Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_01-cv-01688/USCOURTS-cand-4_01-cv-01688-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 850
Nature of Suit: Securities, Commodities, Exchange
Cause of Action: 15:78m(a) Securities Exchange Act

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

OAKLAND DIVISION

In re U.S. AGGREGATES, INC. SECURITIES 

LITIGATION

This Document Relates To:

ALL ACTIONS.

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Master File No. C-01-1688-CW

CLASS ACTION

ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING 

SETTLEMENT AND PROVIDING FOR 

NOTICE

Case 4:01-cv-01688-CW Document 204 Filed 11/23/05 Page 1 of 7
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WHEREAS, a consolidated class action is pending before the Court entitled In re U.S. 

Aggregates, Inc. Securities Litigation, Master File No. C-01-0688-CW (the “Litigation”);

WHEREAS, the Court has received the Stipulation of Settlement dated as of November 10, 

2005 (the “Stipulation”), that has been entered into by the Lead Plaintiff and Defendants, and the 

Court has reviewed the Stipulation and its attached Exhibits; and

WHEREAS, the parties having made application, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 23(e), for an order preliminarily approving the settlement of this Litigation, in accordance 

with the Stipulation which, together with the Exhibits annexed thereto sets forth the terms and 

conditions for a proposed settlement of the Litigation and for dismissal of the Litigation with 

prejudice upon the terms and conditions set forth therein; and the Court having read and considered 

the Stipulation and the Exhibits annexed thereto; and

WHEREAS, all defined terms contained herein shall have the same meanings as set forth in 

the Stipulation;

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

1. The Court does hereby preliminarily approve the Stipulation and the settlement set 

forth therein, subject to further consideration at the Settlement Hearing described below.

2. A hearing (the “Settlement Hearing”) shall be held before this Court on February 3, 

2006, at 10:00 a.m., at the United States Courthouse, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, California, to 

determine whether the proposed settlement of the Litigation on the terms and conditions provided for 

in the Stipulation is fair, reasonable and adequate to the Settlement Class and should be approved by 

the Court; whether a Judgment as provided in ¶1.9 of the Stipulation should be entered herein; 

whether the proposed Plan of Allocation should be approved; and to determine the amount of fees 

and expenses that should be awarded to Lead Counsel. The Court may adjourn the Settlement 

Hearing without further notice to Members of the Settlement Class.

3. Pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court preliminarily 

certifies, for purposes of effectuating this settlement, a Settlement Class of all Persons who 

purchased U.S. Aggregates common stock between April 25, 2000 and April 2, 2001, inclusive. 

Excluded from the Settlement Class are Defendants, members of the immediate families of the 

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Defendants, any entity in which any Defendant has or had a controlling interest, former directors and 

officers of U.S. Aggregates, and the legal representatives, heirs, successors, or assigns of any such 

excluded person or entity. Also excluded from the Settlement Class are those Persons who timely 

and validly request exclusion from the Settlement Class pursuant to the Notice of Pendency and 

Proposed Settlement of Class Action.

4. With respect to the Settlement Class, this Court preliminarily finds for purposes of 

effectuating this settlement that (a) the Members of the Settlement Class are so numerous that 

joinder of all Settlement Class Members in the Litigation is impracticable; (b) there are questions of 

law and fact common to the Settlement Class which predominate over any individual questions; (c) 

the claims of the Lead Plaintiff are typical of the claims of the Settlement Class; (d) the Lead 

Plaintiff and Lead Counsel have fairly and adequately represented and protected the interests of all 

of the Settlement Class Members; and (e) a class action is superior to other available methods for the 

fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy, considering: (i) the interests of the Members of the 

Settlement Class in individually controlling the prosecution of the separate actions; (ii) the extent 

and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already commenced by Members of the 

Settlement Class; (iii) the desirability or undesirability of continuing the litigation of these claims in 

this particular forum; and (iv) the difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of the 

Litigation.

5. The Court approves, as to form and content, the Notice of Pendency and Proposed 

Settlement of Class Action (the “Notice”), the Proof of Claim and Release form (the “Proof of 

Claim”), and Summary Notice for publication annexed as Exhibits A-1, A-2 and A-3 hereto, and 

finds that the mailing and distribution of the Notice and publishing of the Summary Notice 

substantially in the manner and form set forth in ¶¶6-7 of this Order meet the requirements of 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and due process, and is the best notice practicable under the 

circumstances and shall constitute due and sufficient notice to all Persons entitled thereto.

6. Pursuant to Rule 53(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court appoints the 

firm of RG/2 Claims Administration LLC (“Claims Administrator”) to supervise and administer the 

notice procedure as well as the processing of claims as more fully set forth below:

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(a) Not later than December 15, 2005 (the “Notice Date”), Lead Counsel shall 

cause a copy of the Notice and the Proof of Claim, substantially in the forms annexed as Exhibits A1 and A-2 hereto, to be mailed by first class mail to all Settlement Class Members who can be 

identified with reasonable effort;

(b) Not later than December 15, 2005, Lead Counsel shall cause the Summary 

Notice to be published once in Investor’s Business Daily; and

(c) At least seven (7) calendar days prior to the Settlement Hearing, Lead Counsel 

shall cause to be served on Defendants’ counsel and filed with the Court proof, by affidavit or 

declaration, of such mailing and publishing.

