Securities

• In re Dynegy Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. H-02-1571 (S.D. Tex.). As sole lead counsel representing The Regents of the University of California and the class of Dynegy investors, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a combined settlement of $474 million from Dynegy, Citigroup, Inc. and Arthur Andersen LLP for their involvement in a clandestine financing scheme known as Project Alpha. Given Dynegy’s limited ability to pay, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys structured a settlement (reached shortly before the commencement of trial) that maximized plaintiffs’ recovery without bankrupting the company. Most notably, the settlement agreement provides that Dynegy will appoint two board members to be nominated by The Regents, which Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and The Regents believe will benefit all of Dynegy’s stockholders.
• In re Qwest Commc’ns Int’l, Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. 01-cv-1451 (D. Colo.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel for a class of investors that purchased Qwest securities. In July 2001, the Firm filed the initial complaint in this action on behalf of its clients, long before any investigation into Qwest’s financial statements was initiated by the SEC or Department of Justice. After five years of litigation, lead plaintiffs entered into a settlement with Qwest and certain individual defendants that provided a $400 million recovery for the class and created a mechanism that allowed the vast majority of class members to share in an additional $250 million recovered by the SEC. In 2008, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys recovered an additional $45 million for the class in a settlement with defendants Joseph P. Nacchio and Robert S. Woodruff, the CEO and CFO, respectively, of Qwest during large portions of the class period.
• In re AT&T Corp. Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1399 (D.N.J.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel for a class of investors that purchased AT&T common stock. The case charged defendants AT&T and its former Chairman and CEO, C. Michael Armstrong, with violations of the federal securities laws in connection with AT&T’s April 2000 initial public offering of its wireless tracking stock, the largest IPO in American history. After two weeks of trial, and on the eve of scheduled testimony by Armstrong and infamous telecom analyst Jack Grubman, defendants agreed to settle the case for $100 million. In granting approval of the settlement, the court stated the following about the Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys handling the case:

Lead Counsel are highly skilled attorneys with great experience in prosecuting complex securities action[s], and their professionalism and diligence displayed during [this] litigation substantiates this characterization. The Court notes that Lead Counsel displayed excellent lawyering skills through their consistent preparedness during court proceedings, arguments and the trial, and their well-written and thoroughly researched submissions to the Court. Undoubtedly, the attentive and persistent effort of Lead Counsel was integral in achieving the excellent result for the Class.

In re AT&T Corp. Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1399, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46144, at *28-*29 (D.N.J. Apr. 22, 2005), aff'd, 455 F.3d 160 (3d Cir. 2006).

• In re Dollar General Corp. Sec. Litig., Case No. 01-CV-00388 (M.D. Tenn.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel in this case in which the Firm recovered $172.5 million for investors. The Dollar General settlement was the largest shareholder class action recovery ever in Tennessee.
• Carpenters Health & Welfare Fund v. Coca-Cola Co., Case No. 00-CV-2838 (N.D. Ga.). As co-lead counsel representing Coca-Cola shareholders, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a recovery of $137.5 million after nearly eight years of litigation. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys traveled to three continents to uncover the evidence that ultimately resulted in the settlement of this hard-fought litigation. The case concerned Coca-Cola's shipping of excess concentrate at the end of financial reporting periods for the sole purpose of meeting analyst earnings expectations, as well as the company's failure to properly account for certain impaired foreign bottling assets.
• Schwartz v. TXU Corp., Case No. 02-CV-2243 (N.D. Tex). As co-lead counsel, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a recovery of over $149 million for a class of purchasers of TXU securities. The recovery compensated class members for damages they incurred as a result of their purchases of TXU securities at inflated prices. Defendants had inflated the price of these securities by concealing the fact that TXU's operating earnings were declining due to a deteriorating gas pipeline and the failure of the company's European operations.
