculty of the College of Advanced Judicial Studies, where he taught "Managing
the Complex Civil Case" to Florida Circuit Court judges, in 1994, 1996 and 2002. He has been an
educational sustainer of the Council of Institutional Investors since 1999 and has lectured at
several Council meetings on securities litigation issues.
He also appeared on the PBS Nightly Business Report on issues relating to investor fraud.
From 1978 to 1979, Mr. Pucillo served as law clerk to the Honorable Charles B. Fulton, United
States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. From 1979 to 1981, Mr. Pucillo served
as law clerk to the Honorable William J. Campbell, Senior United States District Judge for the
Northern District of Illinois. In 1983 and 1984 he was an attorney in the Division of
Enforcement of the SEC in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Pucillo, as counsel to court-appointed bond purchaser class representatives, was one of the
attorneys who prosecuted bond purchaser claims in the WorldCom Securities Litigation in the
Southern District of New York. That litigation resulted in a $6.13 billion settlement.
Mr. Pucillo also represented the Florida State Board of Administration in its lead plaintiff
application in the Enron Securities Litigation.
As part of a settlement of the UCAR International Securities Litigation in 1999, on behalf of lead
plaintiff the Florida State Board of Administration, Mr. Pucillo negotiated significant corporate
governance changes that included the appointment of an outside director by the lead plaintiff,
in addition to a significant monetary recovery.
Mr. Pucillo has prosecuted several securities cases arising out of energy trading. He served as
co-lead and lead counsel in the El Paso Securities Litigation and the Reliant Securities Litigation,
both in the Southern District of Texas. Those cases settled for $285 million and $75 million,
respectively.
After serving on the firm's Executive Committee and as managing partner for the firm's Florida
office, Mr. Pucillo became Of Counsel to the firm on January 1, 2009. Mr. Pucillo continues to
counsel institutional clients and handle certain individual and class cases. He also serves as a
trustee of the Robert Gaudino Memorial Fund at Williams College.
TODD A. SEAVER
A partner in the San Francisco office, Todd A. Seaver litigates both antitrust and securities
matters, with a primary focus on antitrust litigation. He is a member of the antitrust practice
group's new case development team, which investigates potential antitrust violations to
determine whether a case has merit.
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Mr. Seaver is currently involved in several cases, including In re New Motor Vehicles Canadian
Export Antitrust Litigation, in which Berman DeValerio is lead counsel. The case alleges that
major auto manufacturers unlawfully conspired to stop the export of cheaper new Canadian
vehicles into the United States for use or resale. The case has partially settled with Toyota
Motor Sales U.S.A. for $35 million, pending court approval. Mr. Seaver is one of the lead
counsel in Online DVD Rental Antitrust Litigation and also worked on a number of the firm's
high-profile cases including Cardizem CD, still the leading generic drug competition case, which
settled in 2003 for $80 million.
Mr. Seaver is also extensively involved in a securities fraud case against the three major credit
rating agencies, CalPERS v. Moody's Corp. The case, filed on behalf of the nation's largest state
pension fund, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, is landmark litigation that
seeks to hold the rating agencies financially responsible for alleged negligent
misrepresentations in rating structured investment vehicles.
Mr. Seaver was previously associated with the law firm Devine, Millimet & Branch, P.A., where
he practiced commercial litigation. He was also an adjunct Professor of Law with the New
England School of Law in 2003.
Mr. Seaver graduated magna cum laude from Boston University in 1994 with a B.A. in
International Relations. He earned a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics in 1995 and
graduated cum laude from the American University Washington College of Law in 1999.
While in law school, Mr. Seaver served as a law clerk at the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau
of Competition and as a judicial extern for the Honorable Ricardo M. Urbina, U.S. District Court
for the District of Columbia.
Mr. Seaver has been admitted to practice law in the states of California, Massachusetts and
New Hampshire. He is also a member of the American Bar Association's Antitrust Section.
LESLIE R. STERN
A partner in Boston, Leslie R. Stern heads the New Case Investigations Team for institutional
clients. The team investigates possible securities law violations, gauging clients' damages and
evaluating the merits of cases to determine the best course of legal action.
In her role with the New Case Investigations Team, Ms. Stern oversees a portfolio monitoring
program that combines the power of an online loss calculation system with the hands-on work
of a dedicated group of attorneys, investigators and financial analysts. Her case development
duties include preparing detailed case analyses and recommendations, and advising clients on
their legal options.
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Ms. Stern is also the primary contact for several public and union funds, including the Brockton
Contributory Retirement System, the Massachusetts Laborers' Pension Fund, the Employees
Retirement System of the City of St. Louis and the Louisiana School Employees' Retirement
System. She is a seasoned litigator with more than a decade of experience on cases such as
Carlson v. Xerox Corp., in which Berman DeValerio represented the Louisiana State Employees'
Retirement System as co-lead counsel. Upon approval in January 2009, the $750 million Xerox
settlement ranked as the 10th largest securities class action recovery of all time. Ms. Stern also
worked on In re Bristol Myers-Squibb Sec. Litig., which settled for $300 million, and In re Zila Inc.
