Salhuana v. Diamond Foods, Inc. et al
Filing
121
ORDER APPOINTING CLASS COUNSEL by Hon. William Alsup granting in part and denying in part 105 Motion to Appoint Counsel.(whalc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/13/2012)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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For the Northern District of California
United States District Court
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No. C 11-05386 WHA
In Re Diamond Foods, Inc.,
Securities Litigation
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ORDER APPOINTING
CLASS COUNSEL
This Document Relates to:
All Actions.
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By order dated March 20, 2012, Mississippi PERS was appointed lead plaintiff.
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Mississippi PERS has filed its certification signed by both the Mississippi Attorney General’s
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Office and the chief executive of Mississippi PERS (Dkt. No. 99). Mississippi PERS now
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moves for appointment of co-lead class counsel. In compliance with the March 20 order,
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Mississippi PERS has submitted under seal, declarations explaining the due diligence undertaken
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in its selection of counsel, including an explanation of why the counsel selected was favored
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over other potential candidates.
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The lead plaintiff, Mississippi PERS has reviewed counsel proposals from a number of
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law firms and has submitted its recommendation under seal for the Court’s review. The Court
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sought clarification and additional information regarding certain issues related to the various
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proposals and lead plaintiff’s recommendation. Supplemental information was then submitted
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under seal by Mississippi PERS.
shall, subject to the approval of the court, select and retain counsel to represent the class.” 15
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U.S.C. 78u-4(a)(3)(B)(v). “[I]f the lead plaintiff has made a reasonable choice of counsel, the
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district court should generally defer to that choice.” Cohen v. U.S. Dist. Court for N. Dist. of
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Cal., 586 F.3d 703, 712 (9th Cir. 2009). Based on the recommendation of lead plaintiff and
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based on the Court’s review of the materials submitted, the Court appoints Attorneys John F.
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Harnes, Robert W. Killorin, Meryl W. Roper, and Ze’eva Kushner Banks from the firm of
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Chitwood Harley Harnes LLP, and the firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, as
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class counsel. No attorney has been identified as the lead attorney from the Lieff Cabraser firm.
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Attorney Harnes must serve as lead counsel, with a commitment to taking the major depositions
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For the Northern District of California
Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, “[t]he most adequate plaintiff
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United States District Court
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in this case, actively supervising the investigation and motion practice, trying the case (if need
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be), and negotiating settlement. Three law firms will not be appointed due to the risk of wasteful
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duplicative effort.
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The lead plaintiff is ordered to maintain the confidence of all proposals and not to discuss
the selection process without further order of the Court.
Class counsel must file a consolidated complaint within 45 CALENDAR DAYS of the date
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of this order. Defendants may then file a motion to dismiss (or answer) within 45 CALENDAR
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DAYS. Any such motion shall be noticed on the normal 35-day track.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: June 13, 2012.
WILLIAM ALSUP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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