• Thurber v. Mattel, Inc., Case No. 99-CV-10368 (C.D. Cal.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as co-lead counsel for a class of investors who purchased Mattel common stock. When the shareholders approved Mattel’s acquisition of The Learning Company, they were misled by defendants’ false statements regarding the financial condition of the acquired company. Within months of the close of the transaction, Mattel disclosed that The Learning Company had incurred millions in losses, and that instead of adding to Mattel’s earnings, earnings would be far less than previously stated. After thorough discovery, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd attorneys negotiated a settlement of $122 million plus corporate governance changes.
• Brody v. Hellman (U.S. West Dividend Litigation), Case No. 00-CV-4142 (Dist. Ct. for the City & Cty. of Denver, Colo.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys were court-appointed counsel for the class of former stockholders of U.S. West, Inc. who sought to recover a dividend declared by U.S. West before its merger with Qwest. The merger closed before the record and payment dates for the dividend, which Qwest did not pay following the merger. The case was aggressively litigated and the plaintiffs survived a motion to dismiss, two motions for summary judgment and successfully certified the class over vigorous opposition from defendants. In certifying the class, the court commented, “Defendants do not contest that Plaintiffs’ attorneys are extremely well qualified to represent the putative class. This litigation has been ongoing for four years; in that time Plaintiffs’ counsel has proven that they are more than adequate in ability, determination, and resources to represent the putative class.” The case settled for $50 million on the day before trial was scheduled to commence. At the August 30, 2005 final approval hearing relating to the settlement, the court noted that the case “was litigated by extremely talented lawyers on both sides” and that the settlement was “a great result.” In describing the risk taken by the Firm and its co-counsel, the court noted, “There wasn’t any other lawyer[] in the United States that took the gamble that these people did. Not one other firm anywhere said I’m willing to take that on. I’ll go five years. I’ll pay out the expenses. I’ll put my time and effort on the line.” In discussing the difficulties facing the Firm in this case, the court said, “There wasn’t any issue that wasn’t fought. It took a great deal of skill to get to the point of trial.” In concluding, the court remarked that the class was “fortunate they had some lawyers that had the guts to come forward and do it.”
• In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig., Case No. H-01-3624 (S.D. Tex.). Investors lost billions of dollars as a result of the massive fraud at Enron. In appointing Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP lawyers as sole lead counsel to represent the interests of Enron investors, the court found that the Firm’s zealous prosecution and level of “insight” set it apart from its peers. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys and lead plaintiff The Regents of the University of California aggressively pursued numerous defendants, including many of Wall Street’s biggest banks, and successfully obtained settlements in excess of $7.3 billion for the benefit of investors. This is the largest aggregate class action settlement not only in a securities class action, but in class action history.
• In re UnitedHealth Group Inc. PSLRA Litig., Case No. 06-CV-1691 (D. Minn.). In the UnitedHealth case, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP represented the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”) and demonstrated its willingness to vigorously advocate for its institutional clients, even under the most difficult circumstances. For example, in 2006, the issue of high-level executives backdating stock options made national headlines. During that time, many law firms, including Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, brought shareholder derivative lawsuits against the companies’ boards of directors for breaches of their fiduciary duties or for improperly granting backdated options. Rather than pursuing a shareholder derivative case, the Firm filed a securities fraud class action against the company on behalf of CalPERS. In doing so, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP faced significant and unprecedented legal obstacles with respect to loss causation, i.e., that defendants’ actions were responsible for causing the stock losses. Despite these legal hurdles, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP obtained an $895 million recovery on behalf of the UnitedHealth shareholders. Shortly after reaching the $895 million settlement with UnitedHealth, the remaining corporate defendants, including former CEO William A. McGuire, also settled. Mr. McGuire paid $30 million and returned stock options representing more than three million shares to the shareholders. The total recovery for the class was over $925 million, the largest stock option backdating recovery ever, and a recovery which is more than four times larger than the next largest options backdating recovery. Moreover, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP obtained unprecedented corporate governance reforms, including election of a shareholder-nominated member to the company’s board of directors, a mandatory holding period for shares acquired by executives via option exercise, and executive compensation reforms which tie pay to performance.