Sec. Litig., which settled for $5.75 million.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio in 1998 and being named partner in 2003, Ms. Stern
practiced general civil litigation. She earned a B.S. degree in Finance from American University
in 1991 and graduated cum laude from Suffolk University Law School in 1995.
While at Suffolk, Ms. Stern served on the Suffolk University Law Review's editorial board and
authored three publications.
Ms. Stern has been admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the
U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. She has also been admitted to practice in the First and
Fourth Circuits of the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
JOSEPH J. TABACCO, JR.
Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. is the managing partner of Berman DeValerio's San Francisco office. A
1974 honors graduate of George Washington University School of Law, he actively litigates
antitrust, securities fraud, commercial high tech and intellectual property matters.
Mr. Tabacco is a primary point of contact for many of Berman DeValerio's institutional clients,
including the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the California State Teachers'
Retirement System, the Offices of the Attorneys General of Alaska, Michigan and other states.
Since entering private practice in the early 1980s, Mr. Tabacco has served as trial or lead
counsel in numerous antitrust and securities cases and has been involved in all aspects of state
and federal litigation. Prior to 1981, Mr. Tabacco served as senior trial attorney for the U.S.
Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in both the Central District of California and the
Southern District of New York. In that capacity, he had major responsibility for several criminal
and civil matters, including the antitrust trial of U.S. v. IBM. Since entering private practice, he
has tried a number of securities actions, including Gutman v. Howard Savings Bank and In re
Equitec Sec. Litig.
Mr. Tabacco is currently overseeing a number of securities and antitrust cases, including
CalPERS v. Moody's Corp., a pioneering attempt to hold credit rating agencies financially
responsible for their alleged negligence in rating structured investment vehicles; In re New
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Motor Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust Litig., a massive case against the large auto
manufacturers; and a class action against diamond giant DeBeers.
In addition to his role providing legal counsel to public pension and union fund clients, Mr.
Tabacco is an independent director of Overstock.com , a publicly traded company, and serves on
its Audit and Compensation Committees. He also frequently lectures and authors articles on
securities and antitrust law issues and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for
Consumer Antitrust Studies at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Mr. Tabacco is also a
former teaching fellow of the Attorney General's Advocacy Institute in Washington, D.C., and
has served on the faculty of ALI-ABA on programs about U.S.-Canadian business litigation and
trial of complex securities cases.
Mr. Tabacco was most recently named to two committees of the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California by the Court's Chief Judge: (1) the Magistrate Judge Merit
Selection Panel for the Northern District of California; and (2) the Northern District of California
Model Protective Order Revision Committee.
For the third year in a row, he has been among the top U.S. securities litigators ranked by
Chambers USA 2009 and is also AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Tabacco has been
recognized and featured by the Daily Journal as one of California's top 30 securities litigators, a
group chosen from both the plaintiff and defense bars. Additionally, for eight consecutive
years, Mr. Tabacco has been named a Super Lawyer by Northern California Super Lawyer
Magazine, which features the top 5 percent of attorneys in the region.
Mr. Tabacco has been admitted to practice law in the states of California, Massachusetts, New
York and the District of Columbia (currently inactive).
BRYAN A. WOOD
A partner in Boston, Bryan A. Wood focuses his practice on securities litigation and is a member
of the firm's New Case Investigations Team for institutional clients.
Mr. Wood is currently overseeing a number of securities cases, including Fannie Mae, Smith &
Wesson Holding Corp. and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, which alleges that
the insurance company failed to protect investors in hedge funds it controls from losses in
Bernard L. Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
He also worked extensively on the Carlson v. Xerox Corp. litigation. In this case, representing
the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System, Berman DeValerio received final court
approval for a $750 million settlement in January 2009. Mr. Wood was responsible for
managing and supervising the firm's discovery process in the Xerox case.
Mr. Wood joined Berman DeValerio as an associate in 2002 and became a partner in 2009.
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Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Wood was a litigation associate at both Montgomery, McCracken,
Walker & Rhoads, LLP in Philadelphia and Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis in Boston. As an
associate at those firms, he represented corporations and directors in shareholder and other
class action lawsuits. He also represented businesses and municipalities in general contract and
employment discrimination cases.
Mr. Wood graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts in 1991 with a B.A. in
Sociology. In 1995, he earned an M.S. summa cum laude in Public Policy from the Eagleton
Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and graduated cum laude from the Temple University
Beasley School of Law in 1998. While in law school, he was the Managing Editor of the Temple
Law Review and a board member of the Temple Law Moot Court Honor Society. In addition,
Mr. Wood completed a one-year internship for the Honorable Edward R. Becker, then Chief
Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In 2007, Massachusetts Super Lawyers
magazine named him a "Rising Star" in recognition of his expertise and work in securities
litigation.
