Settlement Class Pursuant to Rule 23(e)(1)(B)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court preliminarily finds that the Court will likely find that the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(3) have been satisfied for settlement and judgment purposes only. As to the requirements of Rule 23(a) for settlement purposes only, (i) the Settlement Class provisionally certified herein likely exceeds 100,000 individuals, and joinder of all would be impracticable; (ii) there are questions of law and fact common to the Settlement Class; (iii) Class Representatives’ claims are typical of the claims of the Settlement Class they seek to represent for purposes of settlement; and (iv) Class Representatives are adequate representatives of the Settlement Class. As to the requirements of Rule 23(b)(3) for settlement purposes only, questions of law and fact common to the Settlement Class predominate over any questions affecting any individual Settlement Class Member, and a class action on behalf of the Settlement Class is superior to other available means of settling and disposing of this dispute.
Payment of Settlement Amount (1) Within thirty (30) days of the Execution Date, the Settling Defendants shall pay the Settlement Amount to Siskinds LLP for deposit into the Trust Account. The Settlement Amount shall be converted into Canadian currency upon deposit into the Trust Account.
(2) The Settling Defendants shall deposit the Settlement Amount into the Trust Account by wire transfer. Siskinds LLP shall provide the necessary wire transfer information to Counsel for the Settling Defendants with reasonable advance notice so that the Settling Defendants have a reasonable period of time to comply with section 3.1(1) of this Settlement Agreement.
(3) The Settlement Amount and other consideration to be provided in accordance with the terms of this Settlement Agreement shall be provided in full satisfaction of the Released Claims against the Releasees.
(4) The Settlement Amount shall be all-inclusive of all amounts, including without limitation, interest, costs, Class Counsel Fees and Class Counsel Disbursements.
(5) The Releasees shall have no obligation to pay any amount in addition to the Settlement Amount, for any reason, pursuant to or in furtherance of this Settlement Agreement or the Proceedings or any Other Actions.
(6) Once a Claims Administrator has been appointed, Siskinds LLP shall transfer control of the Trust Account to the Claims Administrator.
(7) Siskinds LLP and the Claims Administrator shall maintain the Trust Account as provided for in this Settlement Agreement. While in control of the Trust Account, Siskinds LLP and the Claims Administrator shall not pay out all or part of the monies in the Trust Account, except in accordance with this Settlement Agreement, or in accordance with an order of the Courts obtained after notice to the Parties.
Qualified Settlement Fund The Administrator shall establish a settlement fund that meets the requirements of a Qualified Settlement Fund (“QSF”) under US Treasury Regulation section 468B-1.
Net Out of Settlement Amounts The Non-Defaulting Party shall calculate a Termination Payment by aggregating all Settlement Amounts due under this Agreement or any other agreement(s) between the Company and the BGS-RSCP Supplier for the provision of BGS Supply into a single amount: by netting out (a) all Settlement Amounts that are due or will become due to the Defaulting Party, plus at the option of the Non-Defaulting Party, any cash or other form of security then available to the Non- Defaulting Party and actually received, liquidated and retained by the Non-Defaulting Party, plus any or all other amounts due to the Defaulting Party under this Agreement or any other agreement(s) between the Company and the BGS-RSCP Supplier for the provision of BGS Supply against (b) all Settlement Amounts that are due or will become due to the Non-Defaulting Party, plus any or all other amounts due to the Non-Defaulting Party under this Agreement or any other agreement(s) between the Company and the BGS- RSCP Supplier for the provision of BGS Supply, so that all such amounts shall be netted out to a single liquidated amount; provided, however, that if the BGS-RSCP Supplier is the Defaulting Party and the Termination Payment is due to the BGS-RSCP Supplier, the Company shall be entitled to retain a commercially reasonable portion of the Termination Payment, which may be equal to the entire amount of the Termination Payment, as security for additional amounts that may be determined to be due and owing by the BGS-RSCP Supplier as Damages and further provided that any previously attached security interest of the Company in such retained amounts shall continue. The Termination Payment shall be due to or due from the Non-Defaulting Party as appropriate. If the Termination Payment has been retained by the Company as security for additional amounts that may be determined to be due and owing by the BGS-RSCP Supplier, and if, upon making a final determination of Damages, the Termination Payment, or any portion thereof, is to be made to the BGS-RSCP Supplier, the Company will pay simple interest on the Termination Payment amount being made to the BGS-RSCP Supplier. Simple interest will be calculated at the lower of the Interest Index or six (6) percent per annum.
