EXHIBIT 3

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 1 of 57
 

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KESSLER TOPAZ 

MELTZER & CHECK, LLP 

Andrew L. Zivitz 

azivitz@ktmc.com 

Johnston de F. Whitman, Jr. 

jwhitman@ktmc.com 

Jonathan F. Neumann 

jneumann@ktmc.com 

280 King of Prussia Road 

Radnor, PA 19087 

Telephone: (610) 667-7706 

Facsimile: (610) 667-7056 

-andJennifer L. Joost 

jjoost@ktmc.com 

One Sansome Street, Suite 1850 

San Francisco, CA 94104 

Telephone: (415) 400-3000 

Facsimile: (415) 400-3001 

BONNETT, FAIRBOURN, 

FRIEDMAN & BALINT, P.C. 

Francis J. Balint, Jr. 

fbalint@bffb.com 

Andrew S. Friedman 

afriedman@bffb.com 

2325 E. Camelback Road, Suite 300 

Phoenix, AZ 85016 

Telephone: (602) 274-1100 

Facsimile: (602) 274-1199 

Liaison Counsel for Lead Plaintiff, 

Class Representative, and the Class 

Lead Counsel for Lead Plaintiff, Class 

Representative, and the Class 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 

Richard Di Donato, Individually and On 

Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, 

 Plaintiff, 

 v. 

Insys Therapeutics, Inc.; Michael L. Babich; 

Darryl S. Baker; and John N. Kapoor, 

Defendants. 

 No. 16-cv-00302-NVW 

CLASS ACTION 

DECLARATION OF 

JOHNSTON DE F. WHITMAN, 

JR. IN SUPPORT OF CLASS 

COUNSEL’S MOTION FOR AN 

AWARD OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES 

FILED ON BEHALF OF 

KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER 

& CHECK, LLP 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 2 of 57
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I, Johnston de F. Whitman, Jr., pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, hereby declare as 

follows: 

1. I am a partner of the law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP 

(“Kessler Topaz”), Court-appointed Class Counsel in the above-captioned action 

(“Action”).1

 I submit this Declaration in support of Class Counsel’s motion for an award 

of attorneys’ fees in connection with services rendered by Plaintiffs’ Counsel in the 

Action. Unless otherwise stated herein, I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth 

below and, if called upon, could and would testify thereto. 

2. Kessler Topaz, as Court-appointed Lead Counsel and Class Counsel, was 

involved in all aspects of the prosecution of the Action and its resolution with Defendant 

John N. Kapoor (“Defendant Kapoor”), as set forth in my accompanying Declaration in 

Support of (I) Class Representative’s Motion for Final Approval of Settlement with 

Defendant John N. Kapoor and Plan of Allocation; and (II) Class Counsel’s Motion for 

an Award of Attorneys’ Fees. 

3. The information in this Declaration regarding Kessler Topaz’s time is 

documented and reflected in time printouts and supporting documentation prepared and 

maintained by my firm in the ordinary course of business. I am the partner who conducted 

the day-to-day activities in the Action, and I have reviewed and/or supervised the review 

of these printouts (and backup documentation where necessary or appropriate) in 

connection with the preparation of this Declaration. The purpose of this review was to 

confirm both the accuracy of the time entries, as well as the necessity for, and 

reasonableness of, the time committed to the Action, including the elimination of time 

that was unnecessary or duplicative.2

 As a result of this review, reductions were made, 

 

1 Capitalized terms that are not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in 

the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement Between Lead Plaintiff and Defendant John 

N. Kapoor, dated July 1, 2020. Doc. 371-1. 

2

 In addition, all time by attorneys and professional support staff employees at 

Kessler Topaz (“Timekeepers”) who devoted ten (10) or fewer hours to the Action as well 

as all time expended on Class Counsel’s motion for an award of attorneys’ fees has been 

excluded. 

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where appropriate, in the exercise of billing judgment. As a result of this review and the 

adjustments made, I believe that the time reflected in Kessler Topaz’s lodestar calculation 

is reasonable in amount and was necessary for the effective and efficient prosecution of 

the Action and its resolution. 

4. After the reductions referred to above, the total number of hours spent on 

the Action by Kessler Topaz, from inception through July 1, 2020 is 22,224.10.3

 The total 

lodestar for my firm, as reflected in Exhibit A, is $11,486,524.75, consisting of 

$10,813,009.50 for attorneys’ time and $673,515.25 for professional support staff time. 

The chart set forth as Exhibit A was prepared from daily time records of the firm, which 

are available at the request of the Court. 

5. Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a chart breaking down Kessler Topaz’s time 

by litigation category, showing the work performed by each Timekeeper by litigation 

category. The litigation categories set forth in Exhibit B are: (1) Investigation and Factual 

Research; (2) Lead Plaintiff Motion; (3) Complaints; (4) Lead Plaintiff Document 

Review; (5) Defendant and Non-Party Document Review; (6) Discovery; (7) Depositions 

and Preparation; (8) Motions to Dismiss; (9) Class Certification; (10) Court Appearances 

and Preparation; (11) Litigation Strategy and Case Management/Administration; (12) 

Mediation, Settlement, and Settlement Administration; (13) Experts and Expert Motions; 

(14) Summary Judgment; (15) Trial Preparation; and (16) Communications with Class 

Representative. 

6. The hourly rates for the Timekeepers, as set forth in Exhibits A and B, are 

their standard rates. My firm’s hourly rates are based upon a combination of the title, cost 

to the firm, and the specific years of experience for each attorney and professional support 

staff employee, as well as market rates for practitioners in the field. These hourly rates 

are the same as, or comparable to, rates submitted by Kessler Topaz and accepted by 

courts in other complex class actions for purposes of “cross-checking” lodestar against a 

 

3

 July 1, 2020 is used as the cut-off, as it was the date Class Representative filed his 

motion for preliminary approval of the settlement with Defendant Kapoor. Doc. 371. 

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proposed fee based on the percentage of the fund method, as well as determining a 

reasonable fee under the lodestar method. For Timekeepers who are no longer employed 

by Kessler Topaz, the hourly rate used is the hourly rate for such employee in his or her 

final year of employment by my firm. 