Mr. Wood is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealths of Massachusetts and
Pennsylvania (voluntarily inactive as of 2005).
He is also admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Massachusetts, Colorado and
Eastern Pennsylvania, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Additionally, Mr.
Wood is a member of the Boston Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Associates
DARYL DEVALERIO ANDREWS
Daryl DeValerio Andrews, an associate in the Boston office, focuses her practice on securities
litigation. Her work is currently focused on the firm's cases against Bank United and Smith &
Wesson Holding Corp.
Prior to joining the firm as an associate in 2009, Ms. Andrews was a litigation associate at
Sherin and Lodgen LLP, where she practiced civil litigation with an emphasis on bankruptcy and
real estate litigation, and employment law.
After graduating from Boston University School of Law in 2003, Ms. Andrews clerked for Judge
Michael A. Ponsor, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. During law school, she served
on the Public Interest Law Journal and was a legal intern for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Civil
Division, where she drafted dispositive motions for a variety of cases and researched legal
issues for briefs and motions. She also interned for two years at Shelter Legal Services, assisting
low-income clients on legal matters such as housing, credit, employment and family law issues.
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Ms. Andrews earned a B.A. in Education from Smith College in 1997.
Ms. Andrews was named a "Rising Star" in 2007 and 2008 by Massachusetts Super Lawyers
Magazine.
Ms. Andrews is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S.
District Court of Massachusetts.
STEVEN J. BUTTACAVOLI
An associate in the firm's Boston office, Steven J. Buttacavoli focuses his practice on securities
litigation.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio in 2009, Mr. Buttacavoli worked as an associate at Foley Hoag
LLP in Boston, where he defended securities class actions and Securities and Exchange
Commission enforcement actions, conducted internal investigations, responded to criminal
investigations by the United States Attorney's Office and advised clients in connection with
litigation risk analysis and mitigation strategies.
Mr. Buttacavoli earned an A.B. in International Relations from the College of William & Mary
and a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University. In 2001, he earned his J.D.
magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a member of the
Order of the Coif. Mr. Buttacavoli was also a Senior Articles and Notes Editor for the American
Criminal Law Review.
Mr. Buttacavoli is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
MARK DELANEY
An associate in the Boston office of Berman DeValerio, Mark Delaney focuses his practice on
antitrust litigation matters. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Mr. Delaney worked as a contract
attorney for several prominent Boston law firms, including Berman DeValerio. Prior to that, Mr.
Delaney was an associate at Wilmer Hale, LLP, where his practice areas included antitrust and
securities litigation.
Mr. Delaney received a B.A. in Political Science summa cum laude from Tulane University in
1998. In 2001, he graduated magna cum laude from Boston University School of Law.
Mr. Delaney is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S.
District Court of Massachusetts.
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KYLE G. DEVALERIO
An associate in the firm's Florida office, Kyle G. DeValerio is a member of the antitrust practice's
new case development team, which investigates potential antitrust violations to determine the
merits of potential cases.
In addition to serving as a member of the new case development team, Mr. DeValerio works on
antitrust and securities litigation. He was part of the team in Carlson v. Xerox Corp., which
settled for $750 million.
Prior to joining the firm as an associate in 2004, Mr. DeValerio worked as a legal intern in the
Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston.
Mr. DeValerio is a 1999 graduate of Colby College, where he earned a B.A. in Government. He
also studied European Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He
received his J.D. in 2004 from the Suffolk University School of Law. In 2010, Florida Super
Lawyers magazine named him a "Rising Star."
Mr. DeValerio is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of
Florida and the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. He is also a member of the Palm Beach
County Bar Association.
MARIE A. FOLEY
Marie A. Foley, who focuses her practice on antitrust litigation, joined Berman DeValerio in
September 2010 after developing a broad range of legal expertise as a contract attorney at
several prominent Boston firms. Prior to that, she was a senior associate handling civil and
banking litigation at a general practice law firm and a corporate consultant for a national rental
company.
Ms. Foley received a B.A. in Politics magna cum laude from Saint Anselm College in 1995. In
1998, she graduated from Boston University School of Law, where she also earned a Certificate
in Litigation and Dispute Resolution.
Ms. Foley is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S.
District Court of Massachusetts.
SARAH KHORASANEE
An associate in the firm's San Francisco office, Sarah Khorasanee focuses her practice on
antitrust litigation. Ms. Khorasanee joined Berman DeValerio in 2010 after working as a
contract attorney for the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division. Prior to that, she was an
attorney volunteer with the City and County of San Francisco Office of the Public Defender and
the Eviction Defense Center.
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Ms. Khorasanee earned a B.A. in Communications from the University of California at San Diego
in 2002 and a J.D. from the New England School of Law in 2008.
While in law school, Ms. Khorasanee worked as a judicial extern to the Honorable Eric Taylor,
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.
She is admitted to practice in the State of California.