The Settlement Fund 28. Releasors’ sole recourse for settlement and satisfaction against the Releasees of all Released Claims is against the Settlement Fund, and Releasors shall have no other recovery against Fujikura or any other Releasee.
29. After this Agreement becomes final within the meaning of Paragraph 20, the Settlement Fund shall be distributed in accordance with a plan to be submitted to the Court at the appropriate time by Settlement Class Counsel, subject to approval by the Court. In no event shall any Releasee have any responsibility, financial obligation, or liability whatsoever with respect to the investment, distribution, or administration of the Settlement Fund, including, but not limited to, the costs and expenses of such distribution and administration except as expressly otherwise provided in Paragraph 27 of this Agreement.
30. End-Payor Plaintiffs and Settlement Class Counsel shall be reimbursed and indemnified solely out of the Settlement Fund for all expenses and costs, as provided by Court Order. Fujikura and the other Releasees shall not be liable for any costs, fees, or expenses of any of End-Payor Plaintiffs or the Settlement Class’s respective attorneys, experts, advisors, agents, or representatives, but all such costs, fees, and expenses as approved by the Court shall be paid out of the Settlement Fund.
31. Settlement Class Counsel’s Attorneys’ Fees, Reimbursement of Expenses, and Incentive Awards for Class Representatives
(a) Settlement Class Counsel may submit an application or applications to the Court (the “Fee and Expense Application”) for: (i) an award of attorneys’ fees not in excess of one-third of the settlement fund; plus (ii) reimbursement of expenses and costs incurred in connection with prosecuting the Action and incentive awards, plus interest on such attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses at the same rate and for the same period as earned by the Settlement Fund (until paid) as may be awarded by the Court (the “Fee and Expense Award”). Settlement Class Counsel reserve the right to make additional applications for Court approval of fees and expenses incurred and reasonable incentive awards, but in no event shall Fujikura or any other Releasees be responsible to pay any such additional fees and expenses except to the extent they are paid out of the Settlement Fund.
(b) Subject to Court approval, End-Payor Plaintiffs and Settlement Class Counsel shall be reimbursed and paid solely out of the Settlement Fund for all expenses including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees and past, current, or future litigation expenses. Attorneys’ fees and expenses awarded by the Court shall be payable from the Settlement Fund upon award, notwithstanding the existence of any timely filed objections thereto, or potential appeal therefrom, or collateral attack on the settlement or any part thereof, subject to Settlement Class Counsel’s obligation to make appropriate refunds or repayments to the Settlement Fund with interest, if and when, as a result of any appeal and/or further proceedings on remand, or successful collateral attack, the fee or award of expenses is reduced or reversed, or in the event the Agreement is rescinded or terminated pursuant to Paragraph 25(h) or Paragraph 41.
(c) The procedure for and the allowance or disallowance by the Court of the application by Settlement Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, and incentive awards for class representatives to be paid out of the Settlement Fund are not part of this Agreement, and are to be considered by the Court separately from the Court’s consideration of the fairness, reasonableness and adequacy of the Settlement, and any order or proceeding relating to the Fee and Expense Application, or any appeal from any such order shall not operate to terminate or cancel this Agreement, or affect or delay the finality of the judgment approving the settlement.
(d) Neither Fujikura nor any other Releasee under this Agreement shall have any responsibility for, or interest in, or liability whatsoever with respect to any payment to Settlement Class Counsel of any Fee and Expense Award in the Action.
(e) Neither Fujikura nor any other Releasee under this Agreement shall have any responsibility for, or interest in, or liability whatsoever with respect to the allocation among Settlement Class Counsel, and/or any other person who may assert some claim thereto, of any Fee and Expense Award that the Court may make in the Action.
Full Settlement; Resolution of Disputes (a) The Company's obligation to make the payments provided for in this Agreement and otherwise to perform its obligations hereunder shall not be affected by any set-off, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other claim, right or action which the Company may have against the Executive or others. In no event shall the Executive be obligated to seek other employment or take any other action by way of mitigation of the amounts payable to the Executive under any of the provisions of this Agreement and, except as provided in Section 6(a)(ii) of this Agreement, such amounts shall not be reduced whether or not the Executive obtains other employment. The Company agrees to pay promptly as incurred, to the full extent permitted by law, all legal fees and expenses which the Executive may reasonably incur as a result of any contest (regardless of the outcome thereof) by the Company, the Executive or others of the validity or enforceability of, or liability under, any provision of this Agreement or any guarantee of performance thereof (including as a result of any contest by the Executive about the amount of any payment pursuant to this Agreement), plus in each case interest on any delayed payment at the applicable Federal rate provided for in Section 7872(f)(2)(A) of the Code.
