BLB&G and Lead Plaintiff the New York State Common Retirement Fund Recover Over $6.15 Billion - Second Largest Recovery in History - for WorldCom Investors.
On paper, WorldCom, Inc. was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States.
In June 2002, WorldCom rocked Wall Street when it revealed that it had overstated billions of dollars in earnings. On July 21, 2002, WorldCom filed for bankruptcy.
After nearly three years of litigation and four weeks of trial before Judge Denise Cote of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, BLB&G and Lead Plaintiff New York State Comptroller and sole Trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, have recovered over $6.15 billion in settlement monies on behalf of the investor class. The Class includes all investors who purchased or acquired publicly traded shares, bonds or notes of WorldCom, Inc. between April 29, 1999 and June 25, 2002.
IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO SHARE IN THE BENEFITS OF THE SETTLEMENTS, CLASS MEMBERS MUST HAVE SUBMITTED A COMPLETED AND SIGNED PROOF OF CLAIM FORM POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN AUGUST 26, 2005. Class Members can obtain Proof of Claim forms online at www.worldcomlitigation.com.
Questions about the status of your Proof of Claim should be directed to Litigation Administrator The Garden City Group, Inc. by calling 1-866-808-3556 or via email at worldcominfo@gardencitygroup.com.
"...Staggeringly High Settlement..."
The WorldCom litigation has attracted an enormous amount of media attention, particularly since the Citigroup Defendants agreed to pay $2.575 billion to settle all claims against them on May 11, 2004 - the largest third party payment ever in a securities class action settlement. When first announced to a worldwide media audience, the settlement was reported across the globe - including the front pages of both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Bruce Carton, Executive Director of Securities Class Action Services, a firm which monitors and researches shareholder litigation, told the Dow Jones Newswires at that time:
"It is a staggeringly high settlement. This has got to be a huge wake-up call for the other banks."
Recommended Reading:
The litigation continued to generate press, up to and after its conclusion.
- "Breaking the Banks: The Inside Story of $6.1 Billion WorldCom Settlement" (The American Lawyer, December 2005)
- "Winning: A Good Cop/Bad Cop Strategy Scores Big" (National Law Journal, June 20, 2005)
- "The Kings of Class Actions" (BusinessWeek, May 16, 2005)
- "Taking Citi To School" (The American Lawyer, November 2004)
"The magnitude of this settlement is attributable in significant part to Lead Counsel's advocacy and energy..."
- The Honorable Denise Cote
Throughout the prosecution of the case, Judge Cote has frequently noted on the record the quality of BLB&G's ongoing representation of the Class. In granting her approval of the Citigroup Settlement and Plaintiffs' plan of allocation, she again praised the efforts of Lead Counsel and Lead Plaintiff:
"The quality of the representation given by Lead Counsel...has been superb...and is unsurpassed in this Court's experience with plaintiffs' counsel in securities litigation. Lead Counsel has been energetic and creative. Its negotiations with the Citigroup Defendants have resulted in a settlement of historic proportions."
"Face-to-face negotiations before Judge Sweet by [the New York State] Comptroller...in the latter stages of the settlement process greatly facilitated the settlement."
