Case Background and Summary
Montana Power: The Settlement resolves a lawsuit claiming Montana Power Company, and its officers and directors, with the assistance of investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and law firm Milbank Tweed, sold substantially all of the energy related assets of the former Montana Power Company without giving shareholders (a) the right to vote on the sale(s), and (b) the right of dissenting shareholders to be paid "fair value" for their shares under Section 35-1-823, et seq. MCA.
Touch America: This case was brought as a class action alleging that defendants made false and misleading statements and omissions between January 30, 2001 and November 14, 2001, about Touch America's success in the telecommunications business. Plaintiff asserts that the defendants covered up the problems Touch America was experiencing as a telecommunications company. Plaintiff alleges that defendants tried to create shareholder support for the decision to transform Montana Power into Touch America by concealing the serious problems it was experiencing and by making false statements about its customer base as well as its revenues and income. The case alleges that the false financial statements and omissions resulted in the artificial inflation of the prices of Montana Power common stock between January 30, 2001 and November 14, 2001.
In addition, there is one other related case
(In re Touch America Holdings, Inc. ERISA Litigation, No. CV-02-106-BU-SEH) that has settled along with these cases. For further information regarding this case, please click on the link below:
The settlements of all three cases were reached on a global basis and, therefore, payment of the funds in this case is contingent upon the approval of all three settlements.
Commencing on March 22, 2010, the claims administrator will mail the
Notices and the
Proof of Claim forms to potential claimants. To be eligible for participation in this distribution, your completed and signed Proof of Claim and Release must be postmarked on or before June 21, 2010 and submitted to the claims administrator.
With some exceptions that are explained in the detailed notices about each of the cases, the settlements, if approved by the Court, will provide for payments to persons who:
1. Purchased or acquired Montana Power Company common stock between January 30, 2001 and
November 14, 2001.
2. Owned Montana Power Company common stock at any time between December 17, 1999 and
September 21, 2001.
The settlement monies will be divided among all eligible Settlement Class Members who send in valid claim forms ("Authorized Claimants") after payment of Court-approved attorney fees and expenses, and the costs of claims administration, including the costs of printing and mailing Notices and the cost of publishing the Notice (the "Net Settlement Fund").
You are encouraged to read the detailed notices to determine if you are eligible for a recovery in one or both of these cases.
Further information is available from the
Case Documents and
FAQs on this site.