7. In connection with the Baker Settlement, my firm documented its out-ofpocket expenses incurred through May 22, 2020. Doc. 407-3. As set forth below, Kessler 

Topaz has incurred an additional $59,317.58 in out-of-pocket expenses in connection with 

the prosecution of the Action and its resolution which were not previously documented 

(or sought for reimbursement) in the Baker Settlement submission. This amount includes: 

(i) expenses that were incurred after the May 22, 2020 cut-off used for the Baker 

Settlement through July 1, 2020; and (ii) mediation costs incurred exclusively in 

connection with Class Counsel’s settlement efforts with Defendant Kapoor, including the 

July 15, 2019 mediation with Michelle Yoshida of Phillips ADR. Class Counsel’s 

additional expenses are provided in the below chart: 

CATEGORY AMOUNT 

Service of Process4 $314.00 

Postage & Express Mail $93.33 

On-Line Legal / Factual Research5 $1,320.99 

Internal Reproduction Costs ($0.10 per copy) $229.40 

Document Hosting / Management $36,779.86 

Experts / Consultants $8,260.00 

 Intelligent Management Solutions, LLC $8,260.00 

Mediation $12,320.00 

 TOTAL: $59,317.58 

8. The foregoing expenses are documented and reflected in expense printouts 

and supporting documentation prepared and maintained by my firm in the ordinary course 

 

4

 This amount, owed to Keating & Walker Attorney Service, Inc., was incurred for 

the service of a subpoena on Alec Burlakoff on May 24, 2020. 

5

 The total amount of $1,320.99 for on-line research is broken down by vendor as 

follows: (i) Lexis Nexis: $1,243.99; (ii) IDI Database: $12.00; and (iii) TransUnion Risk 

& Alternative Data Solutions Inc.: $65.00.

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of business. I have reviewed and/or supervised the review of these expense printouts (and 

backup documentation where necessary or appropriate) and, as a result of this review, I 

believe the expenses set forth herein are reasonable in amount and were necessary for the 

effective and efficient prosecution of the Action and its resolution. In addition, I believe 

that the expenses are those that would normally be charged to a fee-paying client in the 

private legal marketplace. 

9. Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a firm résumé, which includes information 

about my firm and biographical information concerning the firm’s attorneys. 

I declare, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing facts are true and correct to 

the best of my knowledge. 

DATED this 10th day of September 2020. 

 ____________________________

 Johnston de F. Whitman, Jr. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 6 of 57
EXHIBIT A

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 7 of 57
EXHIBIT A 

Di Donato v. Insys Therapeutics, Inc., et al. 

No. CV-16-00302-NVW (D. Ariz.)

KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP 

TIME REPORT 

From Inception Through July 1, 2020 

NAME

BAR 

DATE 

YEAR 

HOURLY 

RATE HOURS LODESTAR

Partners

Amjed, Naumon 2003 $850.00 36.10 $30,685.00 

Degnan, Ryan 2010 $780.00 53.40 $41,652.00 

Jarvis, Geoffrey C. 1985 $850.00 38.10 $32,385.00 

Joost, Jennifer 2006 $820.00 1,833.60 $1,503,552.00 

Kessler, David 1994 $920.00 194.20 $178,664.00 

Topaz, Marc A. 1991 $920.00 38.25 $35,190.00 

Whitman, Jr., Johnston de F. 1995 $850.00 3,559.30 $3,025,405.00 

Zivitz, Andrew 1995 $920.00 580.95 $534,474.00 

Counsel / Associates 

Cook, Rupa Nath 2014 $425.00 194.30 $82,577.50 

Enck, Jennifer 2003 $690.00 210.45 $145,210.50 

Gerard, Eric 2010 $690.00 201.40 $138,966.00 

Islam, Farzana 2016 $425.00 753.60 $320,280.00 

Kaskela, Seamus 2006 $550.00 66.30 $36,465.00 

Koneski, Megan 2012 $450.00 199.90 $89,955.00 

Lambert, Meredith 2010 $450.00 227.40 $102,330.00 

McEvilly, James 1994 $690.00 549.70 $379,293.00 

Neumann, Jonathan 2012 $505.00 1,665.80 $841,229.00 

Prifti, Ardit 2015 $400.00 66.00 $26,400.00 

Staff Attorneys 

Chapman Smith, Quiana 2007 $385.00 213.20 $82,082.00 

Tomich, Alexandra 2006 $385.00 92.70 $35,689.50 

Contract Attorneys 

Asadoorian-Radell, Jodi 1997 $350.00 1,369.70 $479,395.00 

Carlson, Matthew H. 2006 $350.00 1,482.90 $519,015.00 

Durante, Maria 1992 $350.00 1,566.50 $548,275.00 

Hegedus, Candice 1979 $350.00 2,008.10 $702,835.00 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 8 of 57
Kuchler, Joseph J. 2004 $350.00 992.70 $347,445.00 

Palenscar, Lynn 1977 $350.00 1,581.60 $553,560.00 

Paralegals / Law Clerks 

Bigelow, Emily $305.00 264.50 $80,672.50 

Cashwell, Amy $250.00 158.90 $39,725.00 

Hankins, Andrew $275.00 36.60 $10,065.00 

Hindmarsh, Lisa $255.00 103.60 $26,418.00 

Longley, Henry $85.00 49.30 $4,190.50 

Paffas, Holly $260.00 796.20 $207,012.00 

Sim, Joan $275.00 493.70 $135,767.50 

Swift, Mary R. $305.00 252.20 $76,921.00 

Investigators 

Jeffrey, Carolyn $300.00 19.00 $5,700.00 

Maginnis, Jamie $325.00 53.35 $17,338.75 

Molina, Henry $325.00 130.80 $42,510.00 

Righter, Caitlyn $300.00 55.40 $16,620.00 

Seidel, Kerry $325.00 10.20 $3,315.00 

Young, Eric K. $300.00 24.20 $7,260.00 

TOTALS 22,224.10 $11,486,524.75 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 9 of 57
EXHIBIT B

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 10 of 57
EXHIBIT B

Di Donato v. Insys Therapeutics, Inc., et al.

No. CV-16-00302-NVW (D. Ariz.)

KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER CHECK, LLP 

TIME CATEGORIZED BY LITIGATION CATEGORY

FIRM NAME: REPORTING PERIOD:Litigation Categories: Status:

 (1) Investigation and Factual Research (9) Class Certification (P) Partner

 (2) Lead Plaintiff Motion (10) Court Appearances and Preparation (C) Counsel

 (3) Complaints (11) Litigation Strategy and Case Management/Administration (A) Associate (4) Lead Plaintiff Document Review (12) Mediation, Settlement, and Settlement Administration (SA) Staff Attorney (5) Defendant and Third Party Document Review (13) Experts and Expert Motions (CA) Contract Attorney

 (6) Discovery (14) Summary Judgment

 (7) Depositions and Preparation (15) Trial Preparation (8) Motions to Dismiss (16) Communications with Class RepresentativeNAME STATUS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

H

Attorneys:Amjed, Naumon P 0.40 10.80 13.40 1.80 9.70 $8

Degnan, Ryan P 6.50 26.60 16.60 0.50 3.20 $7Jarvis, Geoffrey C. P 33.70 4.40 $8Joost, Jennifer P 164.60 328.00 1.00 41.80 124.50 263.40 85.10 19.20 75.90 54.70 23.80 210.40 49.20 392.00 $8

Kessler, David P 3.50 6.70 15.40 164.60 3.00 1.00 $9

Topaz, Marc A. P 21.30 16.45 0.50 $9Whitman, Jr., Johnston de F. P 96.80 366.70 6.70 285.50 576.60 353.60 224.80 427.10 80.60 196.20 203.60 166.40 561.10 13.60 $8

Zivitiz, Andrew P 19.10 52.15 3.70 62.45 49.50 15.00 14.00 20.00 75.20 194.05 60.50 4.10 6.70 4.50 $9

Enck, Jennifer C 34.00 1.60 174.85 $6

Gerard, Eric C 8.50 98.10 21.90 25.80 2.40 4.50 1.30 38.90 $6McEvilly, James C 36.70 31.10 132.80 283.20 20.00 45.90 $6

Cook, Rupa Nath A 6.50 109.80 8.10 55.80 14.10 $4Islam, Farzana A 4.00 111.70 72.00 10.00 18.70 58.10 9.70 153.60 108.50 207.30 $4

Kaskela, Seamus A 19.35 24.10 3.50 10.50 8.85 $5Koneski, Megan A 28.70 62.90 94.20 14.10 $4Lambert, Meredith A 3.50 77.20 144.90 1.80 $4Neumann, Jonathan A 8.70 8.60 149.80 278.50 259.60 137.60 2.20 28.60 129.00 156.80 97.50 408.90 $5Prifti, Ardit A 9.60 34.10 18.80 3.50 $4Chapman Smith, Quiana SA 6.90 25.40 67.70 81.50 31.70 $3Tomich, Alexandra SA 5.20 2.00 85.50 $3Asadoorian-Radell, Jodi CA 982.50 4.75 288.80 26.00 67.65 $3

Carlson, Matthew H. CA 24.00 1,106.90 209.85 27.75 114.40 $3Durante, Maria CA 16.50 1,520.00 29.25 0.75 $3Hegedus, Candice CA 6.50 1,642.50 2.00 236.45 33.15 87.50 $3Kuchler, Joseph J. CA 23.35 906.60 46.75 16.00 $3Palenscar, Lynn CA 8.50 1,385.45 10.00 14.90 30.00 132.75 $3

528.70 95.60 1,049.05 20.00 7,794.05 1,118.40 2,509.85 786.70 536.50 525.20 572.10 928.40 1,242.55 425.70 1,615.90 27.45 

Professional Staff:Bigelow, Emily PL 15.40 7.80 40.30 13.90 187.10 $3

Cashwell, Amy PL 68.40 3.20 25.60 38.40 23.30 $2Hankins, Andrew PL 22.40 0.50 13.70 $2Hindmarsh, Lisa PL 37.60 65.80 0.20 $2Paffas, Holly PL 0.50 0.50 39.80 3.70 98.90 92.70 18.60 66.90 3.00 237.90 37.00 36.20 43.20 117.30 $2Sim, Joan PL 175.05 91.60 23.80 31.70 34.25 127.30 10.00 $2Swift, Mary R. PL 1.00 13.20 20.80 10.80 0.40 13.20 1.00 191.80 $3Longley, Henry LC 49.30 $

Jeffrey, Carolyn I 19.00 $3

Maginnis, Jamie I 53.35 $3

Molina, Henry I 130.80 $3

Righter, Caitlyn I 55.40 $3Seidel, Kerry I 10.20 $3Young, Eric K. I 24.20 $3

574.50 4.70 170.20 3.70 23.80 179.90 151.30 102.05 67.80 3.00 475.30 87.30 36.20 58.10 510.10 0.00 

TOTALS: 1,103.20 100.30 1,219.25 23.70 7,817.85 1,298.30 2,661.15 888.75 604.30 528.20 1,047.40 1,015.70 1,278.75 483.80 2,126.00 27.45 

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Inception through July 1, 2020

(PL) Paralegal

Subtotal Attorneys:

Subtotal Professional Staff:

(I) Investigator(LC) Law Clerk

LITIGATION CATEGORIES

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 11 of 57
EXHIBIT C

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 12 of 57
280 King of Prussia Road, Radnor, Pennsylvania 19087 • 610-667-7706 • Fax: 610-667-7056 • info@ktmc.com

One Sansome Street, Suite 1850, San Francisco, CA 94104 • 415-400-3000 • Fax: 415-400-3001 • info@ktmc.com 

www.ktmc.com 

FIRM PROFILE 

Since 1987, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP has specialized in the prosecution of securities class 

actions and has grown into one of the largest and most successful shareholder litigation firms in the field. 

With offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania and San Francisco, California, the Firm is comprised of 94 attorneys 

as well as an experienced support staff consisting of over 80 paralegals, in-house investigators, legal clerks 

and other personnel. With a large and sophisticated client base (numbering over 180 institutional investors 

from around the world -- including public and Taft-Hartley pension funds, mutual fund managers, 

investment advisors, insurance companies, hedge funds and other large investors), Kessler Topaz has 

developed an international reputation for excellence and has extensive experience prosecuting securities 

fraud actions. For the past several years, the National Law Journal has recognized Kessler Topaz as one of 

the top securities class action law firms in the country. In addition, the Legal Intelligencer recently awarded 

Kessler Topaz with its Class Action Litigation Firm of The Year award. Lastly, Kessler Topaz and several 

of its attorneys are regularly recognized by Legal500 and Benchmark: Plaintiffs as leaders in our field. 