• Jaffe v. Household Int’l, Inc., Case No. 02-C-05893 (N.D. Ill.). Sole lead counsel Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP obtained a jury verdict on May 7, 2009, following a six-week trial in the Northern District of Illinois, on behalf of a class of investors led by plaintiffs PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund, the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 132 Pension Plan, and Glickenhaus & Company. The jury determined that Household and the individual defendants made fraudulent misrepresentations concerning the company's predatory lending practices, the quality of its loan portfolio and the company's financial results between March 23, 2001 and October 11, 2002. Although certain post-trial proceedings are ongoing, plaintiffs' counsel anticipate that the verdict will ultimately allow class members to recover in excess of $1 billion in damages. Since the enactment of the PSLRA in 1995, trials in securities fraud cases have been rare. According to published reports, only nine such cases have gone to verdict since the passage of the PSLRA.
• Alaska Elec. Pension Fund v. CitiGroup, Inc. (In re WorldCom Sec. Litig.), Case No. 03 Civ. 8269 (S.D.N.Y.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys represented more than 50 private and public institutions that opted out of the class action case and sued WorldCom’s bankers, officers and directors, and auditors in courts around the country for losses related to WorldCom bond offerings from 1998 to 2001. The Firm’s clients included major public institutions from across the country such as CalPERS, CalSTRS, the state pension funds of Maine, Illinois, New Mexico and West Virginia, union pension funds, and private entities such as AIG and Northwestern Mutual. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys recovered more than $650 million for their clients on the May 2000 and May 2001 bond offerings (the primary offerings at issue), substantially more than they would have recovered as part of the class.
• In re Cardinal Health, Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. C2-04-575 (S.D. Ohio). As sole lead counsel representing Cardinal Health shareholders, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP obtained a recovery of $600 million for investors. On behalf of the lead plaintiffs, Amalgamated Bank, the New Mexico State Investment Council, and the California Ironworkers Field Trust Fund, the Firm aggressively pursued class claims and won notable courtroom victories, including a favorable decision on defendants’ motion to dismiss. In re Cardinal Health, Inc. Sec. Litigs., 426 F. Supp. 2d 688 (S.D. Ohio 2006). At the time, the $600 million settlement was the tenth largest settlement in the history of securities fraud litigation and is the largest-ever recovery in a securities fraud action in the Sixth Circuit.
• AOL Time Warner Cases I & II, JCCP Nos. 4322 & 4325 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles County). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP represented The Regents of the University of California, six Ohio state pension funds, Rabo Bank (NL), the Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, several Australian public and private funds, insurance companies, and numerous additional institutional investors, both domestic and international, in state and federal court opt-out litigation stemming from Time Warner’s disastrous 2001 merger with Internet high flier America Online. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys exposed a massive and sophisticated accounting fraud involving America Online’s e-commerce and advertising revenue. After almost four years of litigation involving extensive discovery, the Firm secured combined settlements for its opt-out clients totaling over $629 million just weeks before The Regents’ case pending in California state court was scheduled to go to trial. The Regents’ gross recovery of $246 million is the largest individual opt-out securities recovery in history.
• In re HealthSouth Corp. Sec. Litig., Case No. CV-03-BE-1500-S (N.D. Ala.). As court-appointed co-lead counsel, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a combined recovery of $671 million from HealthSouth, its auditor Ernst & Young, and its investment banker, UBS, for the benefit of stockholder plaintiffs. The settlement against HealthSouth represents one of the larger settlements in securities class action history and is considered among the top 15 settlements achieved after passage of the PSLRA. Likewise, the settlement against Ernst & Young is one of the largest securities class action settlements entered into by an accounting firm since the passage of the PSLRA. HealthSouth and its financial advisors perpetrated one of the largest and most pervasive frauds in the history of United States healthcare, prompting Congressional and law enforcement inquiry and resulting in guilty pleas of 16 former HealthSouth executives in related federal criminal prosecutions.