(b) If there shall be any dispute between the Company and the Executive (i) in the event of any termination of the Executive's employment by the Company, whether such termination was for Cause, or (ii) in the event of any termination of employment by the Executive, whether Good Reason existed, then, unless and until there is a final, nonappealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction declaring that such termination was for Cause or that the determination by the Executive of the existence of Good Reason was not made in good faith, the Company shall pay all amounts, and provide all benefits, to the Executive and/or the Executive's family or other beneficiaries, as the case may be, that the Company would be required to pay or provide pursuant to Section 6(a) of this Agreement as though such termination were by the Company without Cause or by the Executive with Good Reason; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to pay any disputed amounts pursuant to this paragraph except upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the Executive to repay all such amounts to which the Executive is ultimately adjudged by such court not to be entitled.
DISPUTES SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE 9.1 A major objective of this Agreement is to eliminate lost time and/or production arising out of disputes or grievances. Disputes over any work related or industrial matter (including a dispute about whether a workplace right has been breached) or any matters arising out of the operation of the Agreement or incidental to the operation of the Agreement should be dealt with as close to its source as possible. Disputes over matters arising from this Agreement (or any other dispute related to the employment relationship or the NES, including subsections 65(5) or 76(4) of the Fair Work Act) shall be dealt with according to the following procedure.
9.2 The pre-dispute status quo shall prevail while the matter is being dealt with in accordance with this procedure.
9.3 All Employees have the right to appoint a representative in relation to a dispute. It is the express priority of all Parties to attempt to settle a dispute at the workplace level at first instance.
9.4 In the event of any work-related grievance arising between the Employer and an Employee or Employees, the matter shall be dealt with in the following manner:
(a) The matter shall be first submitted by the Employee/s or his/her job delegate/ employee representative or other representative, to the site foreperson/supervisor or the other appropriate site representative of the Employer and if not settled, to a more senior representative of the Employer.
(b) Alternatively, the Employer may submit an issue to the Employee/s who may seek the assistance and involvement of the job delegate/employee representative or other representative.
(c) If still not resolved, there may be discussions between the relevant Union official (if requested by the employee/s), or another representative of the employee, and senior representative of the Employer.
(d) Should the matter remain unresolved, either of the parties or their representative shall refer the dispute at first instance to FWC for review. FWC may exercise conciliation and/or arbitration powers in such review.
9.5 This procedure shall be followed in good faith without unreasonable delay.
9.6 If any party fails or refuses to follow any step of this procedure the non-breaching party will not be obligated to continue through the remaining steps of the procedure and may immediately seek relief by application to FWC.
9.7 Any resolution of a dispute under this clause by the FWC will not be inconsistent with legislative obligations or any other applicable Codes or Regulations.
Settlement Class Certification The Settling Parties agree, for purposes of this settlement only, to the certification of the Settlement Class. If the settlement set forth in this Settlement Agreement is not approved by the Court, or if the Settlement Agreement is terminated or cancelled pursuant to the terms of this Settlement Agreement, this Settlement Agreement, and the certification of the Settlement Class provided for herein, will be vacated and the Litigation shall proceed as though the Settlement Class had never been certified, without prejudice to any Person’s or Settling Party’s position on the issue of class certification or any other issue. The Settling Parties’ agreement to the certification of the Settlement Class is also without prejudice to any position asserted by the Settling Parties in any other proceeding, case or action, as to which all of their rights are specifically preserved.
Full Settlement; Mitigation The Company’s obligation to make the payments provided for in this Agreement and otherwise to perform its obligations hereunder shall not be affected by any set-off, counterclaim, recoupment, defense or other claim, right or action which the Company may have against the Executive or others, provided that nothing herein shall preclude the Company from separately pursuing recovery from the Executive based on any such claim. In no event shall the Executive be obligated to seek other employment or take any other action by way of mitigation of the amounts (including amounts for damages for breach) payable to the Executive under any of the provisions of this Agreement, and such amounts shall not be reduced whether or not the Executive obtains other employment.
Certification of the Settlement Class For purposes of this Settlement only, the Parties stipulate to the certification of the Settlement Class, which is contingent upon the Court entering the Final Approval Order and Judgment of this Settlement and the occurrence of the Effective Date.
