X Civil Action No. 1: 15-mc-00040-AKH ALL ACTIONS. … · 2019. 12. 18. · to the non-CM/ECF...
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK - - ---- - ----- --X In re AMERICAN REALTY CAPTTAL PROPERTIES, INC. LTTIGATION This Docwnent Relates To : ALL ACTIONS. ______________ x Civil Action No. 1: 15-mc-00040-AKH CLASS ACTION DECLARATION OF LAURIE A. GOMEZ IN SUPPORT OF MOTIONS FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AND PLAN OF ALLOCATION, AND AW ARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND EXPENSES Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 1 of 12
Transcript of X Civil Action No. 1: 15-mc-00040-AKH ALL ACTIONS. … · 2019. 12. 18. · to the non-CM/ECF...
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
- - ----- -------X In re AMERICAN REALTY CAPTT AL PROPERTIES, INC. LTTIGA TION
This Docwnent Relates To:
ALL ACTIONS. ______________ x
Civil Action No. 1: 15-mc-00040-AKH
CLASS ACTION
DECLARATION OF LAURIE A. GOMEZ IN SUPPORT OF MOTIONS FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AND PLAN OF ALLOCATION, AND AW ARD OF
ATTORNEYS' FEES AND EXPENSES
Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 1 of 12
I, LAURIE A. GOMEZ, declare as follows:
1. I respectfully submit this Declaration in support of the motion for final approval of
the Settlement and Plan of Allocation and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP's ("Lead Counsel"
or "Robbins Geller") application for an award of attorneys' fees and expenses.
2. I am cunently employed by TIAA as Senior Director and Associate General Counsel,
Litigation. During the Litigation, I served as one of the TIAA attorneys primarily responsible for the
oversight and prosecution of this Litigation.
3. Since the enactment of the PSLRA, TIAA has involved itself as a lead plaintiff and/or
class representative it1 only a few cases. TIAA seeks to optimize the net recovery for the class and
has served as lead plaintiff only after making a determination that the case warranted the
involvement of, and oversight by, TIAA. TIAA determined that the ARCP litigation was such a
case. TIAA retained Robbins Geller as counsel and negotiated a fee agreement with Robbins Geller
at the outset of the case. The fee grid TIAA utilized for this case provides as fo llows:
Incremental Recovery Fee(%)
$0 - $25,000,000 0% $25,000,000 - $50,000,000 8.0% $50,000,000 - $100,000,000 9.0% $100,000,000 - $250,000,000 10.0% $250,000,000 - $750,000,000 12.0%
$750,000,000 14.0%
The fee grid also provides for a 17.5% fee with respect to amounts obtained from individuals
implicated in the wrongful conduct. Under TIAA's agreement with Lead Counsel , there is also an
overall fee cap of 13%.
4. The Court appointed TIAA as a Lead Plaintiff on February 13, 2015 and Class
Representative on August 31, 2017. TTAA took an active role in this case as a Lead Plaintiff and
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Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 2 of 12
Class Representative to ensure the interests of TIAA and absent class members were protected.
Tl AA actively oversaw the prosecution of this case by, among other things:
(a) selecting Robbins Geller as Lead Counsel;
(b) working closely with and regularly conferring with Lead Counsel;
(c) reviewing and commenting on pleadings and motions filed in the case;
( d) responding to discovery requests, including providing relevant documents
and information;
(e) preparing TIAA's corporate designee for deposition testimony, and giving
deposition testimony;
(f) reviewing expert reports and engaging in related analysis with Robbins
Geller;
(g) attending court hearings, including the summary judgment hearing; and
(h) attending mediation sessions and participating in settlement discussions.
5. TIAA demanded su·bstantial payments from the individual Defendants and other
named parties as part of any settlement. In fact, TIAA's retention agreement was specifically
designed to incentivize Lead Counsel to maximize both the overall recovery and recoveries from
individual wrongdoers. As an institution, TIAA believes that personal contributions from those
alleged to have engaged in self-dealing has both a compensatory effect as well as a deterrent effect
on market participants who might contemplate engaging in futme misconduct. TIAA agreed with
Lead Counsel's settlement recommendations that TIAA reject less than optimal offers to settle the
case and, instead, push the case forward to trial. Ultimately, Defendants' offers reached a level that
TIAA believed was appropriate given the harm suffered by the Class and agreed with Lead
Counsel's recommendation to settle the case.