Kessler Topaz is serving or has served as lead or co-lead counsel in many of the largest and most significant 

securities class actions pending in the United States, including actions against: Bank of America, Duke 

Energy, Lehman Brothers, Hewlett Packard, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and 

MGM Mirage, among others. As demonstrated by the magnitude of these high-profile cases, we take 

seriously our role in advising clients to seek lead plaintiff appointment in cases, paying special attention to 

the factual elements of the fraud, the size of losses and damages, and whether there are viable sources of 

recovery. 

Kessler Topaz has recovered billions of dollars in the course of representing defrauded shareholders from 

around the world and takes pride in the reputation we have earned for our dedication to our clients. Kessler 

Topaz devotes significant time to developing relationships with its clients in a manner that enables the Firm 

to understand the types of cases they will be interested in pursuing and their expectations. Further, the Firm 

is committed to pursuing meaningful corporate governance reforms in cases where we suspect that systemic 

problems within a company could lead to recurring litigation and where such changes also have the 

possibility to increase the value of the underlying company. The Firm is poised to continue protecting rights 

worldwide. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 13 of 57
 

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

During the Firm’s successful history, Kessler Topaz has recovered billions of dollars for defrauded 

stockholders and consumers. The following are among the Firm’s notable achievements: 

Securities Fraud Litigation 

In re Bank of America Corp. Securities, Derivative, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act 

(ERISA) Litigation, Master File No. 09 MDL 2058: 

Kessler Topaz, as Co-Lead Counsel, brought an action on behalf of lead plaintiffs that asserted claims for 

violations of the federal securities laws against Bank of America Corp. (“BoA”) and certain of BoA’s 

officers and board members relating to BoA’s merger with Merrill Lynch & Co. (“Merrill”) and its failure 

to inform its shareholders of billions of dollars of losses which Merrill had suffered before the pivotal 

shareholder vote, as well as an undisclosed agreement allowing Merrill to pay up to $5.8 billion in bonuses 

before the acquisition closed, despite these losses. On September 28, 2012, the Parties announced a $2.425 

billion case settlement with BoA to settle all claims asserted against all defendants in the action which has 

since received final approval from the Court. BoA also agreed to implement significant corporate 

governance improvements. The settlement, reached after almost four years of litigation with a trial set to 

begin on October 22, 2012, amounts to 1) the sixth largest securities class action lawsuit settlement ever; 

2) the fourth largest securities class action settlement ever funded by a single corporate defendant; 3) the 

single largest settlement of a securities class action in which there was neither a financial restatement 

involved nor a criminal conviction related to the alleged misconduct; 4) the single largest securities class 

action settlement ever resolving a Section 14(a) claim (the federal securities provision designed to protect 

investors against misstatements in connection with a proxy solicitation); and 5) by far the largest securities 

class action settlement to come out of the subprime meltdown and credit crisis to date. 

In re Tyco International, Ltd. Sec. Litig., No. 02-1335-B (D.N.H. 2002):

Kessler Topaz, which served as Co-Lead Counsel in this highly publicized securities fraud class action on 

behalf of a group of institutional investors, achieved a record $3.2 billion settlement with Tyco 

International, Ltd. ("Tyco") and their auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”). The $2.975 billion 

settlement with Tyco represents the single-largest securities class action recovery from a single corporate 

defendant in history. In addition, the $225 million settlement with PwC represents the largest payment PwC 

has ever paid to resolve a securities class action and is the second-largest auditor settlement in securities 

class action history. 

The action asserted federal securities claims on behalf of all purchasers of Tyco securities between 

December 13, 1999 and June 7, 2002 ("Class Period") against Tyco, certain former officers and directors 

of Tyco and PwC. Tyco is alleged to have overstated its income during the Class Period by $5.8 billion 

through a multitude of accounting manipulations and shenanigans. The case also involved allegations of 

looting and self-dealing by the officers and directors of the Company. In that regard, Defendants L. Dennis 

Kozlowski, the former CEO and Mark H. Swartz, the former CFO have been sentenced to up to 25 years 

in prison after being convicted of grand larceny, falsification of business records and conspiracy for their 

roles in the alleged scheme to defraud investors. 

As presiding Judge Paul Barbadoro aptly stated in his Order approving the final settlement, “[i]t is difficult 

to overstate the complexity of [the litigation].” Judge Barbadoro noted the extraordinary effort required to 

pursue the litigation towards its successful conclusion, which included the review of more than 82.5 million 

pages of documents, more than 220 depositions and over 700 hundred discovery requests and responses. In 

addition to the complexity of the litigation, Judge Barbadoro also highlighted the great risk undertaken by 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 14 of 57
Co-Lead Counsel in pursuit of the litigation, which he indicated was greater than in other multi-billion 

dollar securities cases and “put [Plaintiffs] at the cutting edge of a rapidly changing area of law.” 

In sum, the Tyco settlement is of historic proportions for the investors who suffered significant financial 

losses and it has sent a strong message to those who would try to engage in this type of misconduct in the 

future. 

In re Tenet Healthcare Corp. Sec. Litig., No. CV-02-8462-RSWL (Rx) (C.D. Cal. 2002):

Kessler Topaz served as Co-Lead Counsel in this action. A partial settlement, approved on May 26, 2006, 

was comprised of three distinct elements: (i) a substantial monetary commitment of $215 million by the 

company; (ii) personal contributions totaling $1.5 million by two of the individual defendants; and (iii) the 

enactment and/or continuation of numerous changes to the company’s corporate governance practices, 

which have led various institutional rating entities to rank Tenet among the best in the U.S. in regards to 

corporate governance. The significance of the partial settlement was heightened by Tenet’s precarious 

financial condition. Faced with many financial pressures — including several pending civil actions and 

federal investigations, with total contingent liabilities in the hundreds of millions of dollars — there was 

real concern that Tenet would be unable to fund a settlement or satisfy a judgment of any greater amount 

in the near future. By reaching the partial settlement, we were able to avoid the risks associated with a long 

and costly litigation battle and provide a significant and immediate benefit to the class. Notably, this 

resolution represented a unique result in securities class action litigation — personal financial contributions 

from individual defendants. After taking the case through the summary judgment stage, we were able to 

secure an additional $65 million recovery from KPMG – Tenet’s outside auditor during the relevant period 

– for the class, bringing the total recovery to $281.5 million. 

