Answers

What is the Metropolitan Securities Litigation Settlement?
This lawsuit was brought about by Plaintiffs in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington on January 20, 2004. The case was assigned No. CV-04-0025-FVS.

Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants violated provisions of the federal securities law regarding the completeness and accuracy of the registration statements used to sell Metropolitan and Summit securities to investors. Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that all Defendants violated Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 and that the individual Defendants violated Section 15 of the Securities Act of 1933. Plaintiffs allege that the financial statements and text of the registration statements issued during the Class Period were misleading.

The settlement of this lawsuit involves separate settlements with multiple defendants. In 2006 a Notice of Pendency of Partial Settlement was sent to potential class members informing them of a settlement with some, but not all, of the former officers and Directors of Metropolitan and Summit. More recent settlements have been reached with the remaining Defendants, which, if approved, will end this litigation.
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Why are there multiple Settlements?
Plaintiffs sued multiple individuals and companies for the Class's losses. Plaintiffs believed that the different Defendants had responsibilities for the losses based on their roles with the Metropolitan and Summit companies during the relevant time period. For example, PwC audited the fiscal year 2000 financial statements for the companies while E&Y audited the fiscal year 2001 financial statements. Roth was the qualified independent underwriter for securities sold during the Class Period. And the Individual Defendants served as officers and directors of the companies when the securities were issued.

In 2006, a related lawsuit was brought in bankruptcy court that involved the insurance policies that insured the companies, their officers and directors, and brokers who sold Metropolitan and Summit securities. In 2006, Plaintiffs reached the 2006 Settlement with some, but not all, of the companies' former officers and directors who had been sued in this lawsuit, for a total of $5.39 million, which was paid out of the insurance proceeds. The 2006 Settlement was the subject of a prior mailed notice. The 2006 Settlement received final approval from the Court in 2006. The funds from the 2006 Settlement have been held in an interest-bearing account, and the Court previously authorized reimbursement to Class Counsel from that fund of approximately $950,000 for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in litigating this lawsuit. The remaining proceeds from the 2006 Settlement will be distributed the Class along with the proceeds from the more recent Settlements, if the Court finally approves the Settlements.

As the lawsuit against the remaining Defendants proceeded toward a scheduled trial date of March 15, 2010, Plaintiffs reached separate settlement agreements with each remaining Defendant or group of Defendants. The Settlements were not reached at the same time. Therefore, there are multiple sources of settlement funds. These are allocated into three different Settlement Pools as described in the Notice.
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What do the Settlements provide?
There are five different Settlements contributing funds to the Settlement Fund. For purposes of distribution, the funds will be allocated into three Settlement Pools. You may be eligible to participate in one or more (or none) of the Pools, depending on which securities you purchased and when you purchased the securities.

Each of the Settlements provides that in return for payment of an agreed amount, each and every Class member will forever dismiss, and may not pursue in the future, any and all claims he or she may have against the Defendants that arise out of or are related to their purchases of any Metropolitan or Summit securities.

The Settlements are identified as follows:

Settling Defendant(s)	Amount Paid or to be Paid in Settlement	Settlement Reference Name and Settlement Pool
Ernst & Young LLP	$14,250,000.00	"EY Settlement," part of the Auditor Settlement Pool
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP	$13,900,000.00	"PwC Settlement," part of the Auditor Settlement Pool
Roth Capital Partners, LLC	$5,000,000.00	"Roth Settlement," which comprises the Roth Settlement Pool
C. Paul Sandifur, Jr., Thomas Turner Irv Marcus Robert Ness William Snider	$218,000.00	"Individual Defendants Settlement," part of the Individual Defendants Settlement Pool
Irv Marcus Robert K. Potter Clayton E. Rudd James V. Hawkins Gregory S. Strate Philip W. Sandifur Samuel Smith Bruce J. Blohowiak B. Elaine Hoskin Gary D. Bracjcich The Estate of Harold W. Erfurth Reuel C. Swanson William A. Smith John T. Trimble Erik E. Skaggs	$5,386,186.00 (plus interest accrued)	"2006 Settlement," part of the Individual Defendants Settlement Pool
TOTAL	$38,754,186.00 (plus interest accrued)

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How do I know if I am entitled to payment from one of the Settlements?
You are entitled to a portion of the Settlement Fund if you are a member of the Class, which is defined as follows:
All persons who purchased investment debentures or preferred stock issued by Metropolitan or stock investment certificates issued by Summit pursuant to registration statements that became or were effective during the Class Period, except persons whose only purchases were of Metropolitan Series E-7 preferred stock on a secondary market, including on the American Stock Exchange or the internal trading desk at Metropolitan Investment Securities, Inc.
Included within this definition are purchases of securities during the Class Period through a reinvestment of dividends. Only certain securities entitle a person to participate in the Settlements. Those securities are the following:

Summit Investment Certificates, Series B, purchased on or after February 13, 2001.