JASON M. LEVITON
As an associate in the Boston office of Berman DeValerio, Jason M. Leviton focuses his practice
on securities litigation matters and is a member of the firm's New Case Investigations Team for
institutional clients. He is also on the team prosecuting the class action case against Smith &
Wesson Holding Corp.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio in March 2009, Mr. Leviton was a member of the Securities
Fraud/Investor Protection group at another plaintiffs' securities law firm in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Leviton was involved in litigating several high-profile fraud cases, including: In re Verisign
Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.), which settled for $78 million; Ong v. Sears Roebuck & Co. (N.D.
III.), which settled for $15.5 million; Welmon v. Chicago Bridge & Iron (S.D.N.Y.), which settled
for $10.5 million and certain corporate governance reforms; and Bovee v. Coopers & Lybrand
(S.D. Ohio), which settled for $7.5 million. He also worked extensively on the firm's client
outreach efforts. Mr. Leviton also gained valuable experience with a securities class-action firm
in Florida.
Mr. Leviton attended Gonzaga University, where he received a B.A. in Philosophy in 2000 and a
J.D. cum laude in 2003. While in law school, he won the Linden Cup Moot Court competition
and was a member of the Editorial Board of the International Law Journal.
In 2004, Mr. Leviton also received a Master of Laws in Securities and Financial Regulations from
Georgetown University Law Center.
While at Georgetown, he was the inaugural LL.M. student selected for an externship with the
Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement.
Mr. Leviton is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the states of Washington and
Florida.
SCOTT A. MAYS
An associate in the firm's Boston office, Scott A. Mays focuses his practice on securities
litigation matters.
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Mr. Mays came to Berman DeValerio in 2010 from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and
Popeo, P.C., where as a litigation associate he worked on a number of cases that resulted in
favorable settlements for the firm's clients. Prior to that, he was a litigation associate at
another prominent Boston law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP.
Before becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Mays was a judicial intern for Magistrate Judge
Judith G. Dein, U.S. District of Massachusetts and served as a legal intern at the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health.
Mr. Mays earned a B.A. in Psychology from Boston University in May 2001 and a J.D. from
Northeastern University School of Law in 2005.
He is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S. District
Court of Massachusetts.
NATHANIEL L. ORENSTEIN
An associate in the firm's Boston office, Nathaniel L. Orenstein focuses his practice on securities
and antitrust litigation. He is currently working on antitrust cases, including LCD Flat Panel and
on a consumer privacy case, AOL, against the online company.
In addition to Mr. Orenstein's legal practice at Berman DeValerio, he is on the Board of
Directors for the Center for Insurance Research.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio, Mr. Orenstein was a staff attorney for the Securities Division
of the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While there, he
monitored companies, investigated matters and pursued enforcement actions to detect and
prevent fraud at hedge funds and related companies. Mr. Orenstein was also the lead attorney
on many investigations and actions against broker-dealers, investment advisors and others.
Prior to obtaining his J.D. from the New York University School of Law in 2005, Mr. Orenstein
served as a member of the mutual fund and insurance brokerage investigation teams for the
Office of the New York State Attorney General's Investment Protection Bureau. As a legal
intern, he assisted with the Bureau's investigation work including, case planning, discovery and
settlement negotiation.
In addition to his work for the Commonwealth and for New York State, Mr. Orenstein was a
policy analyst, and was subsequently promoted to associate director, for the Center for
Insurance Research, a consumer advocacy organization. In these roles, he participated in
complex litigation matters. He also testified in regulatory and legislative proceedings on behalf
of policyholders concerning market conduct and insurance rate setting.
Mr. Orenstein is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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MATTHEW D. PEARSON
An associate in the San Francisco office, Matthew D. Pearson focuses his practice on securities
and antitrust litigation.
Mr. Pearson is currently working on several antitrust cases, including the In re New Motor
Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust Litigation, an action alleging that major auto manufacturers
unlawfully conspired to stop the export of cheaper new Canadian vehicles into the United
States for use or resale. The case has partially settled with Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. for
$35 million. The settlement requires court approval.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio in 2005, Mr. Pearson earned a B.A. in Political Science in 1999
from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a J.D. from the University of California, Davis,
School of Law in 2004.
While in law school, Mr. Pearson completed the King Hall Public Service Law Program and
worked as a legal intern assigned to a felony trial team at the Sacramento County District
Attorney's Office.
Mr. Pearson has been admitted to practice law in the State of California, as well as the United
States District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California.
ANTHONY D. PHILLIPS
An associate in San Francisco, Anthony D. Phillips focuses his practice on securities and antitrust
litigation.
Mr. Phillips currently works on several securities and antitrust cases, including the In re New
Motor Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust case.
Mr. Phillips received a combined honors B.A. in History and Politics from the University of York,
in England. In 2008, he graduated cum laude from the University of San Francisco School of
Law, where he was named to the McAuliffe Honor Society and received two CALI Awards for
Excellence in Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law and in Legal Ethics. Mr. Phillips also
interned for the Honorable Joanne C. Parrilli, California Court of Appeal.
