Claims Administrator 12. The Claims Administrator shall be selected by Class Counsel and approved by the Court.
13. The Claims Administrator shall administer the process of receiving, reviewing and approving or denying claims under Class Counsel’s supervision and subject to the jurisdiction of the Court.
14. The Claims Administrator shall receive Claims and determine first, whether the Claim is an Authorized Claim, in whole or in part; and second, each Authorized Claimant’s pro rata share of the Net Cash Settlement Amount based upon each Authorized Claimant’s Recognized Alleged Loss amount.
15. The Settlement Fund shall be applied as follows:
(1) to pay Class Counsel’s Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses, and the Service Award and expenses of Plaintiff (the “Attorneys’ Fees, Expenses and Service Award”), if and to the extent allowed by the Court;
(2) to pay all the costs and expenses reasonably and actually incurred in connection with providing notice, locating Settlement Class Members, soliciting Settlement Class claims, assisting with the filing of claims, administering and distributing the Net Settlement Fund to Authorized Claimants, processing Claim Forms, and paying escrow fees and costs, if any;
(3) to pay any taxes and tax expenses; and
(4) to distribute the balance of the Settlement Fund to Authorized Claimants as allowed by the Settlement Agreement, the Plan of Allocation, or order of the Court.
16. The Plan of Allocation is not a necessary term of this Settlement Agreement, and it is not a condition of this Settlement Agreement that any particular Plan of Allocation be approved.
17. Each Authorized Claimant shall be allocated a pro rata share of the Net Cash Settlement Amount based on his, her or its Recognized Alleged Loss compared to the total Recognized Alleged Losses of all Authorized Claimants. Defendants shall not be entitled to any of the Settlement consideration once the Effective Date has occurred.
18. Any Class Member who does not submit a valid Claim Form will not be entitled to receive any distribution from the Net Cash Settlement Amount, but will otherwise be bound by all of the terms of this Settlement Agreement and the Settlement, including the terms of the Final Order Approving Settlement to be entered in the Class Action and the Releases provided for herein, and will be barred and enjoined from bringing any action against the Releasees concerning the Released Claims.
19. Class Counsel shall be responsible for supervising the administration of the Settlement and disbursement of the Net Cash Settlement Amount by the Claims Administrator. Defendants shall have no liability, obligation, involvement, or responsibility for the administration of the Settlement or disbursement of the Net Cash Settlement Amount. Class Counsel shall have the right, but not the obligation, to waive what they deem to be non-substantive or technical defects in any Claim Forms submitted in the interests of achieving substantial justice.
20. For purposes of determining the extent, if any, to which a Settlement Class Member shall be entitled to be treated as an Authorized Claimant, the following conditions shall apply:
a. Each Class Member shall be required to submit a Claim Form setting forth the Class Member’s Alleged Losses, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C, supported by such documents as are designated therein, or as the Claims Administrator or Class Counsel, in their discretion, may deem acceptable.
b. All Claim Forms must be submitted by the date set by the Court in the Preliminary Approval Order and specified in the Notice, which the Parties will request to be sixty (60) days after mailing, unless such deadline is extended by Order of the Court. Any Class Member who fails to submit a Claim Form by such date shall be forever barred from receiving any distribution from the Net Cash Settlement Amount or payment pursuant to this Settlement Agreement (unless, by Order of the Court, late-filed Claim Forms are accepted), but shall in all other respects be bound by all of the terms of this Settlement Agreement and the Settlement including the terms of the Final Order Approving Settlement and the Releases provided for herein, and will be barred and enjoined from bringing any action against the Releasees concerning the Released Claims. A Claim Form shall be deemed to be submitted when posted, if received with a postmark indicated on the envelope and if mailed by first-class mail and addressed in as per the instructions thereon.
c. Each Claim Form shall be submitted to and reviewed by the Claims Administrator, under the supervision of Class Counsel, who shall determine in accordance with this Settlement Agreement, the extent, if any, to which each Claim shall be allowed, subject to review by the Court pursuant to subparagraph “f” below;
d. Claim Forms that do not meet the submission requirements may be rejected. Prior to rejecting a Claim in whole or in part, the Claims Administrator shall communicate with the Claimant in writing, email or by telephone to give the Claimant the chance to remedy any curable deficiencies in the Claim Form submitted. The Claims Administrator, under the supervision of Class Counsel, shall notify, in a timely fashion and in writing, all Claimants whose Claim they propose to reject in whole or in part, setting forth the reasons therefore, and shall indicate in such notice that the Claimant whose claim is to be rejected has the right to a review by the Court if the Claimant so desires and complies with the requirements of subparagraph (e) below.
e. If any Claimant whose claim has been rejected in whole or in part desires to contest such rejection, the Claimant must, within twenty-one (21) days after the date of mailing of the notice required in subparagraph (d) above, serve upon the Claims Administrator a notice and statement of reasons indicating the Claimant’s grounds for contesting the rejection along with any supporting documentation, and requesting a review thereof by the Court. If a dispute concerning a Claim cannot be otherwise resolved, Class Counsel shall thereafter present the request to the Court.
f. The administrative determinations of the Claims Administrator in accepting and rejecting Claims shall be presented for approval by the Court.
21. Each Claimant shall be deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to the Claimant’s Claim, and the Claim will be subject to investigation and discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, provided, however that such investigation and discovery shall be limited to that Claimant’s status as a Class Member and the validity and amount of the Claimant’s Claim. No discovery shall be allowed on the merits of the Class Action or Settlement in connection with the processing of Claim Forms.
22. Class Counsel will apply to the Court for a Class Distribution Order: (a) approving the Claims Administrator’s administrative determinations concerning the acceptance and rejection of the Claims submitted; (b) approving payment of any administration fees and expenses associated with the administration of the Settlement from the Settlement Administration Account; and (c) if the Effective Date has occurred, directing payment of the Net Cash Settlement Amount to the Authorized Claimants.
23. The Net Cash Settlement Amount shall be distributed to Authorized Claimants substantially in accordance with the Plan of Allocation set forth in the Class Notice and approved by the Court. Any such Plan of Allocation is not a part of this Settlement Agreement. No funds from the Net Cash Settlement Amount shall be distributed to Authorized Claimants until the Effective Date. If there is any balance remaining in the Net Cash Settlement Amount after six (6) months from the date of distribution of the Net Cash Settlement Amount, Class Counsel shall, if feasible, reallocate such balance among Authorized Claimants in an equitable and economic fashion. Thereafter, any remaining balance shall be donated to one or more secular §501(c)(3) organization(s) selected by Class Counsel, not related or controlled by any Party or their counsel.
24. Payment pursuant to the Class Distribution Order shall be final and conclusive against all Class Members who are Authorized Claimants.
25. All proceedings with respect to the administration, processing and determination of Claims and the determination of all controversies relating thereto, including disputed questions of law and fact with respect to the validity of Claims, shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Court.
26. The Claims Administrator is to be charged with, among other things, distribution of the Class Notice, setting up and running a toll-free center to respond to calls, receipt and handling of requests for information, receipt of requests for exclusion and distribution of settlement relief to Class Members in the Settlement.
I. Releases and Waivers
27. Pursuant to the Order Approving Settlement, without further action by anyone, and whether or not a Claim Form has been executed and/or delivered by or on behalf of any such Settlement Class Member, on and after the Effective Date, Representative Plaintiff and all other Settlement Class Members, on behalf of themselves and their other Releasors, for good and sufficient consideration, and all Releasors shall be deemed to have, and by operation of law and of the Order Approving Settlement shall have, fully, finally, and forever released, relinquished, settled, and discharged:
a. all Released Claims;
b. all Claims, damages, and liabilities against each and every one of the Releasees to the extent that any such Claims, damages, or liability relate in any way to any or all acts, omissions, nondisclosures, facts, matters, transactions, occurrences, or oral or written statements or representations in connection with, or directly or indirectly relating to (i) the prosecution, defense, or settlement of the Class Action, (ii) the Settlement Agreement, (iii) the Settlement terms and their implementation, (iv) the provision of notice in connection with the proposed Settlement, and/or (v) the resolution of any Claim Forms filed in connection with the Settlement; and
c. all Claims against any of the Releasees for attorneys’ fees, costs, or disbursements incurred by Plaintiff’s counsel, the settlement of the Class Action, or the administration of the Settlement, except as otherwise specified in the Settlement Agreement.