In re Wachovia Preferred Securities and Bond/Notes Litigation, Master File No. 09 Civ. 6351 (RJS) 

(S.D.N.Y.): 

Kessler Topaz, as court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel, asserted class action claims for violations of the 

Securities Act of 1933 on behalf of all persons who purchased Wachovia Corporation (“Wachovia”) 

preferred securities issued in thirty separate offerings (the “Offerings”) between July 31, 2006 and May 29, 

2008 (the “Offering Period”). Defendants in the action included Wachovia, various Wachovia related 

trusts, Wells Fargo as successor-in-interest to Wachovia, certain of Wachovia’s officer and board members, 

numerous underwriters that underwrote the Offerings, and KPMG LLP (“KPMG”), Wachovia’s former 

outside auditor. Plaintiffs alleged that the registration statements and prospectuses and prospectus 

supplements used to market the Offerings to Plaintiffs and other members of the class during the Offerings 

Period contained materially false and misleading statements and omitted material information. Specifically, 

the Complaint alleged that in connection with the Offerings, Wachovia: (i) failed to reveal the full extent 

to which its mortgage portfolio was increasingly impaired due to dangerously lax underwriting practices; 

(ii) materially misstated the true value of its mortgage-related assets; (iii) failed to disclose that its loan loss 

reserves were grossly inadequate; and (iv) failed to record write-downs and impairments to those assets as 

required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). Even as Wachovia faced insolvency, 

the Offering Materials assured investors that Wachovia’s capital and liquidity positions were “strong,” and 

that it was so “well capitalized” that it was actually a “provider of liquidity” to the market. On August 5, 

2011, the Parties announced a $590 million cash settlement with Wells Fargo (as successor-in-interest to 

Wachovia) and a $37 million cash settlement with KPMG, to settle all claims asserted against all defendants 

in the action. This settlement was approved by the Hon. Judge Richard J. Sullivan by order issued on 

January 3, 2012. 

In re Initial Public Offering Sec. Litig., Master File No. 21 MC 92(SAS):

This action settled for $586 million on January 1, 2010, after years of litigation overseen by U.S. District 

Judge Shira Scheindlin. Kessler Topaz served on the plaintiffs’ executive committee for the case, which 

was based upon the artificial inflation of stock prices during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s that led to 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 15 of 57
the collapse of the technology stock market in 2000 that was related to allegations of laddering and excess 

commissions being paid for IPO allocations. 

In re Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd. Securities Litigation, No. 11-cv-3658 (S.D.N.Y.):

Kessler Topaz, as Lead Counsel, brought an action on behalf of lead plaintiffs that asserted claims for 

violations of the federal securities laws against Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd. (“Longtop”), its Chief 

Executive Officer, Weizhou Lian, and its Chief Financial Officer, Derek Palaschuk. The claims against 

Longtop and these two individuals were based on a massive fraud that occurred at the company. As the 

CEO later confessed, the company had been a fraud since 2004. Specifically, Weizhou Lian confessed that 

the company’s cash balances and revenues were overstated by hundreds of millions of dollars and it had 

millions of dollars in unrecorded bank loans. The CEO further admitted that, in 2011 alone, Longtop’s 

revenues were overstated by about 40 percent. On November 14, 2013, after Weizhou Lian and Longtop 

failed to appear and defend the action, Judge Shira Scheindlin entered default judgment against these two 

defendants in the amount of $882.3 million plus 9 percent interest running from February 21, 2008 to the 

date of payment. The case then proceeded to trial against Longtop’s CFO who claimed he did not know 

about the fraud - and was not reckless in not knowing – when he made false statements to investors about 

Longtop’s financial results. On November 21, 2014, the jury returned a verdict on liability in favor of 

plaintiffs. Specifically, the jury found that the CFO was liable to the plaintiffs and the class for each of the 

eight challenged misstatements. Then, on November 24, 2014, the jury returned its damages verdict, 

ascribing a certain amount of inflation to each day of the class period and apportioning liability for those 

damages amongst the three named defendants. The Longtop trial was only the 14th securities class action 

to be tried to a verdict since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act in 1995 and 

represents a historic victory for investors. 

Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons International Association Local 262 Annuity Fund v. Lehman 

Brothers Holdings, Inc., No. 1:08-cv-05523-LAK (S.D.N.Y.):

Kessler Topaz, on behalf of lead plaintiffs, asserted claims against certain individual defendants and 

underwriters of Lehman securities arising from misstatements and omissions regarding Lehman's financial 

condition, and its exposure to the residential and commercial real estate markets in the period leading to 

Lehman’s unprecedented bankruptcy filing on September 14, 2008. In July 2011, the Court sustained the 

majority of the amended Complaint finding that Lehman’s use of Repo 105, while technically complying 

with GAAP, still rendered numerous statements relating to Lehman’s purported Net Leverage Ration 

materially false and misleading. The Court also found that Defendants’ statements related to Lehman’s risk 

management policies were sufficient to state a claim. With respect to loss causation, the Court also failed 

to accept Defendants’ contention that the financial condition of the economy led to the losses suffered by 

the Class. As the case was being prepared for trial, a $517 million settlement was reached on behalf of 

shareholders --- $426 million of which came from various underwriters of the Offerings, representing a 

significant recovery for investors in this now bankrupt entity. In addition, $90 million came from Lehman’s 

former directors and officers, which is significant considering the diminishing assets available to pay any 

future judgment. Following these settlements, the litigation continued against Lehman’s auditor, Ernst & 

Young LLP. A settlement for $99 million was subsequently reached with Ernst & Young LLP and was 

approved by the Court. 

