/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/CAR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/CAR_Public/220415.mbx C L A S S A C T I O N R E P O R T E R Friday, April 15, 2022, Vol. 24, No. 70 Headlines [^] Notable Class Action Settlements in 2021 Asbestos Litigation ASBESTOS UPDATE: CBL & Associates Has $2.7MM Potential Liability ASBESTOS UPDATE: Kaanapali Land Defends Personal Injury Suits ********* [^] Notable Class Action Settlements in 2021 -------------------------------------------- Settlement Amount Settling Defendants ----------------- ------------------- $26,000,000,000 AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., and McKesson Corporation C$8,000,000,000 Canadian Government (~US$6,400,000,000) $2,000,000,000 Bayer, Inc. $809,500,000 Twitter, Inc. $787,500,000 Ally Financial Inc. (Counter-defendant) Settlement Amount Class Action ----------------- ------------ $26,000,000,000 In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation (MDL No. 2804), Case No. 1:17-md-2804 (N.D. Ohio) First announced in July 2021, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson negotiated a comprehensive settlement agreement which would result in the settlement of a substantial majority of opioid lawsuits filed by state and local governmental entities. Under the deal, the three major pharmaceutical distributors will be subject to more oversight and accountability, including an independent monitor, to prevent deliveries of opioids to pharmacies where diversion and misuse occur. They will be required to establish and fund an independent clearinghouse to track opioid distribution nationwide and flag suspicious orders. The three distributors would be responsible for up to approximately these contributions, payable over 18 years: Distributor Contribution ----------- ------------ AmerisourceBergen $6.4B Cardinal Health $6.4B McKesson $7.9B ----------- Total $20.7B Separately, Johnson & Johnson reached a deal to resolve legal claims over its role in the crisis for $5 billion in payments over 18 years. Of the total amount, $23.9 billion will be available for opioid abatement and significant amounts front loaded. Funding will be distributed to states according to the allocation agreement reached among the Attorneys General. Subdivisions can only participate in the agreement if their state participates. Judge: The Honorable Dan Aaron Polster Attorney(s) General: Ashley Moody Attorney General State of Florida The Capitol, PL-01 Tallahassee, FL 32399 - and - Josh Stein Attorney General North Carolina Department of Justice Attn: Daniel Mosteller PO Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602 E-mail: dmosteller@ncdoj.gov Plaintiffs' Executive Committee: Paul T. Farrell, Jr., Esq. FARRELL & FULLER, LLC 1311 Ponce de Leon Ave., Suite 202 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907 E-mail: paul@farrellfuller.com - and - Jayne Conroy, Esq. SIMMONS HANLY CONROY LLC 112 Madison Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10016-7416 E-mail: jconroy@simmonsfirm.com - and - Joseph F. Rice, Esq. MOTLEY RICE LLC 28 Bridgeside Blvd. Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 E-mail: jrice@motleyrice.com - and - Peter Mougey, Esq. LEVIN PAPANTONIO RAFFERTY 316 South Baylen St. Pensacola, FL 32502 E-mail: pmougey@levinlaw.com - and - Paul J. Geller, Esq. ROBBINS FELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP 120 East Palmetto Park Road Boca Raton, FL 33432 E-mail: pgeller@rgrdlaw.com Counsel for AmerisourceBergen Corporation: Michael T. Reynolds, Esq. CRAVATH, SWAINE & MOORE 825 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10019 E-mail: mreynolds@cravath.com Counsel for Cardinal Health, Inc.: Jeffrey M. Wintner, Esq. Elaine P. Golin, Esq. JB Kelly, Esq. WACHTELL, LIPTON, ROSEN & KATZ 51 West 52nd Street New York, NY 10019 E-mail: jmwintner@wlrk.com epgolin@wlrk.com jbkelly@wlrk.com Counsel to McKesson Corporation: Thomas J. Perrelli, Esq. JENNER & BLOCK LLP 1099 New York Ave., NW, Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 E-mail: tperrelli@jenner.com Counsel for Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., OrthoMcNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc.: Charles C. Lifland, Esq. Daniel R. Suvor, Esq. O'MELVENY & MYERS LLP 400 South Hope Street, 18th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 E-mail: clifland@omm.com dsuvor@omm.com On the Web: https://nationalopioidsettlement.com Settlement Amount Class Action ----------------- ------------ C$8,000,000,000 Tataskweyak Cree Nation et al. v. Canada (~US$6,400,000,000) (A.G.), CI 19-01-24661, Federal