Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Announces Notice of Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement of the In Re Weatherford International Securities Litigation

SAN FRANCISCO, April 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP regarding the In Re Weatherford International Securities Litigation.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

IN RE WEATHERFORD INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES LITIGATION, 11 Civ. 1646 (LAK) (JCF), CLASS ACTION

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT, SETTLEMENT FAIRNESS HEARING AND MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES AND REIMBURSEMENT OF LITIGATION EXPENSES

TO: ALL PERSONS WHO PURCHASED OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRED WEATHERFORD INTERNATIONAL LTD. ("WEATHERFORD") COMMON STOCK BETWEEN APRIL 25, 2007 AND MARCH 1, 2011, INCLUSIVE, AND WHO WERE ALLEGEDLY DAMAGED THEREBY (THE "SETTLEMENT CLASS").  CERTAIN PERSONS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE DEFINITION OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS, AS SET FORTH IN DETAIL IN THE STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE.

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, that the above-captioned litigation ("Action") has been preliminarily certified as a class action for the purposes of settlement only and that a settlement has been proposed for $52,500,000 in cash.  A hearing will be held in Courtroom 21B before the Honorable Lewis A. Kaplan, at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007 at 4:00 p.m. on July 8, 2014 to, among other things: determine whether the proposed Settlement should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; determine whether the proposed Plan of Allocation for distribution of the settlement proceeds should be approved as fair and reasonable; and consider the application of Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses.           

IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS DESCRIBED ABOVE, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE PENDING ACTION AND THE SETTLEMENT, AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE SETTLEMENT FUND.  If you do not receive a copy of the full printed Notice of Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement, Settlement Fairness Hearing and Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Litigation Expenses (the "Notice"), with the attached Claim Form, you may obtain a copy of these documents by contacting the Claims Administrator:  In re Weatherford International Securities Litigation, c/o GCG, P.O. Box 10038, Dublin, OH 43017-6638, (877) 900-6750.  Copies of the Notice and Claim Form can also be downloaded from the website maintained by the Claims Administrator, www.WeatherfordSecuritiesLitigationSettlement.com, or from Lead Counsel's website www.ktmc.com.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, in order to be eligible to share in the distribution of the net proceeds of the Settlement, you must submit a Claim Form postmarked on or before August 19, 2014.  If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not submit a valid Claim Form, you will not be eligible to share in the distribution of the net proceeds of the Settlement but you will nevertheless be bound by any judgment entered by the Court in this Action.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you must submit a written request for exclusion such that it is received no later than June 8, 2014, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice.  If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you will be bound by the judgment entered by the Court in this Action, including the releases provided for in the judgment, whether or not you submit a Claim Form.  If you submit a request for exclusion, you will have no right to recover money pursuant to the Settlement and will have to pursue any claims against the defendants independently.  Lead Counsel offers no advice and no opinion on whether you will be able to maintain such claims. 

Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or the request for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses, must be filed with the Court and delivered to Lead Counsel for the Settlement Class and counsel for the defendants such that they are received no later than June 13, 2014, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE.  Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice or Claim Form, may be made to Lead Counsel:

Eli R. Greenstein, Esq.
Stacey M. Kaplan, Esq.
Jennifer Joost, Esq.
KESSLER TOPAZ
MELTZER & CHECK, LLP
One Sansome Street, Suite 1850
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 400-3000
www.ktmc.com

By Order of the Court

SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP