Payment of Settlement Funds Claims Administration Sample Clauses

Open Split View

Download

Share

Cite

Payment of Settlement Funds Claims Administration 

Sample 1

Save

Copy

Related to Payment of Settlement Funds Claims Administration

• Claims Administration An employee will be required to comply with any and all rules and regulations and/or limitations established by the carrier or applicable third party administrator and contained in the policy, and employees and their dependents shall look solely to such carrier or third party administration for the adjudication of the payment of any and all benefits claims.

• 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.

• 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.

• Settlement Account 4.1 The Scheduling Coordinator shall maintain at all times an account with a bank capable of Fed-Wire transfer to which credits or debits shall be made in accordance with the billing and Settlement provisions of Section 11 of the CAISO Tariff. Such account shall be the account as notified by the Scheduling Coordinator to the CAISO from time to time by giving at least 20 days written notice before the new account becomes operational, together with all information necessary for the CAISO's processing of a change in that account.

• Income Collection, Transaction Processing, Account Administration of a basis point per annum on the average net assets of the Fund.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Settlement Administrator 56. Class Counsel, in consultation with Navy Federal, has selected the Settlement Administrator. The Settlement Administrator shall administer various aspects of the Settlement as described in the next paragraph hereafter and perform such other functions as are specified for the Settlement Administrator elsewhere in this Agreement, including, but not limited to, providing Mailed and Email Notice to Settlement Class members and distributing the Settlement Fund as provided herein. 57. The duties of the Settlement Administrator, in addition to other responsibilities that are described in the preceding paragraph and elsewhere in this Agreement, are as follows: a. Use the name and address information for Settlement Class members provided by Navy Federal in connection with the Notice process approved by the Court, for the purpose of mailing the Mailed Notice and sending the Email Notice, and later mailing distribution checks to Former Account Holder Settlement Class Members, and to Current Account Holder Settlement Class Members where it is not feasible or reasonable for Navy Federal to make the payment by a credit to the Settlement Class Members’ Accounts; b. Establish and maintain a Post Office box for the receipt of opt-out requests and objections; c. Establish and maintain the Settlement Website; d. Establish and maintain an automated toll-free telephone line for Settlement Class members to call with Settlement-related inquiries, and answer the frequently asked questions of Settlement Class members who call with or otherwise communicate such inquiries; e. Respond to any mailed Settlement Class member inquiries; f. Process all requests for exclusion from the Settlement Class; g. Provide weekly reports to Class Counsel and Navy Federal that summarize the number of requests for exclusion and/or objections received that week, the total number of exclusion requests and/or objections received to date, and other pertinent information; h. In advance of the Final Approval Hearing, prepare an affidavit to submit to the Court confirming that the Notice Program was completed, that the Class Action Fairness Notice requirements have been met, describing how the Notice Program was completed, providing the names of each Settlement Class member who timely and properly opted-out from the Settlement Class, as well as those Settlement Class Members that timely filed objections, and other information as may be necessary to allow the Parties to seek and obtain Final Approval; i. Identify to Navy Federal the amount of the Net Settlement Fund required to make Settlement Class Member Payments to Current Account Holders by a credit to those Settlement Class Members’ Accounts, as well as the amount that shall be paid into the Escrow Account; j. Perform all tax-related services for the Escrow Account as provided in the Agreement; k. Pay invoices, expenses and costs upon approval by Class Counsel and Navy Federal, as provided in this Agreement; and l. Any other Settlement-administration-related function at the instruction of Class Counsel and Navy Federal, including, but not limited to, verifying that the Settlement Fund has been distributed.

• 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.