Settlement Class 2. Pursuant to Rule 23(e)(1)(B)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court preliminarily finds that the Court will likely find that the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(3) have been satisfied for settlement and judgment purposes only. As to the requirements of Rule 23(a) for settlement purposes only, (i) the Settlement Class provisionally certified herein likely exceeds 100,000 individuals, and joinder of all would be impracticable; (ii) there are questions of law and fact common to the Settlement Class; (iii) Class Representatives’ claims are typical of the claims of the Settlement Class they seek to represent for purposes of settlement; and (iv) Class Representatives are adequate representatives of the Settlement Class. As to the requirements of Rule 23(b)(3) for settlement purposes only, questions of law and fact common to the Settlement Class predominate over any questions affecting any individual Settlement Class Member, and a class action on behalf of the Settlement Class is superior to other available means of settling and disposing of this dispute.
Notice to Settlement Class Members 5.1 The Parties agree that the following Notice Program provides reasonable notice to the Settlement Class.
Settlement Class Members “Settlement Class Members” shall mean all persons in the Class who do not exclude themselves pursuant to Section F, herein, and those who submit a Valid Claim.
Class Actions The Custodian shall use its best efforts to identify and file claims for the Fund(s) involving any class action litigation that impacts any security the Fund(s) may have held during the class period. The Trust agrees that the Custodian may file such claims on its behalf and understands that it may be waiving and/or releasing certain rights to make claims or otherwise pursue class action defendants who settle their claims. Further, the Trust acknowledges that there is no guarantee these claims will result in any payment or partial payment of potential class action proceeds and that the timing of such payment, if any, is uncertain. However, the Trust may instruct the Custodian to distribute class action notices and other relevant documentation to the Fund(s) or its designee and, if it so elects, will relieve the Custodian from any and all liability and responsibility for filing class action claims on behalf of the Fund(s). In the event the Fund(s) are closed, the Custodian shall only file the class action claims upon written instructions by an authorized representative of the closed Fund(s). Any expenses associated with such filing will be assessed against the proceeds received of any class action settlement.
Class Action Waiver THE PARTIES AGREE THAT ANY CLAIMS WILL BE ADJUDICATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, AND EACH WAIVES THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, PAGA, OR OTHER JOINT ACTION WITH RESPECT TO THE CLAIMS.
Loss Settlement Covered property losses are settled as follows:
Payments to Settlement Class Members (a) Defendant shall pay into the Escrow Account the amount of the Settlement Fund ($1,000,000.00), specified in Paragraph 1.33 of this Agreement, within sixty (60) days after Final Approval.
The Settlement The Settlement was reached on May 11, 2018. Class Counsel filed this action on May 10, 2018. Over two years prior to the filing of this action, Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel conducted an adversarial informal discovery process. Class Counsel reviewed and analyzed thousands of pages of documents provided by Defendant and also reviewed many other documents, including U.S. Department of Labor Forms 5500 and other publicly available documents. The Parties participated in mediation before a nationally recognized mediator who has extensive experience in resolving similar claims involving other 401(k) plans. Only after six months of extensive arm’s length negotiation following the mediation were the parties able to agree to the terms of the Settlement. As part of the Settlement, a Qualified Settlement Fund of $17,000,000 will be established to resolve the Class Action. The Net Settlement Amount is $17,000,000 minus any Administrative Expenses, taxes, tax expenses, Court-approved Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, Class Representatives’ Compensation, and other approved expenses of the litigation. The Net Settlement Amount will be allocated to Class Members according to a Plan of Allocation to be approved by the Court. In addition to the monetary component of the Settlement, the Parties to the Settlement have agreed to certain additional terms: (1) During the first eighteen months (18) following the final approval of the Settlement, Defendant has agreed that the Plan’s fiduciaries will conduct a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) process for recordkeeping services to the Plan; (2) Within the first year following final approval of the Settlement, Defendant has agreed to publish a communication to then current Plan participants explaining the risks and benefits of the Plan’s money market fund investment option; (3) Defendant also will use an independent consultant familiar with fixed income investment options in defined contribution plans who will review the investment lineup and make recommendations to the Plan’s fiduciaries regarding whether to retain the money market fund and whether to add a stable value or comparable fund; (4) In addition, during the three- year Settlement period, Defendant has agreed to provide Class Counsel a list of the Plan’s investment options and fees; and (5) In considering investment options for the Plan, Defendant has agreed that the Plan’s fiduciaries will consider: (a) the lowest-cost share class available for any particular mutual fund considered for inclusion in the Plan as well as other criteria applicable to different share classes; (b) the availability of revenue sharing rebates on any share class available for any particular mutual fund considered for inclusion in the Plan; and (c) the availability of collective trusts, to the extent such investments are permissible and are otherwise identical to a particular mutual fund considered for inclusion in the Plan.
DISPUTES SETTLEMENT (1) Should any dispute arise as to the operation of this agreement and the parties are unable to resolve that dispute by amicable negotiation the parties shall refer such dispute to the Industrial Relations Commission for -
Net Out of Settlement Amounts The Non-Defaulting Party will aggregate all Settlement Amounts into a single amount by netting out (a) all amounts that are due to the Defaulting Party for Product that has been Delivered and not yet paid for, plus, at the option of the Non-Defaulting Party, any cash, security or other Performance Assurance then available to the Non-Defaulting Party, plus any or all other amounts due to the Defaulting Party under this Agreement against (b) all Settlement Amounts that are due to the Non-Defaulting Party, plus any or all other amounts due to the Non-Defaulting Party under this Agreement, so that all such amounts will be netted out to a single liquidated amount (the “Termination Payment”) payable by the Defaulting Party. The Termination Payment, if any, is due from the Defaulting Party to the Non-Defaulting Party within two Business Days following notice.
