Federal and state judges across the United
States have recognized and commended Berger & Montague's
legal skills and extraordinary success in securities fraud
class actions.
Berger & Montague's Securities Fraud
Group lawyers are often recognized by federal courts
for their ability to develop, guide and settle extremely large and
complex securities fraud class actions. Some examples of
remarks noting the skill, efficiency and expertise of our attorneys
are below:
- From Judge Jed Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New York:
The lead plaintiff has made "very
full and well-crafted" and "excellent submissions" and a "very fine
job [was] done by plaintiffs' counsel in this case." The
attorney fees requested were "eminently reasonable" and
"appropriately modest." This was "surely a very good result
under all the facts and circumstances." In re Merrill
Lynch Securities Litigation, No. 07-CV-09633 (S.D.N.Y.
2009).
- From Chief Justice Steele and Justices Holland, Berger,
Jacobs and Ridgely, of the Delaware Supreme Court,
sitting en banc:
"All I can tell you, from
someone who has only been doing this for roughly 22 years, is
that I have yet to see a more fiercely and intensely litigated case
than this case. Never in 22 years have I seen counsel going at
it, hammer and tong, like they have gone at it in this
case. And I think that's a testimony -- Mr. Valihura
correctly says that's what they are supposed to do. I
recognize that; that is their job, and they were doing it
professionally." In re
Matter of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, 945 A.2d 1123,
1143-44 (Del. 2008).
- From Chancellor William Chandler, III of the Court of
Chancery of Delaware:
"Counsel, again, I want to
thank you for your extraordinary efforts in obtaining this result
for the class." Ginsberg
v. Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc., C.A. No. 2202 (Del. Ch.
2008) ($99 million settlement).
- From The Hon. Michael M. Baylson of the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:
"The Court is aware of and
attests to the skill and efficiency of class counsel: they have
been diligent in every respect, and their briefs and arguments
before the Court were of the highest quality. The firm of Berger
& Montague took the lead in the Court proceedings; its
attorneys were well prepared, articulate and persuasive." In re CIGNA Corp.
Securities Litigation, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51089, at *17-18
(E.D. Pa. July 13, 2007) ($93 million settlement).
- From The Hon. Thomas P. Greisa of the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New
York:
"I find [that the settlement]
has been the result of a great deal of good work and it's the best
that could have been done in this case without any
doubt.... [A]ll of you have done a great deal of work, and
surmounted a really tremendous difficulty. . . , so it's wonderful
to have it." In re Reliance Group Holdings, Inc.
Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y. 2006) ($15 million
settlement).
- From The Hon. David S. Doty of the U.S. District Court
for the District of Minnesota:
"[A] just result without the
assistance of a governmental investigation," plaintiffs' co-lead
counsel Berger & Montague "conducted themselves in an exemplary
manner," "consistently demonstrated considerable skill and
cooperation to bring this matter to an amicable conclusion," and
"moved the case along expeditiously."
In re Xcel Energy Securities Derivative "ERISA" Litigation, 364
F. Supp. 2d 980, 992, 995-996 (D. Minn. 2005) ($80 million
settlement).
- From The Hon. Stewart R. Dalzell of the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:
"Thanks to nimble class
counsel, this sum, which once included securities worth $149.5
million, is now all cash. Seizing on an opportunity Rite Aid
presented, class counsel first renegotiated what had been stock
consideration into Rite Aid Notes, and then this year monetized
those Notes. Thus, on February 11, 2003, Rite Aid redeemed those
Notes from the class, which then received $145,754,922.60. The
class also received $14,435,104 in interest on the
Notes."
and
"Berger & Montague, P.C.
... were extraordinarily deft and efficient in handling this most
complex matter... [T]hey were at least eighteen months ahead of the
United States Department of Justice in ferreting out the conduct
that ultimately resulted in the write-down of over $1.6 billion in
previously reported Rite Aid earnings. Their attention to detail
was such that when Rite Aid's financial concerns led to its
willingness to consider renegotiating the non-cash portion of the
Rite Aid I settlement, counsel-aided by investment advisors Wilber
Ross and Bear Stearns-ultimately monetized the entire settlement
and gained the class interest of $14,435,104 when interest rates
were the lowest they have been in over forty years. In short, it
would be hard to equal the skill class counsel demonstrated
here." In re Rite
Aid Inc. Securities Litig., 269 F. Supp.2d 603 (E.D. Pa.
2003) (settlements totaling $334 million).
"As to the skill and
efficiency of the attorneys involved, we can only echo what we said
about some of the same lawyers in U.S. Bioscience. The
results here are outstanding in a litigation that was far ahead of
public agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the
United States Department of Justice.... At the same time,
these attorneys have, through the division of their labors,
represented the class most efficiently." In re Rite
Aid Inc. Securities Litig., 146 F. Supp. 2d 706, 735
(E.D. Pa. 2001) (settlements totaling $334 million).