Metropolitan Investment Debentures, Series III and III-A, purchased on or after May 11, 2001.

Metropolitan Preferred Shares, Series E-7, purchased on or after November 14, 2001 (as long as they were not purchased on a secondary market such as the American Stock Exchange or the Metropolitan Investment Securities trading desk).

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How do I participate? How do I get payment?
If you hold securities that are covered by the Settlements, you should have received an Account Statement in connection with the Notice that lists the securities you purchased that are subject to the Settlements and the amounts and dates of your purchases. The information on the Account Statement was prepared by the Claims Administrator based on an extensive historical database of all purchases of Metropolitan and Summit securities.

If you do not dispute your Account Statement, you do not need to do anything to recover a payment based on the purchases and amounts listed on your Account Statement. The amount of your recovery will be calculated for you and a check will be sent to you.

However, if you purchased Metropolitan preferred stock and Metropolitan's records indicate that you sold or may have transferred those shares to a broker other than Metropolitan Investment Securities, Inc. ("MIS"), you will need to provide additional documentation to recover as to those shares. Metropolitan preferred stock was occasionally resold on the MIS Trading Desk and was also available for sale on the American Stock Exchange. If you sold your shares on the MIS Trading Desk, the Claims Administrator has a record of your sale, and your Account Statement will reflect that sale. However, if your shares were sold on the American Stock Exchange or were transferred to a broker other than MIS, the Claims Administrator cannot determine without further documentation from you whether those shares were actually sold, and if they were sold, what price they were sold at. If you have shares meeting this description in your portfolio, they are identified on your Account Statement with an indication that those shares are currently held by an "Outside Broker". If you submit documentation about the disposition of those shares, you must do so by using the Proof of Claim attached to your Account Statement, and you must do so no later than September 30, 2010. The Claims Administrator will consider what you submit and make a final, binding decision in calculating the amount of your distribution from the Settlement Fund. If you do not provide additional documentation about the disposition of shares with that notation, you will not receive a distribution as to those shares.

If you disagree with the Account Statement provided, you may provide documentation of what you believe your holdings to be to the Claims Administrator for consideration. If you want to provide additional documentation, you must use the Dispute Form attached to your Account Statement, and you must do so no later than September 30, 2010. After the Claims Administrator considers the information in Metropolitan's records and the information you submit, the Claims Administrator will make a final, binding decision. It is important that you contact the Claims Administrator and provide documents you think are relevant for consideration.
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How do I know which Settlement Pools I am entitled to participate in?
Metropolitan and Summit sold securities pursuant to registration statements that were approved by the SEC. Your eligibility to participate in any or all of the Settlement Pools depends on which type of security you purchased (a Metropolitan debenture, Metropolitan preferred stock, or a Summit investment certificate), the date on which you purchased that security, and the date on which the SEC declared the registration statement effective.

The following chart shows each registration statement that falls within the Class and the date the SEC declared that registration statement effective, and which Settlement Pool(s) investors who purchased those securities are eligible to participate in.

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Settlement Pool Summit Investment Certificates Series B Feb. 13, 2001 Met. Investment Debentures Series III and III-A May 11, 2001 Met. Preferred Series E-7 Nov. 14, 2001 Summit Investment Certificates Series B and B 1 Feb. 13, 2002 Met. Investment Debentures Series III and III-A April 29, 2002 Met. Preferred Series E-7 August 13, 2002

Individual Defendants Settlement Pool Eligible Eligible Eligible Eligible Eligible Eligible

Roth Settlement Pool Not Eligible Not Eligible Eligible Eligible Eligible Eligible

Auditors Settlement Pool Not Eligible Not Eligible Not Eligible Eligible Eligible Eligible

For example, investors who purchased Summit investment certificates pursuant to the February 13, 2001 registration statement, or Metropolitan debentures between May 11, 2001, and April 28, 2002, are eligible to participate in the Individual Defendants Settlement Pool. Investors who purchased Metropolitan preferred stock pursuant to the November 14, 2001 registration statement are eligible to participate in both the Individual Defendants Settlement Pool and the Roth Settlement Pool. Investors who purchased Summit investment certificates on or after February 13, 2002, Metropolitan debentures on or after April 29, 2002, or Metropolitan preferred stock pursuant to the August 13, 2002 registration statement, are eligible to participate in all three Settlement Pools.

