Welcome to the Metropolitan Securities Litigation Website. This site provides information concerning the Metropolitan Settlement Fund,
involving separate settlements with multiple defendants in a class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Washington at Spokane. Within this site, you will find detailed information about the settlement, eligibility for participation and distribution and
answers to frequently asked questions.
The Settlements together total more than $38 million. The exact amount of your recovery will depend on a number of factors, including the amount of fees and
costs awarded to Class Counsel, how those fees and costs are allocated across the Settlement Pools, the number of claims documented with regard to sales of
preferred stock and the value of those claims, the amount of interest earned on the Settlement Fund, and the resolution of any disputes of the securities
listed in Account Statements. Please refer to the Notice for additional information about which Settlements you might be entitled to receive payments from,
and the details of how the Settlement Fund will be distributed.
The Court in charge of the case is the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington at Spokane and the case is known as
In re Metropolitan Securities Litigation, Civil Action No. CV-04-0025- FVS. The law firms of Gordon Thomas Honeywell Malanca Peterson & Danheim LLP and
Hagens Berman Sobol & Shapiro LLP have been appointed to represent Class Members.
Your Legal Rights and Options in These Settlements
IF YOU AGREE WITH THE ACCOUNT STATEMENT YOU RECEIVED, YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO ANYTHING.
NO ACTION IS NECESSARY TO RECEIVE A PAYMENT. |
If you hold securities subject to one (or more) of the Settlements, you should have received an Account Statement with the Notice listing all
of those securities. If you do nothing, you will receive a payment in accordance with that Account Statement. No action is necessary to receive
a payment. The Claims Administrator will issue you a check and mail it to the address on record for you. If you would like to change the address
where the check will be mailed, you must call 1-800-447-7657.
If you choose this option, you will share in the proceeds of the applicable
proposed Settlement(s) and if the Settlements are approved by the Court, you will be bound by the judgment and terms of the Settlements.
If your securities include Metropolitan Series E-7 Preferred Shares, you may need to take additional steps to demonstrate you still hold
those shares and have not sold them, or if you sold those shares, you may need to provide documentation of the sales price.
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| IF YOU DID NOT RECEIVE AN ACCOUNT STATEMENT AND BELIEVE YOU SHOULD HAVE: |
You may contact the Claims Administrator at 1-800-447-7657 or via email at metropolitanlitigation@gilardi.com. |
IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE ACCOUNT STATEMENT YOU RECEIVE, YOU MAY SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION TO THE CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR.
THE CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR WILL CONSIDER THE DOCUMENTATION YOU SUBMIT WHEN CALCULATING A PAYMENT FOR YOU. |
If you disagree with the Account Statement you received and believe you own securities that are covered by the Class,
and that are not reflected in the Account Statement, you may submit a Dispute Form with supporting documentation reflecting
your holdings to the Claims Administrator for consideration, but you must do so by September 30, 2010.
Before disputing your Account Statement, please consider that if you purchased Metropolitan and Summit securities over many years, your
Account Statement may not reflect all of your purchases. Due to the limitations of federal securities laws, only specific securities are
covered by the Settlements. Please read the Notice for a detailed explanation of which securities are covered.
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| YOU CAN OBJECT. |
If you did not previously exclude yourself from the Class, you can object to any of the Settlements in which you are entitled to participate
if you dislike any part of them. You can also object to Class Counsel's application for reimbursement of expenses or fees, or the Plan of
Distribution. You can give reasons why you object, and the Court will consider your views. To object, you must send a letter postmarked
no later than August 16, 2010 saying that you object to the Settlement(s) in In re Metropolitan Securities Litigation, Civ. No. CV-04-0025-FVS.
Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, your signature, and to identify which Settlement you object to and your reasons for
objecting. All papers submitted must include the case number for the lawsuit, CV-04-0025-FVS, on the first page.
Mail a copy of the objection to each of the places identified in the Notice, postmarked no later than August 16, 2010. If you fail to do so,
the Court will not consider your objections.
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| YOU CAN ATTEND THE COURT HEARING CONCERNING APPROVAL OF THE SETTLEMENTS. |
You can ask to appear at the hearing and speak in Court about the fairness of any of the recent Settlements, or the application for attorneys'
fees and costs, if you did not previously ask to be excluded from the Class. The hearing will be held at 1:00 p.m. on September 21, 2010.
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For further Information, please contact:
Toll-Free Number: 1-800-447-7657
or via E-mail at: metropolitanlitigation@gilardi.com