Prior to attending law school, Mr. Phillips spent eight years working in the logistics industry,
including two years as director of product management for a transportation software provider,
Varsity Logistics, Inc.
In 2011, Mr. Phillips was named a Rising Star by Northern California Super Lawyer Magazine.
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Mr. Phillips is admitted to practice in the State of California and in U.S. District Courts in the
Northern, Central and Eastern Districts of California.
MATTHEW W. RUAN
An associate in the firm's San Francisco office, Matthew W. Ruan focuses his practice on
antitrust litigation.
Mr. Ruan currently works on the In re New Motor Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust case,
which alleges that major auto manufacturers unlawfully conspired to stop the export of
cheaper new Canadian vehicles into the United States for use or resale. The case has partially
settled with Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. for $35 million. The settlement requires court approval.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio in 2008, Mr. Ruan worked as an associate at Heins Mills &
Olson, P.L.C. in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was also an intern in the U.S. Department of
Justice's Criminal Division and a judicial extern for the Honorable Blanche M. Manning, U.S.
District Court of Northern Illinois.
Mr. Ruan earned an A.B. with honors in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and a J.D.
from the University of Michigan Law School. While in law school, he was an Associate Editor of
the Michigan Journal of International Law and a student attorney for the Michigan Appellate
Law Clinic.
Mr. Ruan is a member of the state bars of California and Minnesota. He is also admitted to the
U.S. District Court of Minnesota.
BING ZHANG RYAN
An associate in the firm's San Francisco office, Bing Zhang Ryan focuses her practice on
securities and antitrust litigation. She is a member of the team litigating securities class actions
LDK Solar Company Ltd. and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, which is related to
Bernard L. Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio in June 2009, Ms. Ryan gained broad-based civil litigation
experience, with an emphasis on securities class actions, at another plaintiffs' firm in San
Francisco. She was a member of the litigation teams for high-profile securities cases, such as
WorldCom, America West and Household International.
Ms. Ryan attended China Youth College for Politics, where she received a B.A. in Political
Science in 1991. She went on to receive her M.B.A., with a concentration in Finance and
Accounting, from Loyola University of Chicago in 1996. Ms. Ryan received her J.D. in May 2003
from the University of California at Berkeley Law School. She is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese
and Shanghainese.
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Ms. Ryan is also a Certified Public Accountant and is admitted to practice law in the State of
California.
JUSTIN N. SAIF
An associate in the firm's Boston office, Justin N. Saif focuses his practice on securities litigation.
He is currently working on the Bear Stearns Companies litigation.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio in 2008, Mr. Saif worked as an associate at Foley Hoag LLP in
Boston, where he focused on complex civil litigation including securities litigation and
professional liability matters involving lawyers and accountants.
Mr. Saif earned an A.B. in Psychology from Harvard University in 1999 graduating cum laude. In
2004 he earned a J.D. from the University of Chicago. While in law school, he worked at the
MacArthur Justice Center, an impact litigation firm and legal clinic focused on reforming the
criminal justice system.
Mr. Saif is admitted to practice law in state and federal courts in Massachusetts and the U.S.
Court of Appeals, First Circuit. He is a member of the American and Boston Bar Associations.
WHITNEY STREET
An associate in the firm's Boston office, Whitney Street focuses her practice on securities
litigation. Prior to joining the firm in November 2010, Ms. Street was a litigation associate at a
prominent law firm in New York, where she focused her practice on securities and antitrust
class actions. Ms. Street also worked as an associate for Pillsbury Winthrop LLP in San
Francisco.
Ms. Street received a B.A. in Economics and Literature from the University of Virginia in 1999.
In 2002, she received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. While in law school,
Ms. Street was actively involved in the Legal Aid Society and also served on the editorial boards
of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law and the Virginia Journal of Law &
Technology.
Ms. Street is admitted to practice in the states of California, Massachusetts, New York and
Texas, as well as the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. She is also admitted to practice
before the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Special Counsel
KEVIN SHELLEY
Kevin Shelley, special counsel to the firm, is a former California Secretary of State and State
Assembly leader recognized as an advocate for working people, consumers and investors.
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Mr. Shelley's political involvement began in 1978 as a staff member to U.S. Representatives Phil
and Sala Burton. He then played a key role in electing their successor, current Speaker of the
U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, in 1987. His own political career began in 1990,
when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Elected to the California State Assembly in 1996, he championed the rights of workers and
fought to protect civil rights. Among his accomplishments, he improved conditions at nursing
homes, drafted new corporate accountability requirements and created a restitution fund for
victims of corporate fraud.
Mr. Shelley, who spent five of his six years in the State Assembly as Majority Leader, won
election for Secretary of State in November 2002. As the state's Chief Election Officer, he is
credited with improving voter participation, calmly overseeing the historic recall election, and
decertifying problematic electronic voting machines.
Since 2005, Mr. Shelley has been representing consumers and plaintiffs in civil litigation.