Minneapolis Firefighters' Relief Association v. Medtronic, Inc. et al. Case No. 0:08-cv-06324-PAMAJB (D. Minn.): 

Kessler Topaz brought an action on behalf of lead plaintiffs that alleged that the company failed to disclose 

its reliance on illegal “off-label” marketing techniques to drive the sales of its INFUSE Bone Graft 

(“INFUSE”) medical device. While physicians are allowed to prescribe a drug or medical device for any 

use they see fit, federal law prohibits medical device manufacturers from marketing devices for any uses 

not specifically approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The company’s off-label 

marketing practices have resulted in the company becoming the target of a probe by the federal government 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 16 of 57
which was revealed on November 18, 2008, when the company’s CEO reported that Medtronic received a 

subpoena from the United States Department of Justice which is “looking into off-label use of INFUSE.” 

After hearing oral argument on Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss, on February 3, 2010, the Court issued an 

order granting in part and denying in part Defendants’ motions, allowing a large portion of the action to 

move forward. The Court held that Plaintiff successfully stated a claim against each Defendant for a 

majority of the misstatements alleged in the Complaint and that each of the Defendants knew or recklessly 

disregarded the falsity of these statements and that Defendants’ fraud caused the losses experienced by 

members of the Class when the market learned the truth behind Defendants’ INFUSE marketing efforts. 

While the case was in discovery, on April 2, 2012, Medtronic agreed to pay shareholders an $85 million 

settlement. The settlement was approved by the Court by order issued on November 8, 2012. 

In re Brocade Sec. Litig., Case No. 3:05-CV-02042 (N.D. Cal. 2005) (CRB): 

The complaint in this action alleges that Defendants engaged in repeated violations of federal securities 

laws by backdating options grants to top executives and falsified the date of stock option grants and other 

information regarding options grants to numerous employees from 2000 through 2004, which ultimately 

caused Brocade to restate all of its financial statements from 2000 through 2005. In addition, concurrent 

SEC civil and Department of Justice criminal actions against certain individual defendants were 

commenced. In August, 2007 the Court denied Defendant’s motions to dismiss and in October, 2007 

certified a class of Brocade investors who were damaged by the alleged fraud. Discovery is currently 

proceeding and the case is being prepared for trial. Furthermore, while litigating the securities class action 

Kessler Topaz and its co-counsel objected to a proposed settlement in the Brocade derivative action. On 

March 21, 2007, the parties in In re Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. Derivative Litigation, No. C05-

02233 (N.D. Cal. 2005) (CRB) gave notice that they had obtained preliminary approval of their settlement. 

According to the notice, which was buried on the back pages of the Wall Street Journal, Brocade 

shareholders were given less than three weeks to evaluate the settlement and file any objection with the 

Court. Kessler Topaz client Puerto Rico Government Employees’ Retirement System (“PRGERS”) had a 

large investment in Brocade and, because the settlement was woefully inadequate, filed an objection. 

PRGERS, joined by fellow institutional investor Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System, 

challenged the settlement on two fundamental grounds. First, PRGERS criticized the derivative plaintiffs 

for failing to conduct any discovery before settling their claims. PRGERS also argued that derivative 

plaintiff’s abject failure to investigate its own claims before providing the defendants with broad releases 

from liability made it impossible to weigh the merits of the settlement. The Court agreed, and strongly 

admonished derivative plaintiffs for their failure to perform this most basic act of service to their fellow 

Brocade shareholders. The settlement was rejected and later withdrawn. Second, and more significantly, 

PRGERS claimed that the presence of the well-respected law firm Wilson, Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, 

in this case, created an incurable conflict of interest that corrupted the entire settlement process. The conflict 

stemmed from WSGR’s dual role as counsel to Brocade and the Individual Settling Defendants, including 

WSGR Chairman and former Brocade Board Member Larry Sonsini. On this point, the Court also agreed 

and advised WSGR to remove itself from the case entirely. On May 25, 2007, WSGR complied and 

withdrew as counsel to Brocade. The case settled for $160 million and was approved by the Court. 

In re Satyam Computer Services, Ltd. Sec. Litig., No. 09 MD 02027 (BSJ) (S.D.N.Y.): 

Kessler Topaz served as Co-Lead Counsel in this securities fraud class action in the Southern District of 

New York. The action asserts claims by lead plaintiffs for violations of the federal securities laws against 

Satyam Computer Services Limited (“Satyam” or the “Company”) and certain of Satyam’s former officers 

and directors and its former auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd. (“PwC”) relating to the 

Company’s January 7, 2009, disclosure admitting that B. Ramalinga Raju (“B. Raju”), the Company’s 

former chairman, falsified Satyam’s financial reports by, among other things, inflating its reported cash 

balances by more than $1 billion. The news caused the price of Satyam’s common stock (traded on the 

National Stock Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange) and American Depository Shares 

(“ADSs”) (traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”)) to collapse. From a closing price of $3.67 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 17 of 57
per share on January 6, 2009, Satyam’s common stock closed at $0.82 per share on January 7, 2009. With 

respect to the ADSs, the news of B. Raju’s letter was revealed overnight in the United States and, as a 

result, trading in Satyam ADSs was halted on the NYSE before the markets opened on January 7, 2009. 

When trading in Satyam ADSs resumed on January 12, 2009, Satyam ADSs opened at $1.14 per ADS, 

down steeply from a closing price of $9.35 on January 6, 2009. Lead Plaintiffs filed a consolidated 

complaint on July 17, 2009, on behalf of all persons or entities, who (a) purchased or otherwise acquired 

Satyam’s ADSs in the United States; and (b) residents of the United States who purchased or otherwise 

acquired Satyam shares on the National Stock Exchange of India or the Bombay Stock Exchange between 

January 6, 2004 and January 6, 2009. Co-Lead Counsel secured a settlement for $125 million from Satyam 

on February 16, 2011. Additionally, Co-Lead Counsel was able to secure a $25.5 million settlement from 

PwC on April 29, 2011, who was alleged to have signed off on the misleading audit reports. 

In re BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. 07-CV-61542 (S.D. Fla. 2007): 

On November 18, 2010, a panel of nine Miami, Florida jurors returned the first securities fraud verdict to 

arise out of the financial crisis against BankAtlantic Bancorp. Inc., its chief executive officer and chief 

financial officer. This case was only the tenth securities class action to be tried to a verdict following the 

passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which governs such suits. Following 

extensive post-trial motion practice, the District Court upheld all of the Jury’s findings of fraud but vacated 

the damages award on a narrow legal issue and granted Defendant’s motion for a judgment as a matter of 

law. Plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. On July 23, 2012, a threejudge panel for the Appeals Court found the District Court erred in granting the Defendant’s motion for a 

judgment as a matter of law based in part on the Jury’s findings (perceived inconsistency of two of the 

Jury’s answers to the special interrogatories) instead of focusing solely on the sufficiency of the evidence. 