7. Nominees who purchased U.S. Aggregates common stock during the period

beginning April 25, 2000 through April 2, 2001, inclusive, shall send the Notice and the Proof of 

Claim to all beneficial owners of such U.S. Aggregates common stock within ten (10) days after 

receipt thereof, or send a list of the names and addresses of such beneficial owners to the Claims 

Administrator within ten (10) days of receipt thereof, in which event the Claims Administrator shall 

promptly mail the Notice and Proof of Claim to such beneficial owners. Lead Counsel shall, if 

requested, reimburse banks, brokerage houses or other nominees solely for their reasonable out-ofpocket expenses incurred in providing notice to beneficial owners who are Settlement Class 

Members out of the Class Notice and Administration Fund, which expenses would not have been 

incurred except for the sending of such notice, subject to further order of this Court with respect to 

any dispute concerning such compensation.

8. All Members of the Settlement Class shall be bound by all determinations and 

judgments in the Litigation concerning the settlement, whether favorable or unfavorable to the 

Settlement Class.

9. Settlement Class Members who wish to participate in the settlement shall complete 

and submit Proof of Claim forms in accordance with the instructions contained therein. Unless the 

Court orders otherwise, all Proof of Claim forms must be submitted no later than ninety (90) days 

from the Notice Date. Any Settlement Class Member who does not timely submit a Proof of Claim 

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within the time provided for shall be barred from sharing in the distribution of the proceeds of the 

Net Settlement Fund, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

10. Any Person who desires to request exclusion from the Settlement Class shall do so 

within the time set forth and in the manner described in the Notice. All Persons who submit valid 

and timely Requests for Exclusion in the manner set forth in the Notice shall have no rights under 

the Stipulation, shall not share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, and shall not be bound 

by the Stipulation or the Judgment entered in the Litigation.

11. Any Member of the Settlement Class may enter an appearance in the Litigation, at 

their own expense, individually or through counsel of their own choice. If they do not enter an 

appearance, they will be represented by Lead Counsel.

12. Any Member of the Settlement Class may appear and show cause, if he, she or it has 

any reason, why the proposed settlement of the Litigation should or should not be approved a s fair, 

reasonable and adequate, why a judgment should or should not be entered thereon, why the Plan of 

Allocation should or should not be approved, or why attorneys’ fees and expenses should or should 

not be awarded to Lead Counsel; provided, however, that no Settlement Class Member or any other 

Person shall be heard or entitled to contest the approval of the terms and conditions of the proposed 

settlement, or, if approved, the Judgment to be entered thereon approving the same, or the order 

approving the Plan of Allocation, or the attorneys’ fees and expenses to be awarded to Lead Counsel, 

unless that Person has delivered by hand or sent by first class mail written objections and copies of 

any papers and briefs such that they are received on or before January 23, 2006, by: Lerach Coughlin 

Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, Joy Ann Bull, 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, 

CA 92101; Heller Ehrman LLP, Michael L. Charlson, 275 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 

94025; and Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP, Julia J. Rider, 1900 Avenue of the Stars, 7th 

Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067 and filed said objections, papers and briefs with the Clerk of the 

United States District Court for the Northern District of California, on or before January 23, 2006. 

Any Member of the Settlement Class who does not make his, her or its objection in the manner 

provided shall be deemed to have waived such objection and shall forever be foreclosed from 

making any objection to the fairness or adequacy of the proposed settlement as set forth in the 

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Stipulation, to the Plan of Allocation, or to the award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to Lead 

Counsel, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

13. All funds held by the Escrow Agent shall be deemed and considered to be in custodia 

legis of the Court, and shall remain subject to the jurisdiction of the Court, until such time as such 

funds shall be distributed pursuant to the Stipulation and/or further order(s) of the Court.

14. All papers in support of the settlement, the Plan of Allocation, and the application by 

Lead Counsel for attorneys’ fees or reimbursement of expenses shall be filed and served seven (7) 

calendar days before the Settlement Hearing.

15. Neither Defendants nor the Insurer shall have any responsibility for or liability with 

respect to the Plan of Allocation or any application for attorneys’ fees or reimbursement of expenses 

submitted by Lead Counsel, and such matters will be considered separately from the fairness, 

reasonableness and adequacy of the settlement.

16. At or after the Settlement Hearing, the Court shall determine whether the Plan of 

Allocation proposed by Lead Counsel, and any application for attorneys’ fees or reimbursement of 

expenses shall be approved.

17. All reasonable expenses incurred in identifying and notifying Settlement Class 

Members, as well as administering the Settlement Fund, shall be paid as set forth in the Stipulation. 

In the event the settlement is not approved by the Court, or otherwise fails to become effective, 

neither the Lead Plaintiffs nor Lead Counsel sha ll have any obligation to repay any amounts actually 

and properly disbursed from the Class Notice and Administration Fund.

18. Neither the Stipulation, nor any of its terms or provisions, nor any of the negotiations 

or proceedings connected with it, shall be construed as an admission or concession by Defendants of 

the truth of any of the allegations in the Litigation, or of any liability, fault, or wrongdoing of any 

kind.

19. The Court reserves the right to adjourn the date of the Settlement Hearing without 

further notice to the Members of the Settlement Class, and retains jurisdiction to consider all further 

applications arising out of or connected with the proposed settlement. The Court may approve the 

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settlement, with such modifications as may be agreed to by the Settling Parties, if appropriate, 

without further notice to the Settlement Class.

 11/23/05

DATED: _____________________

 /s/ CLAUDIA WILKEN

THE HONORABLE CLAUDIA WILKEN

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Submitted by:

LERACH COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER

RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP

JEFFREY W. LAWRENCE

CHRISTOPHER P. SEEFER

SHIRLEY H. HUANG

100 Pine Street, Suite 2600

San Francisco, CA 94111

Telephone: 415/288-4545

415/288-4534 (fax)

LERACH COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER

RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP

WILLIAM S. LERACH

JOY ANN BULL

JOY ANN BULL

655 West Broadway, Suite 1900

San Diego, CA 92101

Telephone: 619/231-1058

619/231-7423 (fax)

Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs

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