Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Announces Proposed $14.75 Million Settlement of Class Action Merryman et al. v. Citigroup, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 1-15-cv-CM-KNF (S.D.N.Y.)
NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
BENJAMIN MICHAEL MERRYMAN, AMY |
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WHITAKER MERRYMAN TRUST, AND B |
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MERRYMAN AND A MERRYMAN 4TH |
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GENERATION REMAINDER TRUST, |
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individually and on behalf of all others similarly |
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situated, |
Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-09185-CM-KNF |
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Plaintiffs, |
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v. |
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CITIGROUP, INC., CITIBANK, N.A., and |
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CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC., |
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Defendants. |
SUMMARY NOTICE OF (I) PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT;
(II) FINAL APPROVAL HEARING; AND (III) MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES AND REIMBURSEMENT OF LITIGATION EXPENSES
TO: All persons or entities (1) who received cash distributions from the Depositary-sponsored American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") listed in Appendix 1 to the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement dated August 20, 2018 ("Stipulation")1 from January 1, 2006 to September 4, 2018, inclusive, and were damaged thereby (the "Damages Class"); and/or (2) who currently own the Depositary-sponsored ADRs listed in Appendix 1 to the Stipulation (the "Current Holder Class" and, together with the Damages Class, the "Class").
Certain persons and entities are excluded from the definition of the Class as set forth in detail in the Stipulation and the Notice described below.
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CLASS, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT, AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE SETTLEMENT DESCRIBED BELOW.
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, that the above-captioned litigation ("Litigation") has been provisionally certified as a class action for the purposes of settlement only and that the parties to the Litigation have reached a proposed settlement for $14,750,000 in cash and certain additional non-monetary relief ("Settlement"), that, if approved, will resolve all claims in the Litigation. A hearing will be held on December 21, 2018 at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable Colleen McMahon at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007, to determine: (i) whether the proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (ii) whether the Litigation should be dismissed with prejudice against Citibank, N.A. ("Defendant" or "Depositary"), and the releases specified and described in the Stipulation (and in the Notice) should be granted; (iii) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation should be approved as fair and reasonable; and (iv) whether Lead Counsel's application for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses should be approved.
IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED ABOVE, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE PENDING ACTION AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE SETTLEMENT FUND. A detailed Notice of (I) Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement; (II) Final Approval Hearing; and (III) Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Litigation Expenses ("Notice") and Proof of Claim and Release form ("Claim Form") (or Validation Letter for those Class Members who hold (or held) their eligible ADRs directly and are listed on the records of the Depositary's transfer agent) are currently being mailed to Class Members explaining their rights in connection with the Settlement and the process, for certain Class Members, to submit a Claim Form in order to be eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement. If you have not yet received the detailed Notice and Claim Form (or Validation Letter), you may obtain copies of these documents by visiting www.CitibankADRSettlement.com, or by contacting the Claims Administrator at:
Citibank ADR Settlement
c/o KCC Class Action Services
P.O. Box 404077
Louisville, KY 40233-4077
1-866-680-6138
[email protected]
Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice and Claim Form, should be made to Court-appointed Lead Counsel:
Sharan Nirmul, Esq.
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
(610) 667-7706
[email protected]
If you are a member of the Damages Class (i.e., you received cash distributions from the Depositary-sponsored ADRs listed in Appendix 1 to the Stipulation from January 1, 2006 to September 4, 2018, inclusive, and were damaged thereby) and, as explained in the Notice, you hold (or held) your Depositary-sponsored ADRs directly and are listed on the records of the Depositary's transfer agent, you are a Registered Holder Damages Class Members and do not have to take any action in order to be eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement. Your losses (if any) will be calculated using the information provided by the Depositary's transfer agent. However, if you hold (or held) your Depositary-sponsored ADRs through a bank, broker or other nominee and are not listed on the records of the Depositary's transfer agent, you are a Non-Registered Holder Damages Class Member and, in order for you to be eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement, you must submit a Claim Form postmarked no later than March 15, 2019. If you are a Non-Registered Holder Damages Class Member and do not submit a proper 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 judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Litigation.
If you are a member of the Current Holder Class (i.e., you currently own the Depositary-sponsored ADRs listed in Appendix 1 to the Stipulation), the Settlement also provides additional non-monetary relief related to the conversion of foreign currency of cash distributions paid by any Depositary-sponsored ADR issuer pursuant to a deposit agreement, the terms of which are fully set forth in the Stipulation and mailed Notice.
If you are a member of the Class and wish to exclude yourself from the Class, you must submit a request for exclusion such that it is received no later than November 16, 2018, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice. If you properly exclude yourself from the Class, you will not be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Litigation and if you are a member of the Damages Class, you will not be eligible to share in the net proceeds of the Settlement.
Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel's motion for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses, must be filed with the Court and delivered to Lead Counsel and Defendant's Counsel such that they are received no later than November 16, 2018, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice.
Please do not contact the Court, the Clerk's office, the Depositary, or its counsel regarding this notice. All questions about this notice, the Settlement, or your eligibility to participate in the Settlement should be directed to Lead Counsel or the Claims Administrator.
DATED: September 4, 2018 |
BY ORDER OF THE COURT |
1 The securities listed in Appendix 1 to the Stipulation are: (1) ABB Ltd. (CUSIP: 000375204); (2) Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (CUSIP: 00756M404); (3) BHP Billiton Ltd. (CUSIP: 088606108); (4) British American Tobacco (CUSIP: 110448107); (5) Compania Energetica de Minas Gerais – CEMIG (Preferred) (CUSIP: 204409601); (6) Delhaize Group (CUSIP: 29759W101); (7) Diageo PLC (CUSIP: 25243Q205); (8) GDF Suez (k/n/a/ Engie) (CUSIPs: 36160B105 / 29286D105); (9) Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (k/n/a Imperial Brands plc) (CUSIPs: 453142101 / 45262P102); (10) KT Corp. (f/k/a Korea Telecom Corp.) (CUSIP: 48268K101); (11) Nestle S.A. (CUSIP: 641069406); (12) Nokia (CUSIP: 654902204); (13) POSCO (f/k/a Pohang Iron and Steel Co.) (CUSIP: 693483109); (14) SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (f/k/a Korea Mobile Telecommunications Corp.) (CUSIP: 78440P108); (15) Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (CUSIP: 82929R304); (16) Taiwan Semiconductor (CUSIP: 874039100); (17) Tata Motors (CUSIP: 876568502); (18) Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson) (CUSIP: 294821608); (19) Telefonica S.A. (f/k/a Telefonica de Espana S.A.) (CUSIP: 879382208); (20) Unilever PLC (CUSIP: 904767704); and (21) WPP PLC (CUSIP: 92933H101).
SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
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