He began working with Berman DeValerio in 2006. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from
the University of California, Davis in 1978 and a law degree from the University of California
Hastings College of the Law in 1983. A member of the California Bar, he is the son of Jack
Shelley, a former San Francisco mayor, U.S. congressman and California state senator.
Of Counsel
C. OLIVER BURT, Ill
For decades, C. Oliver Burt has worked to defend the interests of investors and fight against
corporate fraud.
During the course of his extensive career, Mr. Burt has taken a number of cases to trial and
appeal to obtain recoveries for defrauded investors.
In White v. Heartland High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund, for example, following three weeks of
trial against the funds' auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. Burt and the case team obtained
an $8.25 million settlement — an aggregate settlement of $23.25 million for the class. Mr. Burt
was also trial co-counsel for plaintiffs in Peil v. Speiser, a securities class action tried to verdict in
1986, and argued the appeal. In its landmark opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals
adopted the "fraud-on-the-market" presumption of reliance as the law of the Circuit. He was
plaintiffs' lead trial counsel in Kumpis v. Wetterau and in Upp v. Mellon Bank. In addition, Upp
v. Mellon Bank, a class action which involved an alleged breach of trust by a bank trustee, was
tried to verdict in August 1992.
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He has argued appeals in class action cases in the Third, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits and
the Delaware Supreme Court.
Prior to co-founding his firm in West Palm Beach in January 1994, Mr. Burt was a partner at a
Philadelphia law firm and in private practice from 1977 to 1993. During that period of time, he
tried many cases and was engaged in commercial litigation including antitrust, securities
litigation, unfair competition, white-collar criminal cases and general business litigation, as well
as plaintiffs' class actions.
Mr. Burt's tried cases included Callan, et at v. State Chemical Manufacturing Company, The
Mader Group, Inc. v. Gekoski, Beta Consultants & Administrators v. Centennial Life Ins. Co. and
U.S. v. Natale, a criminal RICO case, among others.
From 1971 to 1977, Mr. Burt was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania. He was appointed Chief of the Civil Division of that office in 1973. In that role,
he managed and tried many matters including the Grand Jury investigation concerning the
bankruptcy of the Penn Central Railroad, U.S. v. Rosenbaum. That case was tried by Mr. Burt
for approximately six weeks in a United States District Court in Philadelphia in the winter of
1977. Before being promoted to Chief, Mr. Burt was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for several
years, during which he prosecuted white-collar and other criminal cases involving securities
fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, "check-kiting," embezzlement of bank funds, interstate
transportation of stolen motor vehicles, income tax evasion, bank robbery, drug trafficking and
other offenses. During that time period, among other cases, he also prosecuted U.S. v. Bertram
Lazar, a Ponzi scheme.
In addition to his case work, Mr. Burt has been actively involved in a number of associations,
authored materials and lectured on a variety of legal topics. From 1972 through 1985, he was
Chairman of the Criminal Law Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association Young Lawyers'
Section Basic Legal Practice Course. He was an author and lecturer on various legal topics
including co-authoring materials on Punitive Damages in the Class Action context and lecturing
on that subject at the seminar "Litigating Punitive Damages" presented by the American
Conference Institute in New York in May 1995.
Mr. Burt graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in History and earned his J.D. from the
University of Pennsylvania Law School.
He is a member of the Florida and Pennsylvania Bars, and is admitted to practice before the
U.S. Supreme Court, the Third, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and various
U.S District Courts. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
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Mr. Burt co-founded Burt & Pucillo LLP, one of the firms that merged to form Berman DeValerio
in 2001. After serving as a partner in the firm's Florida office, he became Of Counsel to the firm
in January 2009.
MARC J. GREENSPON
Marc J. Greenspon became Of Counsel to the firm in 2009 and concentrates his practice in the
area of antitrust litigation.
Mr. Greenspon, formerly an associate with the firm from 2003 to 2007, worked on significant
antitrust, consumer and securities class actions before starting an independent law practice
counseling corporate clients. He maintains his independent law practice, which is not affiliated
with the firm.
Mr. Greenspon earned an LL.M. in Securities and Financial Regulation from the Georgetown
University Law Center in 2003, a J.D. from Nova Southeastern University in 2002, and a B.A.
from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1999. He co-authored "Securities
Arbitration: Bankrupt, Bothered & Bewildered," 7 Stan. J. L. Bus. & Fin. 131 (2002).
Mr. Greenspon is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida, as well as in the U.S. District
Courts for the Southern District of Florida, Middle District of Florida and Northern District of
Florida. Mr. Greenspon is a member of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law
and the American Bar Association Committee on Derivatives and Futures Law.
KRISTIN J. MOODY
Kristin J. Moody is Of Counsel in the firm's Boston office, where she focuses her practice on
securities litigation. She is currently working on litigation, including American Home Mortgage
and International Rectifier Corp., which settled for $90 million in 2009 and was granted final
approval by the court in February 2010.
