Balestra v. ATBCOIN LLC et al

Filing 89

ORDER terminating 87 Motion for Clarification re: 87 MOTION Clarification . Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that: (1)In accordance with Paragraph 17 of the Settlement Agreement, on or before April 5, 2022, each Defendant shal l provide to Class Counsel, or the Claims Administrator, whatever information it possesses, if any, or with reasonable effort can obtain, listing the names and last known addresses of the persons and entities who were ATB securities purchasers during the Class Period. (2)In accordance with Paragraph 9(a) of the Settlement Agreement, on or before April 18, 2022, the Claims Administrator and Lead Counsel shall cause the Summary Notice to be published on a national wire service, on Lead Counsel 9;s firm website, on www.coindesk.com, and on https://www.reddit.com/r/ATBcoin. (3)In accordance with my Preliminary Approval Order, on or before May 11, 2022, the Claims Administrator shall mail the notice and claim form to those Settlement Class Members, if any, for which Defendants have provided the names and last known addresses. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to terminate the motion pending at Doc. 87. SO ORDERED.. (Signed by Judge Vernon S. Broderick on 4/4/2022) (kv)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
--------------------------------------------------------- X
:
RAYMOND BALESTRA, individually and :
on behalf of all others similarly situated,
:
:
Plaintiff,
:
:
- against :
:
:
ATBCOIN LLC, EDWARD NG, and
:
HERBERT W. HOOVER,
:
Defendants. :
:
--------------------------------------------------------- X

17-cv-10001 (VSB)
ORDER

VERNON S. BRODERICK, United States District Judge:
Lead Plaintiff Raymond Balestra (“Lead Plaintiff” or “Balestra”) has filed a motion
requesting clarification of how Lead Counsel is to provide notice to class members. (Doc. 87.)
In my Preliminary Approval Order, I quoted Lead Plaintiff’s representation that “Defendants
have informed counsel for Plaintiffs that they are unlikely to have names, e-mails, or physical
addresses for potential class members.” (Doc. 86 (“Preliminary Approval Order”) at 10–11
(quoting Doc. 65 (“Pl.’s Preliminary Approval Mem.”) at 24).) I therefore found that Lead
Plaintiff’s plan to publish the notice on a national wire service, on Lead Counsel’s firm website,
on a leading blockchain news and media outlet called CoinDesk.com, and on a Reddit forum
dedicated to ATB Coin, constituted the best notice practicable under the circumstances. (See
Preliminary Approval Order 10–11.) Nevertheless, the Settlement Agreement still requires:
No later than seven (7) calendar days after entry of the Order for Notice and
Hearing, each Defendant shall provide to Class Counsel, or the Claims
Administrator, whatever information it possesses, if any, or with reasonable effort
can obtain, listing the names and last known addresses of the persons and entities
who were ATB securities purchasers during the Class Period.
(Doc. 66-1 (“Settlement Agreement”) ¶ 17.) Likewise, Lead Plaintiff proposed in his

memorandum in support of his motion for preliminary approval that the “[d]eadline for
mailing the Notice and Claim Form to Settlement Class Members” be set for “[n]o later
than 31 business days after entry of Preliminary Approval Order.” (Pl.’s Preliminary
Approval Mem. 25.) I set the deadline accordingly. (See Preliminary Approval Order
13.) Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that:
(1) In accordance with Paragraph 17 of the Settlement Agreement, on or before April
5, 2022, each Defendant shall provide to Class Counsel, or the Claims
Administrator, whatever information it possesses, if any, or with reasonable effort
can obtain, listing the names and last known addresses of the persons and entities
who were ATB securities purchasers during the Class Period.
(2) In accordance with Paragraph 9(a) of the Settlement Agreement, on or before
April 18, 2022, the Claims Administrator and Lead Counsel shall cause the
Summary Notice to be published on a national wire service, on Lead Counsel’s
firm website, on www.coindesk.com, and on https://www.reddit.com/r/ATBcoin.
(3) In accordance with my Preliminary Approval Order, on or before May 11, 2022,
the Claims Administrator shall mail the notice and claim form to those Settlement
Class Members, if any, for which Defendants have provided the names and last
known addresses.
The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to terminate the motion pending at
Doc. 87.

2

SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 4, 2022
New York, New York
______________________
Vernon S. Broderick
United States District Judge

3