Ford v. VOXX International Corporation et al

Filing 15

MEMORANDUM & ORDER ADOPTING REPORT & RECOMMENDATION - Judge Shields' R&R (Docket Entry 14) is ADOPTED in its entirety and Plaintiffs' motion (Docket Entry 11) is GRANTED. The Court hereby appoints the Union Funds as lead plaintiffs and Robbins Geller as lead counsel in this case. So Ordered by Judge Joanna Seybert on 7/16/2015. C/ECF (Valle, Christine)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
------------------------------------X
BRIAN FORD, Individually and on
Behalf of All Others Similarly
Situated,
Plaintiff,

MEMORANDUM & ORDER
14-CV-4183(JS)(AYS)

-againstVOXX INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION,
PATRICK M. LAVELLE, and CHARLES
MICHAEL STOEHR,
Defendants.
------------------------------------X
APPEARANCES
For Plaintiffs:

For Defendants:

Samuel H. Rudman, Esq.
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, LLP
58 South Service Road
Suite 200
Melville, NY 11747
John A. Neuwirth, Esq.
Caroline Jane Hickey, Esq.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
767 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10153

SEYBERT, District Judge:
Pending before the Court is Magistrate Judge Anne Y.
Shield’s Report and Recommendation (“R&R”), recommending that the
Court grant a motion made by the Asbestos Workers Philadelphia
Pension Fund (“the Asbestos Workers Fund”), IBEW Local 98 Pension
Fund (“IBEW Local 98”), and Plumbers Local No. 98 Defined Benefit
Pension Fund (“Plumbers Local 98” and together with Asbestos
Workers Fund, and IBEW Local 98, the “Union Funds”), as lead
plaintiffs in this case, and approve firm of Robbins Geller Rudman

& Dowd LLP (“Robbins Geller”) as lead counsel.

(Docket Entry 14)

For the following reasons, the Court ADOPTS Judge Shields’ R&R in
its entirety.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff

Brian

Ford

(“Plaintiff”)

commenced

this

securities class action on July 8, 2014 against defendants VOXX
International Corporation (“VOXX” or the “Company”), Patrick M.
Lavelle, and Charles Michael Stoehr (collectively, “Defendants”).
Plaintiffs allege that Defendants violated Sections 10(b) and
20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and seek to recover
losses allegedly incurred as the result of class members’ purchase
of VOXX’s common stock.

(Compl. ¶¶ 1, 15.)

On September 8, 2014, the Union Funds moved to appoint
themselves as the lead plaintiffs in this case and to appoint
Robbins Geller as lead counsel.

(Docket Entry 11.)

On April 13,

2015, Judge Shields issued her R&R recommending that the Court
enter an order: (1) appointing the Union Funds as lead plaintiffs
in this case, and (2) appointing Robbins Geller as lead counsel.
(R&R at 7.)
DISCUSSION
In reviewing an R&R, a district court “may accept,
reject,

or

modify,

recommendations

made

in
by

whole
the

or

in

part,

magistrate

the

judge.”

findings
28

and

U.S.C.

§ 636(b)(1)(C). If no timely objections have been made, the “court

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need only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face
of the record.”

Urena v. New York, 160 F. Supp. 2d 606, 609-10

(S.D.N.Y. 2001) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
Objections were due within fourteen days of service of
the R&R.

The time for filing objections has expired, and no party

has objected.

Accordingly, all objections are hereby deemed to

have been waived.
Upon careful review and consideration, the Court finds
Judge Shields’ R&R to be comprehensive, well-reasoned, and free of
clear error, and it ADOPTS the R&R in its entirety.
CONCLUSION
Judge Shields’ R&R (Docket Entry 14) is ADOPTED in its
entirety and Plaintiffs’ motion (Docket Entry 11) is GRANTED.

The

Court hereby appoints the Union Funds as lead plaintiffs and
Robbins Geller as lead counsel in this case.

SO ORDERED.
/s/ JOANNA SEYBERT______
Joanna Seybert, U.S.D.J.
Dated:

July
16 , 2015
Central Islip, NY

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