Prior to joining Berman DeValerio in 2008, Ms. Moody practiced at Holland & Knight, LLP in
Boston and Morrison & Foerster, LLP in San Francisco. While at Morrison & Foerster, Ms.
Moody represented clients in complex commercial litigation matters with a focus on securities
litigation.
At Holland & Knight, she represented clients in a range of white-collar criminal matters,
government and regulatory investigations and complex civil litigation, including securities
litigation. Ms. Moody has also represented clients in a number of pro bono matters, including
discrimination and political asylum cases.
Ms. Moody teaches Business Law at Fisher College in the School of Management and Public
Administration and also sits on the Fisher College Advisory Board. She has published several
articles in the areas of accounting fraud, securities class actions and derivative suits.
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Ms. Moody earned an LL.M. from New York University School of Law in 2003, a J.D. cum laude
from Boston College Law School in 1999, and a B.A. in English and Legal Studies cum laude from
Bucknell University in 1995. While in law school, she was Notes and Comments Editor of the
Boston College International and Comparative Law Review and was active in the Women's Law
Center.
Ms. Moody is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the State of
California.
ANNE F. O'BERRY
Since joining the firm in 2000, Anne F. O'Berry has specialized primarily in securities class action
litigation, helping to achieve substantial recoveries for institutional investors in cases such as El
Paso, Lernout & Hauspie, Reliant, International Rectifier Corp., Sykes and WorldCom.
She has also assisted in several of the firm's antitrust, consumer protection, and ERISA cases,
including Canadian Motor Vehicles, Citrus Canker, LCD Flat Panel, Marine Hose and State Street
Bank and Trust Co., which received final approval in 2010 for an all-cash settlement of $89.75
million. She is currently involved in the securities class actions Bear Stearns Companies., Fannie
Mae and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.
Ms. O'Berry began her legal career as a commercial litigation associate at the New York firm of
Debevoise & Plimpton, and thereafter worked as a staff attorney for a federally funded agency
representing indigent death row inmates in state and federal post-conviction litigation, as codirector of a non-profit agency representing incarcerated battered women seeking executive
clemency, as a central staff attorney at Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal, and as an
adjunct professor at St. Thomas University Law School.
Ms. O'Berry has also served on several law-related committees, including serving as Secretary
of the Civil Rights Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
She obtained her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983, graduating summa cum
laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1986,
where she was the director of the Women in Prison Project at Riker's Island, a member of the
Civil Rights Litigation Clinic, and an Articles Editor on the Annual Survey of American Law, where
she published the article, "Prisoners' Rights: Judicial Deference to Prison Administrators," 1985
Annual Survey of American Law 325.
While in law school, Ms. O'Berry interned for Judge Abraham D. Sofaer, U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New York and for Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit.
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Following law school, Ms. O'Berry served as a law clerk to Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise, U.S.
District Court for the District of New Jersey, and then as a research and teaching associate to
Judge Higginbotham, with whom she co-authored: "The 'Law Only As An Enemy': The
Legitimization of Racial Powerlessness Through the Colonial and Antebellum Criminal Laws of
Virginia," 70 N.C. L. Rev. 969 (1992).
Ms. O'Berry is admitted to practice before the New York and Florida Bars, the U.S. Supreme
Court and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the
Southern District of Florida.
She is a member of the Appellate Practice Section of the Florida Bar, the Palm Beach County Bar
Association and the U.S. Green Building Council's South Florida Chapter.
MARIE QUASHNOCK
Marie Quashnock focuses her practice on securities litigation. Before joining Berman DeValerio
as Of Counsel in 2010, Ms. Quashnock developed broad litigation experience in a variety of
areas. She began her career as an entertainment litigator at a mid-sized firm in Los Angeles
before moving on to insurance and reinsurance coverage litigation and appellate work at midsized firms in San Francisco.
Ms. Quashnock widened her experience at a boutique firm in San Francisco, where she handled
transactional work involving insurance regulations, general corporate, trademarks, intellectual
property, real estate and finance matters. In recent years, she has extensively practiced civil
litigation in general commercial, real estate and construction litigation.
With a specialty in intellectual property law, she has prosecuted hundreds of trademark
registrations with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on behalf of her clients.
Ms. Quashnock graduated first in class for both her LL.B. (Canadian common law equivalent to
J.D.) and B.C.L. (Quebec civil law based on Napoleonic civil law) degrees from McGill University
in 1989. Prior to that, she attended Dawson College in Montreal, where she made the Dean's
List while obtaining her Diploma of College Studies (DEC) in Social Science. She is fluent in
French.
Ms. Quashnock was named a Super Lawyer by Northern California Super Lawyer Magazine for
two consecutive years in 2009 and 2010. She is admitted to practice law in the State of
California.
JOHN H. SUTTER
John H. Sutter focuses on securities litigation. He joined Berman DeValerio as Of Counsel in
early 2010 after working with the firm for several years as a contract attorney.