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Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 3 of 12
6. In addition to the outstanding recovery the proposed Settlement will provide for the
Class, TIAA was mindful that there were real risks with proceeding to trial, including ultimately
proving damages. Lead Plaintiff also considered the likely delay in the Class's recovery- even - if
TIAA won at trial, and approved the decision to settle the case recognizing that the burdens and
difficulties of continuing the Litigation were substantial.
7. The Settlement is extraordinary not only because of its absolute magnitude ( one of
only 15 PSLRA class action cases to ever recover more than $1 billion), but also because it
represents a recovery of approximately 50% of the Class's damages - a percentage recovery that l
am informed has never before been achieved in a pre-trial settlement of a major PSLRA securities
class action. As discussed above, the Settlement includes significant individual contributions from
ARCP's former CEO (and the entity he controls) and ARCP's former CFO. I am not aware of any
other securities class action settlement where a current or former officer or director of a public
company made larger individual contributions to a settlement. Simply put, TIAA utilized a fee
structure in this case designed to maximize the net recovery for the Class and it worked.
8. I believe that TIAA capably served as Lead Plaintiff in this case, obtaining one of the
best results ever achieved in a PSLRA class action. The team oflawyers Lead Counsel deployed on
this case was exceptional. Lead Counsel shouldered an extraordinary burden and incurred
substantial financial risk to enable TIAA to obtain this result on behalf of the Class, including more
than $4 million in costs incurred by Lead Counsel in prosecuting this case to the eve of trial.
Robbins Geller attorneys devoted tens of thousands of hours on this case, and, in my view, they
spent those hours productively. This Settlement would not have been possible without Lead
Counsel's diligent and aggressive prosecutorial efforts.
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Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 4 of 12
9. On behalf ofTIAA, I respectfully request that the Court approve the Settlement, the
Plan of Allocation and Lead Counsel's application for attorneys ' fees equal to 12.4% of the
Settlement Amount pursuant to the schedule TIAA previously negotiated with Lead Counsel,
together with reimbursement of expenses.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the
LA IE A. . Z SENIOR DIRECTOR & ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, LITIGATION TIAA
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify under penalty of perjury that on December 17, 2019, I authorized the
electronic filing of the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will
send notification of such filing to the e-mail addresses on the attached Electronic Mail Notice List,
and I hereby certify that I caused the mailing of the foregoing via the United States Postal Service
to the non-CM/ECF participants indicated on the attached Manual Notice List.
s/ Debra J. Wyman DEBRA J. WYMAN
ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900 San Diego, CA 92101 Telephone: 619/231-1058 619/231-7423 (fax) E-mail: [email protected]
Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 6 of 12
Mailing Information for a Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH In re American Realty Capital Properties, Inc.Litigation
Electronic Mail Notice List
The following are those who are currently on the list to receive e-mail notices for this case.
Jeffrey Simon Abraham [email protected]
Robin L. Alperstein [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Antonia Marie Apps [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Adam M. Apton [email protected]
Karim Basaria [email protected]
Khristoph Becker [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Stanley D Bernstein [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Rebecca A. Beynon [email protected]
Brian Roger Blais [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Jeffrey Craig Block [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Kristen Leigh Bokhan [email protected]
Adam Jerrod Bookman [email protected],[email protected]
Bruce Roger Braun [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Kristina Anne Bunting [email protected],[email protected]
Jennifer Nunez Caringal [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Alexandra Rebecca Clark [email protected]
Neil Harris Conrad [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Patrick Joseph Coughlin [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Jason Robert D'Agnenica [email protected]
Glen DeValerio [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Bruce Whitney Dona [email protected]
Michael Joseph Dowd [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Daniel S. Drosman [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
H. Miriam Farber [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Meagan Alicia Farmer [email protected]
Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 7 of 12
Reid Mason Figel [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Christopher Lee Filburn [email protected],[email protected]
Robert Craig Finkel [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Jason A. Forge [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Adam Fotiades [email protected]
Molly Bruder Fox [email protected]
Christopher Louis Garcia [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
James Philip Gillespie [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Daniel Zachary Goldman [email protected]
Andrew Edward Goldsmith [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Jonah H. Goldstein [email protected]
Douglas W. Greene [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Theresa Hsin-Yi Gue [email protected]
John Gueli [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Adam Selim Hakki [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
John Louis Hardiman [email protected],[email protected],s&[email protected]
David Charles Harrison [email protected]
Barbara J. Hart [email protected]
Steven P. Harte [email protected],[email protected]
James Ormerod Heyworth , [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