Court of Canada; and Curve Lake First Nation et al. v. Canada (A.G.), T-1673-19, Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Reached in September 2021, the settlement earmarks C$1.8 billion to compensate members of First Nations that were subject to a drinking water advisory (i.e., boil water, do not consume or do not use) that lasted at least one year between November 20, 1995, and June 20, 2021. The settlement commits C$6 billion for the construction and maintenance of safe water infrastructure in communities across Canada. Judge [Federal Court]: The Honourable Mr. Justice Paul Favel Judge [Queen's Bench]: The Honourable Chief Justice Glenn D. Joyal Class Counsel: John P. Brown, Esq. Eric S. Block, Esq. H. Michael Rosenberg, Esq. Stephanie Willsey, Esq. MCCARTHY TETRAULT LLP 66 Wellington Street West, Suite 5300 TD Bank Tower Box 48 Toronto, ON M5K 1E6 Tel: (416) 601-7831 Fax: (416) 868-0673 E-mail: jbrown@mccarthy.ca eblock@mccarthy.ca mrosenberg@mccarthy.ca swillsey@mccarthy.ca - and - The Honourable Harry S. LaForme, Esq. Bryce Edwards, Esq. Kevin Hille, Esq. OLTHUIS KLEER TOWNSHEND LLP 250 University Avenue, 8th Floor Toronto ON M5H 3E5 Tel: (416) 981-9330 Fax: (416) 981-9350 E-mail: hlaforme@oktlaw.com bedwards@oktlaw.com khille@oktlaw.com Settlement Trustee: Bank of Nova Scotia Settlement Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Claims Administrator: Eric Khan CA2, Inc. 9 Prince Arthur Avenue Toronto, ON M5R 1B2 T: 1(800) 538-0009 https://classaction2.com/ On the Web: https://firstnationsdrinkingwater.ca Settlement Amount Class Action ----------------- ------------ $2,000,000,000 In re Roundup Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2741), Case No. 3:16-md-02741 (N.D. Cal.), relating to Ramirez, et al. v. Monsanto Co., Case No. 3:19-cv-02224 On February 3, 2021, Bayer announced a formal agreement with plaintiffs' class counsel on a class plan designed to manage and resolve future Roundup(TM) cases. Elements of the revised plan include the establishment of a fund to compensate qualified claimants during an initial four- year program, an advisory science panel whose findings would not be preclusive but can be used as evidence in potential future litigation involving class members, and a robust notice program. The plan also includes research and diagnostic programs that were part of the original class agreement. Qualifying class members over the next four years will be eligible for levels of compensatory awards based on guidelines set forth in the agreement. On May 26, 2021, the Court thumbed down the motion for preliminary approval of the settlement, saying the deal "would accomplish far less for the Roundup users who have not been diagnosed with [Non- Hodgkin's Lymphoma] -- and not nearly as much as the attorneys pushing this deal contend." See https://bit.ly/3rsmJbA Following the court decision, Bayer announced a five-point plan intended to provide a clear path to closure of the U.S. glyphosate litigation. Under this plan, Bayer will seek positive ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court; activate a claims program to manage future cases; continue to manage current cases; introduce new U.S. Lawn & Garden formulations; and promote new safety study webpage. Judge: The Honorable Vince Chhabria Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Proposed Class: Robert L. Lieff, Esq. Elizabeth J. Cabraser, Esq. Kevin R. Budner, Esq. LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP 275 Battery Street, 29th Floor San Francisco, CA 94111-3339 Tel: (415) 956-1000 Fax: (415) 956-1008 E-mail: rlieff@lchb.com ecabraser@lchb.com kbudner@lchb.com - and - Steven E. Fineman, Esq. Wendy R. Fleishman, Esq. Rhea Ghosh, Esq. LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP 250 Hudson Street, 8th Floor New York, NY 10013 Tel: (212) 355-9500 E-mail: sfineman@lchb.com wfleishman@lchb.com rghosh@lchb.com - and - Andrew R. Kaufman LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP 222 2nd Avenue South, Suite 1640 Nashville, TN 37201 Tel: (615) 313-9000 E-mail: akaufman@lchb.com Proposed Subclass 2 Counsel: Elizabeth A. Fegan, Esq. FEGAN SCOTT LLC 150 S. Wacker Dr., 24th Floor Chicago, IL 60606 Tel: (312) 741-1019 E-mail: beth@feganscott.com - and - Melissa Ryan Clark, Esq. FEGAN SCOTT LLC 140 Broadway, 46th Floor New York, NY 10005 Tel: (347) 353-1150 E-mail: melissa@feganscott.com Proposed Subclass 2 Counsel: James R. Dugan, II, Esq. TerriAnne Benedetto, Esq. David S. Scalia, Esq. THE DUGAN LAW FIRM, APLC One Canal Place 365 Canal Street, Suite 1000 New Orleans, LA 70130 Tel: (504) 648-0180 E-mail: jdugan@dugan-lawfirm.com tbenedetto@dugan-lawfirm.com dscalia@dugan-lawfirm.com Proposed Subclass 1 Counsel: William M. Audet, Esq. Ling Y. Kuang, Esq. AUDET & PARTNERS, LLP 711 Van Ness, Suite 500 San Francisco, CA 94102-3229 Tel: (415) 568-2555 E-mail: waudet@audetlaw.com lkuang@audetlaw.com - and - Samuel Issacharoff, Esq. 40 Washington Square South, Suite 411J New York, NY 10012 Tel: (212) 998-6580 E-mail: si13@nyu.edu Counsel for Defendant Monsanto Company: William Hoffman, Esq. David Weiner, Esq. Ashley Burkett, Esq. ARNOLD & PORTER KAYE SCHOLER LLP 601 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20001 Tel: (202) 942-5000 E-mail: william.hoffman@arnoldporter.com david.weiner@arnoldporter.com ashley.burkett@arnoldporter.com Counsel to Bayer AG: Thomas G. Sprankling, Esq. WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP 2600 El Camino Real, Suite 400 Palo Alto, CA 94306 E-mail: thomas.sprankling@wilmerhale.com - and - Seth P. Waxman, Esq. Daniel S. Volchok, Esq. Samuel M. Strongin, Esq. WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP 1875 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 Tel: (202) 663-6000 E-mail: seth.waxman@wilmerhale.com daniel.volchok@wilmerhale.com samuel.strongin@wilmerhale.com Claims Administrator: VERUS, LLC 3967 Princeton Pike Princeton, NJ 08540 Tel: (888) 681-1129 Fax: (609) 466-1449 https://verusllc.com/ Settlement Amount Class Action ----------------- ------------ $809,500,000 In re Twitter, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 3:16-cv-05314-JST (N.D. Cal.) Announced on September 20, 2021, Twitter, Inc., agreed to settle a securities fraud class action on the eve of a federal jury trial in Oakland. Lead plaintiffs National Elevator Industry Pension Fund and KBC Asset Management NV allege Twitter committed securities fraud by concealing stagnant user growth and declining user engagement from investors, causing its stock to trade at artificially inflated levels. The suit alleged that, when the truth was revealed, Twitter's stock price dropped by 20%. No party has admitted wrongdoing or liability as part of the settlement. Judge: The Honorable Jon S. Tigar Co-Class Counsel for the Class: Daniel S. Drosman, Esq. Scott H. Saham, Esq. Nathan R. Lindell, Esq. Susannah R. Conn, Esq. Christopher R. Kinnon, Esq. Heather G. Schlesier, Esq. ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900 San Diego, CA 92101-8498 Tel: (619) 231-1058 Fax: (619) 231-7423 E-mail: dand@rgrdlaw.com scotts@rgrdlaw.com nlindell@rgrdlaw.com sconn@rgrdlaw.com ckinnon@rgrdlaw.com hschlesier@rgrdlaw.com - and - Gregg S. Levin, Esq. Meghan S.B. Oliver, Esq. Max N. Gruetzmacher, Esq. Christopher F. Moriarty, Esq. Meredith M. Weatherby, Esq. MOTLEY RICE LLC 28 Bridgeside Blvd. Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 Tel: (843) 216-9000 Fax: (843) 216-9450 E-mail: glevin@motleyrice.com moliver@motleyrice.com mgruetzmacher@motleyrice.com cmoriarty@motleyrice.com mweatherby@motleyrice.com Liaison Counsel: Lesley E. Weaver, Esq. BLEICHMAR FONTI & AULD LLP 555 12th Street, Suite 1600 Oakland, CA 94607 Tel: (415) 445-4003 Fax: (415) 445-4020 E-mail: lweaver@bfalaw.com Attorneys for Defendant Twitter, Inc.: Stephen C. Neal, Esq. John C. Dwyer, Esq. Jessica Valenzuela Santamaria, Esq. Brett De Jarnette, Esq. COOLEY LLP 3175 Hanover Street Palo Alto, CA 94304-1130 Tel: (650) 843-5000 Fax: (650) 849-7400 E-mail: nealsc@cooley.com dwyerjc@cooley.com jvs@cooley.com bdejarnette@cooley.com Claims Administrator: EPIQ CLASS ACTION & CLAIMS SOLUTIONS, INC. 10300 Southwest Allen Blvd. Beaverton, OR 97005 Tel: (503) 350-5800 On the Web: https://www.twittersecuritieslitigation.com/ Settlement Amount Class Action ----------------- ------------ $787,500,000 Ally Financial Inc. v. Haskins, Case No. 16JE-AC01713-01, In The Twenty Third Judicial Circuit Court, Jefferson County, Missouri In March 2021, the parties executed and filed a class-action settlement agreement and release that includes provisions for a cash payment of $87.5 million by Ally, a waiver of $700 million in charged-off deficiency balances by Ally, a request by Ally that identified consumer reporting agencies delete specified trade lines, and a release by the nationwide and Missouri classes of related claims against Ally. Ally commenced the lawsuit in March 2016 against two buyers of a motor vehicle to collect the deficiency that remained due under the retail installment sales contract after the buyers had defaulted and the vehicle had been repossessed and disposed of. In March 2017, the buyers filed a second amended answer and counterclaim on behalf of