"The quality of lawyering on
both sides, but I am going to stress now on the plaintiffs' side,
simply has not been exceeded in any case, and we have had some
marvelous counsel appear before us and make superb arguments, but
they really don't come any better than Mrs. Savett ... and the
arguments we had on the motion to dismiss [Mrs. Savett argued the
motion], both sides were fabulous, but plaintiffs' counsel were as
good as they come." In re U.S. Bioscience Securities
Litig., Civil Action No. 92-0678, (E.D. Pa. 1994).
- From The Hon. Marvin Katz of the U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:
"Class counsel did a
remarkable job in representing the class interests."
In
re IKON Offices Solutions Securities Litig., Civil
Action No. 98-4286 (E.D. Pa. 2000) (partial settlement for $111
million).
- From Robert E Conner, Public Arbitrator with the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.:
"[H]aving participated over
the last 17 years in 400 arbitrations and trials in various
settings ... the professionalism and the detail and generally
the civility of everyone involved has been not just a cause for
commentary at the end of these proceedings but between ourselves
[the arbitration panel] during the course of them, and ... the
detail and the intellectual rigor that went into the documents was
fully reflective of the effort that was made in general. I
wanted to make that known to everyone and to express my particular
respect and admiration." Steinman v. LMP Hedge Fund, NASD
Case No. 98-04152 (2000).
- From The Hon. Wayne R. Andersen of the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of Illinois:
"...[Y]ou have acted the way
lawyers at their best ought to act. And I have had a lot of cases
... in 15 years now as a judge and I cannot recall a significant
case where I felt people were better represented than they are here
... I would say this has been the best representation that I have
seen." In re
Waste Management, Inc. Securities Litig., Civil Action
No. 97-C 7709 (N.D. Ill. 1999) ($220 million settlement).
- From The Hon. Clarence C. Newcomer of the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:
"[C]ounsel has conducted this
litigation with skill, professionalism and extraordinary
efficiency." In re Unisys Corporation Securities
Litig., Civil Action No. 99-5333 (E.D. Pa. 1999).
- From The Hon. Helen J. Frye of the U.S. District Court
for the District of Oregon:
In order to bring about this
result [partial settlements then totaling $54.25 million], Class
Counsel were required to devote an unusual amount of time and
effort over more than eight years of intense legal litigation which
included a four-month long jury trial and full briefing and
argument of an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,
and which produced one of the most voluminous case files in the
history of this District.
and
Throughout the course of their
representation, the attorneys at Berger & Montague ... have
exhibited an unusual degree of skill and diligence, and have had to
contend with opposing counsel who also displayed unusual skill and
diligence. In re Melridge, Inc.
Securities Litigation, No. 87-cv-1426 (D. Ore. 1996)
($58 million settlement).
- From the Hon. William K. Thomas of the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Ohio:
"In the proceedings it has
presided over, this court has become directly familiar with the
specialized, highly competent, and effective quality of the legal
services performed by Merrill G. Davidoff, Esq. and Martin I.
Twersky, Esq. of Berger & Montague...."
and
"Examination of the
experience-studded biographies of the attorneys primarily involved
in this litigation and review of their pioneering prosecution of
many class actions in antitrust, securities, toxic tort matters and
some defense representation in antitrust and other litigation, this
court has no difficulty in approving and adopting the hourly rates
fixed by Judge Aldrich." In re Revco Securities
Litigation (N.D. Ohio 1993) ($36 million settlement).
- From The Hon. Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. of the U.S.
District Court for the District of South Carolina:
"I don't have a problem at all
approving the settlement. In light of what you've said today and
your submission to the Court and I am familiar with the case ...
it was a sharply litigated case, with good lawyers on both
sides and I think it's an ideal case for settlement. It's the
largest settlement I've been called upon to approve in my eight
years as a judge." In re Policy Management Systems
Corporation, Civil Action No. 3:93-0807-17 (D.S.C. 1993)
($32 million settlement).
- From The Hon. Harry R. McCue of the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of California:
"There can be no doubt that
the public good was fully served by the attorneys for the
plaintiffs in this case, because they invested their own time,
their own money, they invested their special skills and knowledge
to vindicate the rights and interests of the thousands of investors
who invested their money and placed their trust in the integrity of
the securities market.... I conclude that the achievement of
plaintiffs' counsel under any of those tests was superior."
In re Oak Securities Litig., 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
20942 (S.D. Cal. 1986) ($33 million settlement).
- From The Hon. John F. Keenan of the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of New York:
"The quality of work of
plaintiffs' counsel on this case is also demonstrated by the
efficient manner of prosecution.... At the settlement hearing,
defense counsel conceded that plaintiffs' counsel constitute the
'cream of the plaintiffs' bar.' The court cannot find fault with
that characterization." In re Warner Communications
Securities Litig., 618 F. Supp. 735 (S.D.N.Y. 1985).
Contact Us To Learn More Or To
Report A Possible Securities Fraud
We invite you to learn more about our
Securities Fraud Group. Berger & Montague welcomes
referrals from other law firms and attorneys. If you have
information about a fraud affecting institutional, individual or
governmental investors, or to schedule a confidential
discussion about a potential case, please fill out the Contact
Form on the right, email us at info@bm.net, or contact a Securities
Fraud Group shareholder. We are available to evaluate
potential securities fraud cases without
charge.