Which Settlement Pool(s) you may participate in is determined by the federal securities laws and various rulings by the Court. Those laws and rulings limit which Metropolitan or Summit securities are eligible to participate in each of the various settlements. For example, federal securities laws do not allow claims for securities purchased pursuant to registration statements that became effective more than three years prior to January 20, 2004, the date this lawsuit was filed. Court rulings regarding the statute of limitations also restricted the registration statements that Defendants Roth and PwC could be liable for. As another example, Defendant E&Y is not liable for any securities purchased prior to February 13, 2002, the effective date of the first registration statement that included financial statements that had been audited by E&Y.
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Are there exceptions to those allowed to participate?
If you did not purchase any of the eligible securities listed in the Notice, or if your only purchases were of Metropolitan E 7 preferred stock on a secondary market, including on the American Stock Exchange or the internal trading desk at Metropolitan Investment Securities, Inc., you are not a member of the Class and you are not entitled to participate in the Settlements. You are also not entitled to participate in the Settlements if you previously chose to exclude yourself from the Class.

In addition, two Settlements have unique exclusions. The 2006 Settlement does not benefit registered representatives (brokers) who sold Metropolitan or Summit securities, named defendants, their immediate family members, any entity in which they have a controlling interest, and the heirs, successors or assigns of the same. In addition, the Individual Defendants Settlement Pool (as defined in the Notice) does not benefit the named individual defendants who are covered by that settlement.
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How much will my payment be?
The Claims Administrator appointed by the Court will determine whether and how much each Class member will recover based on a Plan of Distribution developed by independent experts and approved by the Court.

Class Counsel anticipate that if the Court reimburses the full amount of costs incurred by Class Counsel and awards the maximum fees that Class Counsel might seek members may receive the following percentages for each dollar taken into consideration under the Plan of Distribution.

Metropolitan Preferred Stock, Series E-7, purchased pursuant to the August 13, 2002 registration statement: 20.9%

Metropolitan Debentures, Series III and III-A, purchased on or after April 29, 2002: 20.9%

Summit Investment Certificates, Series B and B-1, purchased on or after February 13, 2002: 20.9%

Metropolitan Preferred Stock, Series E-7, purchased pursuant to the November 14, 2001 registration statement: 4.3%

Metropolitan Debentures, Series III and III-A, purchased on or after May 11, 2001 but before April 29, 2002: 1.8%

Summit Investment Certificates, Series B, purchased on or after February 13, 2001 but before February 13, 2002: 1.8%

These numbers are best estimates based on consultation with economic experts. The exact amount each person will receive 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 note that in all cases, your share of the Settlement Fund will be less than your actual losses. You are not responsible for calculating the amount you may be entitled to receive under the Settlements - this will be done by the Claims Administrator.

If you have questions regarding the Settlements or the settlement amounts you may receive please do not contact the Court. Instead, please call 1-800-447-7657 or send an email to metropolitanlitigation@gilardi.com.
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What is the Plan of Distribution?
The net amount remaining in each Settlement Pool after deduction of costs and fees, and out-of-pocket expenses previously approved, will then be distributed proportionately among the people eligible to participate in that Settlement Pool. The portion of a Settlement Pool that a particular Class member will receive will be based on a comparison of the dollar amount of that Class member's calculated damages to the total dollar amount of calculated damages eligible to participate in that Settlement Pool. A separate calculation will be performed for each Settlement Pool.

If you own Metropolitan debentures and Summit investment certificates (collectively referred to in the Notice as "Debt Securities"), the amount of your calculated damages considered for this calculation will be reduced to reflect the amounts of money that holders of Debt Securities have received or will receive as a result of the liquidation of Metropolitan and Summit through bankruptcy. Distributions made to date, together with planned distributions, will total approximately 30 cents per dollar for all Debt Securities. Therefore, the basis for calculating your damages for debentures and investment certificates will be reduced accordingly for any Debt Security held that falls within the Class Period.