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Mr. Sutter participated in a number of the firm's important cases, drafting investigative
memoranda and mediation statements in the Xerox litigation, which resulted in a $750 million
recovery for plaintiffs from the company and its auditor, KPMG. He also participated in
extensive document review and discovery preparation in the State Street Bank ERISA litigation
and the Nortel II litigation, each of which resulted in a substantial recovery for plaintiffs.
Before working with Berman DeValerio, Mr. Sutter was both a corporate and litigation associate
for two prominent Boston law firms. He also served as an in-house assistant general counsel
with Biogen, Inc., focusing in particular on securities and compliance issues.
Mr. Sutter graduated second in a class of nearly 400 from Boston University School of Law,
summa cum laude, in 1995. He served on the Boston University Law Review and was a charter
member of the Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity. He also was a distinguished scholar for all three
years and was the recipient of the William L. and Lillian Berger Award for Distinguished
Academic Achievement. He graduated from Suffolk University in 1992 with a B.A. in English
Literature.
He is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S. District
Court of Massachusetts.
WENDY H. ZOBERMAN
Wendy H. Zoberman focuses her practice on securities litigation. Since 1990, Ms. Zoberman
has prosecuted numerous securities class actions and derivative actions throughout Florida and
in other jurisdictions.
Ms. Zoberman regularly represents institutional investors. Examples include the Louisiana
Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System case Reliant Energy, Inc. and the Florida State
Board of Administration in shareholder actions Sensormatic Electronics Corporation and Sykes
Enterprises, Inc. The latter two litigations resulted in what were, at that time, among the largest
securities class action settlements in Florida -$53.3 million and $30 million, respectively.
Additionally, Ms. Zoberman participated in the UCAR International, Inc. securities case, one of
the first times significant corporate governance relief was achieved as part of a securities class
action. The UCAR case, where the Florida State Board of Administration was lead plaintiff,
settled for a $40 million cash payment and the right to appoint a new member to UCAR's Board
of Directors.
Ms. Zoberman is a 1981 graduate of Wellesley College, where she was a Durant Scholar, and
was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She received her law degree from Columbia
University in 1984. At Columbia she served as an Articles Editor of the Columbia UniversityVolunteer Lawyers for the Arts Journal of Art and the Law, and is a co-author of "An
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Introduction to the New York Artists' Authorship Rights Act," appearing at Vol. 8, No. 3
Columbia - VIA Journal of Art and the Law 369.
Ms. Zoberman is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Middle and
Southern Districts of Florida, as well as all Florida State Courts.
After serving as a partner in Berman DeValerio's Florida office, Ms. Zoberman became Of
Counsel to the firm on Jan. 1, 2009.
Other Key Personnel
RONALD J. KEATING, DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATIONS
Based in the firm's Boston office, Ronald J. Keating is a fraud investigator and forensic
accountant with nearly three decades of field experience, including 21 years as a Special Agent
for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A Certified Public Accountant and licensed Private Investigator, Mr. Keating joined the firm in
2008. He devotes his skills and energies to uncovering evidence of fraud, often non-public
information obtained through interviews with former employees at suspect companies.
Mr. Keating served as a Special Agent in the FBI's Boston office from 1979-1988 and again from
1995-2007. While with the Bureau, he directed all aspects of complex financial fraud
investigations, including securities fraud, Ponzi schemes, financial institution fraud, financial
statement fraud and economic crimes. Cases that Mr. Keating investigated in conjunction with
federal and state regulators -- including the Securities Exchange Commission and the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers) -resulted in criminal penalties, multi-million-dollar settlements and asset forfeiture.
From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Keating served as Senior Special Investigator for the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington D.C., where he directed investigations
related to violations of federal money laundering, bank fraud and bank secrecy laws.
Mr. Keating became a CPA in 1979. He is a Massachusetts-licensed Private Investigator and a
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. He earned a Master of Science in Taxation from
Bentley College in 1988 and a B.S. in Accounting from Northeastern University in 1976.
JEANNINE M. SCARSCIOTTI, SENIOR PORTFOLIO ANALYST
Jeannine M. Scarsciotti is Berman DeValerio's senior portfolio analyst and oversees portfolio
monitoring, data analysis, and loss calculations for the firm's institutional clients.
She is also the firm's senior paralegal and, as such, oversees and coordinates paralegal projects.
She joined the firm in 1995. Ms. Scarsciotti attended Bentley College, graduating summa cum
laude in 1995. She earned a B.S. in Professional Studies and an ABA-Accredited Certificate of
Paralegal Studies.
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OFFICES
MASSACHUSETTS
One Liberty Square
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: (617) 542-8300
Fax: (617) 542-1194
FLORIDA
3507 Kyoto Gardens Drive, Suite 200
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Phone: (561) 835-9400
Fax: (561) 835-0322
CALIFORNIA
One California Street, Suite 900
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (415) 433-3200
Fax: (415) 433-6382
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