nationwide and Missouri classes, arguing that Ally's pre- and post- disposition notices had violated Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in each State and other applicable jurisdiction. Counsel to Defendants and Class: Martin L. Daesch, Esq. Jesse B. Rochman, Esq. THE ONDER LAW FIRM 110 E. Lockwood Ave. St. Louis, MO 63119 Tel: (314) 963-9000 Fax: (314) 963-1700 E-mail: daesch@onderlaw.com rochman@onderlaw.com Counsel to Ally: Todd W. Ruskamp, Esq. SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P. 2555 Grand Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64108 Tel: (816) 559-2319 Fax: (816) 421-5547 E-mail: truskamp@shb.com Claims Administrator: FIRST CLASS, INC. 5410 W Roosevelt Rd Suite 222 Chicago, IL 60644-1490 Tel: (773) 378-1009 Fax: (773) 378-1018 https://firstclassinc.com On the Web: http://www.allynoticeclass.com/ Asbestos Litigation ASBESTOS UPDATE: CBL & Associates Has $2.7MM Potential Liability ---------------------------------------------------------------- CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., as of December 31, 2021, has recorded in its consolidated financial statements a liability of $2.7 million related to potential future asbestos abatement activities at its Properties which are not expected to have a material impact on its financial condition or results of operations, according to the Company's Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company states, "We believe that our Properties are in compliance in all material respects with all federal, state and local ordinances and regulations regarding the handling, discharge and emission of hazardous or toxic substances. We have not been notified by any governmental authority, and are not otherwise aware, of any material noncompliance, liability or claim relating to hazardous or toxic substances in connection with any of our present or former Properties. Therefore, we have not recorded any liability related to hazardous or toxic substances. Nevertheless, it is possible that the environmental assessments available to us do not reveal all potential environmental liabilities. It is also possible that subsequent investigations will identify material contamination, that adverse environmental conditions have arisen subsequent to the performance of the environmental assessments, or that there are material environmental liabilities of which management is unaware. Moreover, no assurances can be given that (i) future laws, ordinances or regulations will not impose any material environmental liability or (ii) the current environmental condition of the Properties has not been or will not be affected by tenants and occupants of the Properties, by the condition of properties in the vicinity of the Properties or by third parties unrelated to us, the Operating Partnership or the relevant Property's partnership." A full-text copy of the Form 10-K is available at https://bit.ly/3JCKPGK ASBESTOS UPDATE: Kaanapali Land Defends Personal Injury Suits ------------------------------------------------------------- Kaanapali Land, LLC, as successor by merger to other entities, and D/C Distribution Corporation (D/C) have been named as defendants in personal injury actions allegedly based on exposure to asbestos, according to the Company's Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cases against Kaanapali Land are allegedly based on its prior business operations in Hawaii and cases against D/C are allegedly based on sale of asbestos-containing products by D/C's prior distribution business operations primarily in California. The Company has recognized loss contingencies related to these claims. Predicting the outcome of such claims and estimating the costs and exposure requires the Company to make estimates, assumptions, and judgments that could result in actual costs to be materially different from such estimates. A full-text copy of the Form 10-K is available at https://bit.ly/3LXPPr1 ********* S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Class Action Reporter is a daily newsletter, co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA. Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante, Psyche A. Castillon, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Christopher G. Patalinghug, and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. ISSN 1525-2272. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The CAR subscription rate is $775 for six months delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each. For subscription information, contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000. *** End of Transmission ***