Micholle v. Ophthotech Corporation et al
Filing 137
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 23(E)(1) AND PERMITTING NOTICE TO THE CLASS: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1. The Court hereby preliminarily approves the Settlement set forth in the Stipulation, subject to further considerat ion at the Settlement Hearing described below. 2. Pursuant to Rules 23(a) and (b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and for purposed of this Settlement only, the Litigation is hereby certified as a class action on behalf of all Persons who purchased or acquired Ophthotech common stock during the period between March 2, 2015 through December 12, 2016, inclusive. Excluded from the Class are: (i) Defendants; (ii) members of the immediate family of each Defendant; (iii) any Person who was an officer or director of Ophthotech during the Class Period; (iv) any entity in which any Defendant has or had a controlling interest; (v) any corporate parent and/or affiliate of Ophthotech; and (vi) the legal representatives, heirs, successors-in- interest, or assigns of any such excluded Person. Also excluded from the Class is any Person who would otherwise be a Member of the Class but who validly and timely requests exclusion in accordance with the requirements set by the Court. 3. The Court finds, for the purpose of the Settlement only, that the prerequisites for a class action under Rules 23(a) and (b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have been satisfied in that: (a) the number of Class Members is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (b) there are questions of law and fact common to the Class; (c) the claims of Lead Plaintiff are typical of the claims of the Class it seeks to represent; (d) Lead Plaintiff and Lead Counsel have and will fairly and ad equately represent the interests of the Class; (e) the questions of law and fact common to Members of the Class predominate over any questions affecting only - 3 - individual Class Members; and (f) a class action is superior to other methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the Litigation. A hearing shall be held before this Court on September 8, 2022, at 2 p.m. (the "Settlement Hearing"), at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Thurgood Ma rshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, New York, NY 10007, to: as further set forth herein. Not later than April 7, 2022 (the "Notice Date") (a date twenty-one (21) calendar days after entry by the Court of this Order), the Claim s Administrator shall cause a copy of the Notice and Proof of Claim and Release, substantially in the forms annexed hereto as Exhibits 1 and 2, to be mailed by First-Class Mail to all Class Members who can be identified with reasonable effort and to be posted on the case-designated website, www.OPHSecuritiesSettlement.com. For all Notices returned as undeliverable, the Claims Administrator shall use its best efforts to locate updated addresses. Not later than April 14, 2022 (a date seven (7) cal endar days after the Notice Date), the Claims Administrator shall cause the Summary Notice to be published once in The Wall Street Journal, and once over a national newswire service. Any Member of the Class who or which does not request exclusion fro m the Class may appear at the Settlement Hearing and object if he, she, or it has any reason why the proposed Settlement of the Litigation should not be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate, why a judgment should not be entered thereon, why the Plan of Allocation should not be approved, or why attorneys fees, together with costs, charges and expenses should not be awarded to Lead Counsel or to Lead Plaintiff; provided that any such Class Member files objections and copies of any papers and briefs with the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and mails copies thereof by first-class mail to Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Ellen Gusikoff Stewart, 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 921 01; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Michael G. Bongiorno, 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007; and to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Jordan Hershman, One Federal Street, Boston MA 02110, no later than August 1, 202 2. All papers in support of the Settlement, Plan of Allocation, and any application by Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees, costs, charges and expenses shall be filed and served no later than August 4, 2022 (a date that is thirty-five ( 35) calendar days prior to the Settlement Hearing), and any reply papers shall be filed and served no later than September 1, 2022, 2022 (a date that is seven (7) calendar days prior to the Settlement Hearing). (as further set forth herein). IT IS SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Vernon S. Broderick on 3/17/2022) (kv)
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