Unlike holders of Debt Securities, holders of Metropolitan preferred stock have not been entitled to participate in any distributions from the bankruptcy of Metropolitan. Therefore, if you hold Metropolitan preferred stock that is covered by the Settlements and you were the original purchaser of those shares (or received the shares in a transfer or gift from the original purchaser), the basis for your damage calculation for any eligible preferred stock will be 100 cents on the dollar. However, if you purchased preferred stock within the time period covered by the Settlements but later sold it on the American Stock Exchange, you must provide documentation of that sale. Your recovery with regard to any shares you sold will be calculated based on the difference between the price you paid for the shares and the price you sold the shares for.
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When will I get my payment?
Judge Fred Van Sickle will hold a hearing at 1:00 p.m. on September 21, 2010, to decide whether to approve the Settlements. If the Court approves the recent Settlements, appeals may follow. It is always uncertain whether there will be an appeal and how long it might take to have any appeal resolved. Resolving them can take time, perhaps more than a year. No payments will be made until the Settlements are finally approved and any appeals are resolved. In addition, it will take some time after Court approval and any appeals for the Claims Administrator to resolve any disputes about the amounts of individuals' securities.
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11.

I believe I am part of the Class but did not receive an Account Statement. What should I do?
You may contact the Settlement Administrator toll free at 1-800-447-7657 or send an email to metropolitanlitigation@gilardi.com. The Settlement Administrator will look up your information and see if you are in the database. If you are in the database, the Settlement Administrator can send you another copy of the Account Statement. If the Settlement Administrator does not find you in the database, you can request a blank claim form and you have the opportunity to claim the transactions you believe you are eligible for payment for.
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12.

Can I exclude myself from the Settlements?
An opportunity to exclude yourself from the Class was previously offered in 2009 when a notice of the certification of the Class was mailed and published in the Spokane Spokesman-Review and at www.businesswire.com. This is sometimes referred to as "opting out" of a Class. The opportunity to exclude yourself has passed.
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13.

How do I tell the Court that I do not like one of the Settlements?
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 below, postmarked no later than August 16, 2010. You must mail your objection by this date. If you fail to do so, the Court will not consider your objections.

COURT

Clerk of the Court
U.S. District Court
Eastern District of Washington
920 W. Riverside
Spokane, WA 99291

CLASS COUNSEL

Bradley B. Jones
GORDON THOMAS HONEYWELL MALANCA PETERSON & DAHEIM LLP
1201 Pacific Avenue
Suite 2100
Tacoma, WA 98402

Tyler Weaver
HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL SHAPIRO LLP
1918 Eighth Avenue
Suite 3300
Seattle, WA 98101

DEFENSE COUNSEL

Attorneys for C. Paul Sandifur, Jr
Steven Fogg
CORR CRONIN MICHELSON BAUMGARDNER & PREECE LLP
1001 Fourth Avenue
Suite 3900
Seattle, WA 98254

Attorneys for Thomas Turner
Stephen M. Rummage
DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP
1201 Third Avenue
Suite 2200
Seattle, WA 98101-3045

Attorneys for Roth Capital Partners, LLC
Julia B. Strickland
Mary D. Manesis
STROOCK & STROOCK & LAVAN LLP
2029 Century Park East, Suite 1800
Los Angeles, CA 90067-3086

Attorneys for Ernst & Young LLP
Chris Lind
Mary D. Manesis
Andrew K. Polovin
BARTLIT BECK HERMAN PALENCHAR & SCOTT LLP
Courthouse Place
54 West Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL 60610

Attorneys for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
James P. Cusick
KING & SPALDING LLP
1185 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036-4003

Attorneys for Irv Marcus, Robert Ness & William Snyder
Brian D. Buckley
KING & SPALDING LLP FENWICK & WEST LLP
1191 Second Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101

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14.

Do I have a lawyer in this case?
The Court appointed the law firms of Gordon Thomas Honeywell Malanca Peterson & Daheim LLP in Tacoma, Washington, and Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP in Seattle, Washington, to serve as the lead attorneys to represent you and other Class members. These lawyers are called Class Counsel. You will not be personally charged for these lawyers. They will ask for fees to be paid out of the Settlement Fund as described in the Notice. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
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15.

What is next?
The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing at 1:00 p.m., September 21, 2010 at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, 920 W. Riverside, Spokane, Washington 99291, before the Honorable Fred Van Sickle, United States District Judge. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the recent Settlements are fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. Judge Van Sickle will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. At or after the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlements and the amount of attorneys' fees and expenses requested by Class Counsel. We do not know how long the Court's decisions will take.
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16.

How do I get more information about the Settlement?
The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlements. More details are in the parties' Settlement Agreements. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreements on the Case Documents page.
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