28. The Settling Parties agree and acknowledge that this Settlement Agreement is intended to resolve and satisfy any and all claims that the Releasors have made or could have made against any of the Releasees arising out of the issuance or sale of GrowCo securities. The Parties agree and acknowledge that they shall seek as part of the Final Order Approving Settlement an order prohibiting further lawsuits and claims against the Defendants arising out of the issuance and sale of GrowCo securities which the Parties intend to operate as a complete bar to any lawsuits or claims against the Defendants arising out of the issuance or sale of GrowCo securities (the “Complete Bar Order”). The Complete Bar Order will not bar claims for collection of any amounts due under the GrowCo securities pursuant to the terms of the securities, including claims in the event of a GrowCo liquidation including in the GrowCo Bankruptcy Action.
29. Nothing in the Final Order Approving Settlement shall bar any action or Claim by the Settling Parties or their counsel to enforce the terms of the Settlement Agreement or the Order Approving Settlement.
30. The Releasors and each of them agree and covenant not to sue or prosecute, institute or cooperate in the institution, commencement, filing, or prosecution of any suit or proceeding in any forum based upon or related to any Released Claims against any Releasee.
31. Each of the releases, waivers, and covenants not to sue contained in this Section was separately bargained for and is an essential element of the Settlement Agreement.
Settlement Administration 5.1. The Settlement Administrator shall, under the supervision of the Court, administer the relief provided by this Settlement Agreement by processing Claim Forms in a rational, responsive, cost effective, and timely manner. The Settlement Administrator shall maintain reasonably detailed records of its activities under this Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Administrator shall maintain all such records as are required by applicable law in accordance with its normal business practices and such records will be made available to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel upon request. The Settlement Administrator shall also provide reports and other information to the Court as the Court may require. The Settlement Administrator shall provide Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel with information concerning Notice, administration, and implementation of the Settlement Agreement. Should the Court request, the Parties, in conjunction with the Settlement Administrator, shall submit a timely report to the Court summarizing the work performed by the Settlement Administrator, including a report of all amounts from the State-Specific Settlement Funds paid on account of Approved Claims. Without limiting the foregoing, the Settlement Administrator shall:
(a) receive exclusion forms and other requests from Settlement Class Members and promptly provide a copy of such requests to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel upon receipt. If the Settlement Administrator receives any exclusion forms or other requests from the Settlement Class after the Objection/Exclusion Deadline, the Settlement Administrator shall promptly provide copies thereof to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel;
(b) provide weekly reports to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel, including, without limitation, reports regarding the number of Claim Forms received, the current number approved by the Settlement Administrator at that time from each of the Settlement Classes, and the number of opt-outs received;
(c) make available for inspection by Class Counsel or Defendant’s Counsel the Claim Forms, any documentation submitted in support thereof, and any correspondence received by the Settlement Administrator at any time upon reasonable notice;
(d) pay all Approved Claims according to the terms of this Settlement Agreement;
(e) make all tax filings related to the Escrow Accounts, including making any required “information returns” as that term is used in 26 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. Neither Class Counsel nor Defendant makes any representations regarding the tax treatment of the Escrow Account, State-Specific Settlement Funds or any portion thereof; and
(f) respond to questions about the Settlement from Settlement Class Members.
5.2. The Settlement Administrator shall employ reasonable procedures to screen claims for abuse or fraud. The Settlement Administrator, after consultation with Class Counsel, shall reject Claim Forms where there is evidence of abuse or fraud.
5.3. The Settlement Administrator shall reject any Claim Form that does not contain all requested information. The Settlement Administrator shall provide the individual with an opportunity to cure any deficient Claim Form within twenty-one (21) days after notice to such individual. If the individual fails to cure within the required time, the claim shall be rejected.
5.4. In the exercise of their duties outlined in this Agreement, the Settlement Administrator shall have the right to reasonably request additional information from the Parties or any Settlement Class Member.
