Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Announces Proposed Settlement in the EarthLink Merger Litigation

By: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP via Business Wire

November 12, 2024 at 08:00 AM EST

The following statement is being issued by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP regarding the EarthLink Merger Litigation:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS

ROBERT MURRAY, On Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated,		No. 4:18-cv-00202-JM
		CLASS ACTION
	Plaintiff,

vs.

EARTHLINK HOLDINGS CORP., et al.

	Defendants.

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PENDENCY AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION

IF YOU: (I) ACQUIRED WINDSTREAM COMMON STOCK IN EXCHANGE FOR SHARES OF EARTHLINK IN CONNECTION WITH THE CLOSE OF THE MERGER BETWEEN EARTHLINK AND WINDSTREAM ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY 27, 2017, AND WERE DAMAGED THEREBY; (II) HELD EARTHLINK COMMON STOCK AS OF JANUARY 23, 2017, THE RECORD DATE FOR EARTHLINK STOCKHOLDERS IN THE MERGER, AND ACQUIRED WINDSTREAM COMMON STOCK IN EXCHANGE FOR SHARES OF EARTHLINK IN CONNECTION WITH THE CLOSE OF THE MERGER ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY 27, 2017, AND WERE DAMAGED THEREBY; OR (III) PURCHASED OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRED WINDSTREAM COMMON STOCK PURSUANT AND/OR TRACEABLE TO THE OFFERING DOCUMENTS ISSUED IN CONNECTION WITH THE MERGER, AND WERE DAMAGED THEREBY, YOU COULD RECEIVE A PAYMENT FROM A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT. CERTAIN PERSONS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE DEFINITION OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS AS SET FORTH IN THE STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT.

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and by Order of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, that in the above-captioned litigation (the “Action”), a Settlement has been proposed for $85 million in cash. An in-person hearing will be held on February 6, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable James M. Moody Jr., at the United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, Courtroom 4A, Richard Sheppard Arnold United States Courthouse, 500 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, for the purpose of determining whether: (1) the proposed Settlement should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate to the Settlement Class; (2) the Settlement Class as defined in the parties’ Stipulation of Settlement should be certified for Settlement purposes; (3) the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against the Defendants and the releases specified and described in the Stipulation of Settlement should be granted; (4) the proposed Plan of Allocation for distribution of the Settlement proceeds is fair, reasonable, and adequate and therefore should be approved; and (5) the application of Lead Counsel for the payment of attorneys’ fees and expenses and any award to Lead Plaintiff from the Settlement Fund, including interest earned thereon (the “Fee and Expense Application”), should be approved.

IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF THE ACTION, AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE NET SETTLEMENT FUND. If you have not received a detailed Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action (the “Notice”) and a copy of the Proof of Claim and Release (the “Proof of Claim”), you may obtain a copy of these documents by contacting the Claims Administrator: EarthLink Merger Settlement, Claims Administrator c/o Gilardi, a Verita Global Company, P.O. Box 301171, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1171; info@earthlinkmergersettlement.com; 1-866-967-0679. You may also obtain copies of the Stipulation of Settlement, Notice, and Proof of Claim at www.EarthLinkMergerSettlement.com.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, to be eligible to share in the distribution of the funds remaining after the payment of certain fees and expenses (the “Net Settlement Fund”), you must submit a Proof of Claim by mail postmarked no later than February 3, 2025, or submit it online by that date. Proofs of Claim that are legibly postmarked no later than February 3, 2025 will be treated as received on the postmark date. Please be advised that the U.S. Postal Service may not postmark mail which is not presented in person. If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not submit a valid Proof of Claim by the deadline, you will not be eligible to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, but you will still be bound by any judgment or orders entered by the Court in this Action (including the releases provided for therein).

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you will be bound by any judgment entered by the Court in this Action (including the releases provided for therein) whether or not you submit a Proof of Claim. If you desire to be excluded from the Settlement Class, you must submit a request for exclusion such that it is postmarked (if sent by U.S. mail) or received (if sent by private carrier) by the Claims Administrator no later than January 16, 2025, in the manner and form explained in the Notice. If you properly elect to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you will not be bound by the terms of the Settlement or any final judgment related to the Settlement and you will have no right to recover money from the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund.

Any objection to the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, or the Fee and Expense Application must be received by each of the following recipients no later than January 16, 2025:

Clerk of the Court

United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas

Richard Sheppard Arnold United States Courthouse

500 West Capitol Avenue

Little Rock, AR 72201

Lead Counsel:

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

David A. Knotts

655 West Broadway, Suite 1900

San Diego, CA 92101

Counsel for Defendants:

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Noelle M. Reed

Wallis M. Hampton

1000 Louisiana Street, Suite 6800

Houston, TX 77002

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Peter A. Stokes

98 San Jacinto Boulevard, Suite 1100

Austin, TX 78701-4255

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK’S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE. If you have any questions about the Settlement, you may contact Lead Counsel at the address listed above.

DATED: October 16, 2024

BY ORDER OF THE COURT

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241112836658/en/

Contacts

Media:

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

Shareholder Relations Department

Greg Wood

(619) 231-1058

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Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Announces Proposed Settlement in the EarthLink Merger Litigation

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