William Scott Holleman [email protected],[email protected]
Geoffrey Coyle Jarvis [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Frank James Johnson [email protected],[email protected]
Rebecca M Katz [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Christopher J. Keller [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Michael Anthony Keough [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Phillip C. Kim [email protected]
Robert Klipper [email protected],[email protected]
Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 8 of 12
Lawrence Paul Kolker [email protected]
Alexia Dorothea Korberg [email protected],[email protected]
Daniel Jonathan Kramer [email protected],[email protected]
Larry Howard Krantz [email protected]
Eric Albin Larson [email protected],[email protected]
Angel P. Lau [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Grace Jheeyoung Lee [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Justin David Lerer [email protected],[email protected]
Michelle Lynn Levin [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Daniel Craig Lewis [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Jeremy Alan Lieberman [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Neil Robert Lieberman [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Howard Theodore Longman [email protected],[email protected]
Morgan Paige Lucas [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
John Phillip MacNaughton [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Michael David Margulies [email protected]
Jerry Lee Marks [email protected]
Rita Kathleen Maxwell [email protected],[email protected]
Francis Paul McConville [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Glen Garrett McGorty [email protected]
Donald Alan Migliori [email protected],[email protected]
Michael Campion Miller [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Mark Tamerlane Millkey [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Erin Jennifer Morgan [email protected],[email protected]
Christopher F. Moriarty [email protected],[email protected]
Daniel P. Moylan [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Beth Mueller [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 9 of 12
Mark Francis Murphy [email protected]
Sean Michael Nadel [email protected]
William H. Narwold [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Shawn Patrick Naunton [email protected],[email protected]
Gregory Mark Nespole [email protected],[email protected]
Ivy T. Ngo [email protected],[email protected]
Jonathan Ohring [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],molsson@milb
Bradley E Oppenheimer [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Guy Petrillo [email protected]
Ashley M. Price [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Kingdar Prussien [email protected],[email protected]
Arlen Pyenson [email protected]
Fei-Lu Qian [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Leah Margaret Quadrino [email protected],[email protected]
Daniel Brett Rehns [email protected],[email protected]
Kenneth Mark Rehns [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Julie Goldsmith Reiser [email protected]
Lorin L. Reisner [email protected],[email protected]
Joseph F. Rice [email protected]
Ann Kimmel Ritter [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Darren J. Robbins [email protected],[email protected]
Lara Elizabeth Romansic [email protected]
Laurence Matthew Rosen [email protected]
David Avi Rosenfeld [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Robert M. Rothman [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Samuel Howard Rudman [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Peter George Safirstein [email protected],[email protected]
Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 10 of 12
Michael Gerard Scavelli [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Jed Mastren Schwartz [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Kevin S. Sciarani [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Joseph R. Seidman [email protected]
Jonathan Lucas Shapiro [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Jessica T. Shinnefield [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Thomas Michael Skelton [email protected]
Richard William Slack [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Patrick Kevin Slyne [email protected]
Patrick C Smith [email protected]
Audra Jan Soloway [email protected],[email protected]
Luigi Spadafora [email protected]
Kendra L Stead [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Michael Howard Steinberg [email protected],[email protected],s&[email protected]
Christopher D. Stewart [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Elizabeth Johnson Stewart [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Ellen Anne Gusikoff Stewart [email protected]
Daniel Ben Tehrani [email protected],[email protected]
Steven Jeffrey Toll [email protected],[email protected]
Matthew Tracy [email protected]
Nicholas Tygesson [email protected]
Anil Karim Vassanji [email protected]
Melanie Elizabeth Walker [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Reid Weingarten [email protected]
Joseph Harry Weiss [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Theodore Von Wells , [email protected],[email protected]
Collin White [email protected]
Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 11 of 12
Regis C. Worley , [email protected]
Debra J. Wyman [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Genevieve Graeme York-Erwin [email protected]
Manual Notice List
The following is the list of attorneys who are not on the list to receive e-mail notices for this case (who therefore require manual noticing). You may wish to use your mouseto select and copy this list into your word processing program in order to create notices or labels for these recipients.
Ar Capital LLC ,
Dwight Phillip Bostwick Zuckerman Spaeder, LLP 1800 M Street, N.W., Ste. 1000 Washington, DC 20036-5802
Scott Alexander Edelman Milbank LLP 55 Hudson Yards New York City, NY 10001-2163
Kevin Patton ,
William Taylor Zuckerman Spaeder LLP 1800 M Street, N.W Washington, DC 20036
David C. Walton Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP (SANDIEGO) 655 West Broadway Suite 1900 San Diego, CA 92101
Abby M. Wenzel ,
Case 1:15-mc-00040-AKH Document 1287 Filed 12/17/19 Page 12 of 12
