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Frequently Asked
Questions
Contact
Class Counsel
Filings
in Support of Final Approval of Settlement, Plan of Allocation
and Attorneys, Fees
Check on
the status of
the settlement:
For status and complete documentation
of the
settlement obtained in this litigation visit the Williams Settlement website
at www.wmbsettlement.com.
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This website provides information
and updates relating to In re Williams Securities Litigation,
02-CV-72-SPF-FHM, a securities fraud class action pending in
the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Oklahoma. The Court-appointed Lead Plaintiffs in this case are
The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System ("ATRS") and
the Ontario Teachers, Pension Plan Board ("Ontario Teachers")
and Court-appointed Lead Counsel is Bernstein Litowitz Berger
& Grossmann LLP ("BLB&G") (www.blbglaw.com).
January 12, 2007 Lead Plaintiffs
File Motion for Final Approval of the Settlement, Plan of Allocation
and Attorneys, Fees
On January 12, 2007, Lead Plaintiffs
filed their Motion for Final Approval of the Settlement, Plan
of Allocation and Attorneys, Fees along with the corresponding
Supporting Memoranda of Law. Please click here to view all relevant documents.
October 5, 2006 - Court Grants
Preliminary Approval of $311 Million Settlement With The Williams
Companies
On October 5, 2006, the Court granted
preliminary approval of the settlement obtained from The Williams
Companies ("Williams") and its auditor, Ernst & Young,
for $311 million. Click here to view the Court's Order.
A settlement fairness hearing will
be held on February 9, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable
Stephen P. Friot, United States District Judge, at the United
States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma,
333 W. Fourth St., Tulsa, OK 74103.
IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO SHARE
IN THE BENEFITS OF THE SETTLEMENT, CLASS MEMBERS MUST SUBMIT
A COMPLETED AND SIGNED PROOF OF CLAIM FORM POSTMARKED NO LATER
THAN FEBRUARY 16, 2007.
Click on the following links to view
a copy of:
June 13, 2006 - Lead Plaintiffs
Announce $311 Million Settlement in Williams Securities Litigation
On June 13, 2006, Lead Plaintiffs
and BLB&G announced an agreement to settle the litigation
against all defendants for $311 million in cash. This settlement
comes after intensive litigation and shortly before trial. As
part of this action, BLB&G engaged in a massive discovery
effort which included taking more than 150 depositions and reviewing
in excess of 18 million pages of documents. At the time of the
settlement, Lead Plaintiffs and BLB&G were preparing for
trial which was scheduled for August 2006.
Commenting on the settlement, BLB&G partner
Chad Johnson stated: "This recovery of $311 million is an
extraordinary result. It is among the largest recoveries ever
in a securities class action in which the corporate defendant
did not restate its financial results. This settlement is also
proof that the combination of a vigorous litigation strategy
and committed institutional Lead Plaintiffs results in outstanding
recoveries.
Background
The Consolidated Amended Complaint
(the "Complaint) was filed on October 7, 2002 and alleged
securities claims pursuant to Section 10(b) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 11 of the Securities Act of
1933. The Section 10(b) claims were brought on behalf of purchasers
of Williams, common stock in the open market and the Section
11 claims on behalf of purchasers of securities in the following
four securities offerings: (i) $1.3 billion secondary common
stock offering in January 2001; (ii) $1.2 billion common stock
offering in August 2001 in connection with the merger with Barrett
Resources Corp.; (iii) $1.5 billion Notes offering in August
2001; and (iv) $1.1 billion offering of FELINE PACS equity securities
in January 2002. The Complaint was filed on behalf of a class
of investors who purchased these securities between July 24,
2000 and July 22, 2002 (the "Class Period) and were injured
thereby.
The allegations in the Complaint
relate to Williams, former telecommunications subsidiary Williams
Communications, Inc. ("WCG) and Williams, energy trading
operation, known at the time as Energy Marketing & Trading
("EM&T). The allegations with respect to WCG concern
Williams, alleged failure to timely disclose that it would have
to incur multi-billion dollar losses in connection with Williams,
guarantees of certain WCG financial obligations.
In connection with Williams, EM&T
business, the Complaint alleges that Williams manipulated the
reported value of its long-term energy contracts in the midst
of the California energy crisis in 2001. Based on these valuations,
Lead Plaintiffs alleged that Williams inflated earnings by hundreds
of millions of dollars during the Class Period.
Firm partners Chad Johnson, Blair Nicholas, Darnley Stewart, as well as
associates Beata Gocyk-Farber, Mark Lebovitch, and Brett Middleton are responsible
for prosecuting this action.
ATTORNEY
ADVERTISING/DISCLAIMER
For Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP:
Chad Johnson
Blair Nicholas
Darnley Stewart
Beata Gocyk-Farber
Mark Lebovitch
Brett Middleton
Information regarding the bar admissions of the attorneys at
Bernstein Litowitz Berger &
Grossmann LLP
may be viewed at www.blbglaw.com.
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
Tel: 212.554.1400
Fax: 212.554.1444
www.blbglaw.com
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