However, upon its review of the record, the Appeals Court affirmed the District Court’s decision as it 

determined the Plaintiffs did not introduce evidence sufficient to support a finding in its favor on the 

element of loss causation. The Appeals Court’s decision in this case does not diminish the five years of 

hard work which Kessler Topaz expended to bring the matter to trial and secure an initial jury verdict in 

the Plaintiffs’ favor. This case is an excellent example of the Firm’s dedication to our clients and the lengths 

it will go to try to achieve the best possible results for institutional investors in shareholder litigation. 

In re AremisSoft Corp. Sec. Litig., C.A. No. 01-CV-2486 (D.N.J. 2002):

Kessler Topaz is particularly proud of the results achieved in this case before the Honorable Joel A. Pisano. 

This case was exceedingly complicated, as it involved the embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars 

by former officers of the Company, one of whom remains a fugitive. In settling the action, Kessler Topaz, 

as sole Lead Counsel, assisted in reorganizing AremisSoft as a new company to allow for it to continue 

operations, while successfully separating out the securities fraud claims and the bankrupt Company’s claims 

into a litigation trust. The approved Settlement enabled the class to receive the majority of the equity in the 

new Company, as well as their pro rata share of any amounts recovered by the litigation trust. During this 

litigation, actions have been initiated in the Isle of Man, Cyprus, as well as in the United States as we 

continue our efforts to recover assets stolen by corporate insiders and related entities. 

In re CVS Corporation Sec. Litig., C.A. No. 01-11464 JLT (D.Mass. 2001): 

Kessler Topaz, serving as Co-Lead Counsel on behalf of a group of institutional investors, secured a cash 

recovery of $110 million for the class, a figure which represents the third-largest payout for a securities 

action in Boston federal court. Kessler Topaz successfully litigated the case through summary judgment 

before ultimately achieving this outstanding result for the class following several mediation sessions, and 

just prior to the commencement of trial. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 18 of 57
In re Marvell Technology, Group, Ltd. Sec. Lit., Master File No. 06-06286 RWM:

Kessler Topaz served as Co-Lead Counsel in this securities class action brought against Marvell 

Technology Group Ltd. (“Marvell”) and three of Marvell’s executive officers. This case centered around 

an alleged options backdating scheme carried out by Defendants from June 2000 through June 2006, which 

enabled Marvell’s executives and employees to receive options with favorable option exercise prices chosen 

with the benefit of hindsight, in direct violation of Marvell’s stock option plan, as well as to avoid recording 

hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation expenses on the Marvell’s books. In total, the restatement 

conceded that Marvell had understated the cumulative effect of its compensation expense by $327.3 million, 

and overstated net income by $309.4 million, for the period covered by the restatement. Following nearly 

three years of investigation and prosecution of the Class’ claims as well as a protracted and contentious 

mediation process, Co-Lead Counsel secured a settlement for $72 million from defendants on June 9, 2009. 

This Settlement represents a substantial portion of the Class’ maximum provable damages, and is among 

the largest settlements, in total dollar amount, reached in an option backdating securities class action. 

In re Delphi Corp. Sec. Litig., Master File No. 1:05-MD-1725 (E.D. Mich. 2005):

In early 2005, various securities class actions were filed against auto-parts manufacturer Delphi Corporation 

in the Southern District of New York. Kessler Topaz its client, Austria-based mutual fund manager 

Raiffeisen Kapitalanlage-Gesellschaft m.b.H. (“Raiffeisen”), were appointed as Co-Lead Counsel and CoLead Plaintiff, respectively. The Lead Plaintiffs alleged that (i) Delphi improperly treated financing 

transactions involving inventory as sales and disposition of inventory; (ii) improperly treated financing 

transactions involving “indirect materials” as sales of these materials; and (iii) improperly accounted for 

payments made to and credits received from General Motors as warranty settlements and obligations. As a 

result, Delphi’s reported revenue, net income and financial results were materially overstated, prompting 

Delphi to restate its earnings for the five previous years. Complex litigation involving difficult bankruptcy 

issues has potentially resulted in an excellent recovery for the class. In addition, Co-Lead Plaintiffs also 

reached a settlement of claims against Delphi’s outside auditor, Deloitte & Touche, LLP, for $38.25 million 

on behalf of Delphi investors. 

In re Royal Dutch Shell European Shareholder Litigation, No. 106.010.887, Gerechtshof Te 

Amsterdam (Amsterdam Court of Appeal): 

Kessler Topaz was instrumental in achieving a landmark $352 million settlement on behalf non-US 

investors with Royal Dutch Shell plc relating to Shell's 2004 restatement of oil reserves. This settlement of 

securities fraud claims on a class-wide basis under Dutch law was the first of its kind, and sought to resolve 

claims exclusively on behalf of European and other non-United States investors. Uncertainty over whether 

jurisdiction for non-United States investors existed in a 2004 class action filed in federal court in New 

Jersey prompted a significant number of prominent European institutional investors from nine countries, 

representing more than one billion shares of Shell, to actively pursue a potential resolution of their claims 

outside the United States. Among the European investors which actively sought and supported this 

settlement were Alecta pensionsförsäkring, ömsesidigt, PKA Pension Funds Administration Ltd., 

Swedbank Robur Fonder AB, AP7 and AFA Insurance, all of which were represented by Kessler Topaz. 

In re Computer Associates Sec. Litig., No. 02-CV-1226 (E.D.N.Y. 2002):

Kessler Topaz served as Co-Lead Counsel on behalf of plaintiffs, alleging that Computer Associates and 

certain of its officers misrepresented the health of the company’s business, materially overstated the 

company’s revenues, and engaged in illegal insider selling. After nearly two years of litigation, Kessler 

Topaz helped obtain a settlement of $150 million in cash and stock from the company. 

In re The Interpublic Group of Companies Sec. Litig., No. 02 Civ. 6527 (S.D.N.Y. 2002):

Kessler Topaz served as sole Lead Counsel in this action on behalf of an institutional investor and received 

final approval of a settlement consisting of $20 million in cash and 6,551,725 shares of IPG common stock. 

As of the final hearing in the case, the stock had an approximate value of $87 million, resulting in a total 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 19 of 57
settlement value of approximately $107 million. In granting its approval, the Court praised Kessler Topaz 

for acting responsibly and noted the Firm’s professionalism, competence and contribution to achieving such 

a favorable result. 

In re Digital Lightwave, Inc. Sec. Litig., Consolidated Case No. 98-152-CIV-T-24E (M.D. Fla. 1999):

The firm served as Co-Lead Counsel in one of the nation’s most successful securities class actions in history 

measured by the percentage of damages recovered. After extensive litigation and negotiations, a settlement 

consisting primarily of stock was worth over $170 million at the time when it was distributed to the Class. 

Kessler Topaz took on the primary role in negotiating the terms of the equity component, insisting that the 

class have the right to share in any upward appreciation in the value of the stock after the settlement was 

reached. This recovery represented an astounding approximately two hundred percent (200%) of class 

members’ losses. 

In re Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. Sec. Litig., Civil Action No.: 03-10165-RWZ (D. Mass. 2003):

After five years of hard-fought, contentious litigation, Kessler Topaz as Lead Counsel on behalf of the 

Class, entered into one of largest settlements ever against a biotech company with regard to non-approval 

of one of its drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Specifically, the Plaintiffs alleged 

that Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. (“TKT”) and its CEO, Richard Selden, engaged in a fraudulent scheme 

to artificially inflate the price of TKT common stock and to deceive Class Members by making 

misrepresentations and nondisclosures of material facts concerning TKT’s prospects for FDA approval of 

Replagal, TKT’s experimental enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease. With the assistance of the 

Honorable Daniel Weinstein, a retired state court judge from California, Kessler Topaz secured a $50 

million settlement from the Defendants during a complex and arduous mediation. 

In re PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. 02-CV-271 (W.D. Pa. 2002):

Kessler Topaz served as Co-Lead Counsel in a securities class action case brought against PNC bank, 

certain of its officers and directors, and its outside auditor, Ernst & Young, LLP (“E&Y”), relating to the 

conduct of Defendants in establishing, accounting for and making disclosures concerning three special 

purpose entities (“SPEs”) in the second, third and fourth quarters of PNC’s 2001 fiscal year. Plaintiffs 

alleged that these entities were created by Defendants for the sole purpose of allowing PNC to secretly 

transfer hundreds of millions of dollars worth of non-performing assets from its own books to the books of 

the SPEs without disclosing the transfers or consolidating the results and then making positive 

announcements to the public concerning the bank’s performance with respect to its non-performing assets. 

Complex issues were presented with respect to all defendants, but particularly E&Y. Throughout the 

litigation E&Y contended that because it did not make any false and misleading statements itself, the 

Supreme Court’s opinion in Central Bank of Denver, N.A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N.A., 511 

U.S. 164 (1993) foreclosed securities liability for “aiding or abetting” securities fraud for purposes of 

Section 10(b) liability. Plaintiffs, in addition to contending that E&Y did make false statements, argued that 

Rule 10b-5’s deceptive conduct prong stood on its own as an independent means of committing fraud and 

that so long as E&Y itself committed a deceptive act, it could be found liable under the securities laws for 

fraud. After several years of litigation and negotiations, PNC paid $30 million to settle the action, while 

also assigning any claims it may have had against E&Y and certain other entities that were involved in 

establishing and/or reporting on the SPEs. Armed with these claims, class counsel was able to secure an 

additional $6.6 million in settlement funds for the class from two law firms and a third party insurance 

company and $9.075 million from E&Y. Class counsel was also able to negotiate with the U.S. government, 

which had previously obtained a disgorgement fund of $90 million from PNC and $46 million from the 

third party insurance carrier, to combine all funds into a single settlement fund that exceeded $180 million 

and is currently in the process of being distributed to the entire class, with PNC paying all costs of notifying 

the Class of the settlement. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 20 of 57
In re SemGroup Energy Partners, L.P., Sec. Litig., No. 08-md-1989 (DC) (N.D. Okla.):

Kessler Topaz, which was appointed by the Court as sole Lead Counsel, litigated this matter, which 

ultimately settled for $28 million. The defense was led by 17 of the largest and best capitalized defense law 

firms in the world. On April 20, 2010, in a fifty-page published opinion, the United States District Court 

for the Northern District of Oklahoma largely denied defendants’ ten separate motions to dismiss Lead 

Plaintiff’s Consolidated Amended Complaint. The Complaint alleged that: (i) defendants concealed 

SemGroup’s risky trading operations that eventually caused SemGroup to declare bankruptcy; and (ii) 

defendants made numerous false statements concerning SemGroup’s ability to provide its publicly-traded 

Master Limited Partnership stable cash-flows. The case was aggressively litigated out of the Firm’s San 

Francisco and Radnor offices and the significant recovery was obtained, not only from the Company’s 

principals, but also from its underwriters and outside directors. 

In re Liberate Technologies Sec. Litig., No. C-02-5017 (MJJ) (N.D. Cal. 2005):

Kessler Topaz represented plaintiffs which alleged that Liberate engaged in fraudulent revenue recognition 

practices to artificially inflate the price of its stock, ultimately forcing it to restate its earning. As sole Lead 

Counsel, Kessler Topaz successfully negotiated a $13.8 million settlement, which represents almost 40% 

of the damages suffered by the class. In approving the settlement, the district court complimented Lead 

Counsel for its “extremely credible and competent job.” 

In re Riverstone Networks, Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. CV-02-3581 (N.D. Cal. 2002):

Kessler Topaz served as Lead Counsel on behalf of plaintiffs alleging that Riverstone and certain of its 

officers and directors sought to create the impression that the Company, despite the industry-wide downturn 

in the telecom sector, had the ability to prosper and succeed and was actually prospering. In that regard, 

plaintiffs alleged that defendants issued a series of false and misleading statements concerning the 

Company’s financial condition, sales and prospects, and used inside information to personally profit. After 

extensive litigation, the parties entered into formal mediation with the Honorable Charles Legge (Ret.). 

Following five months of extensive mediation, the parties reached a settlement of $18.5 million. 

Shareholder Derivative Actions 

In re Facebook, Inc. Class C Reclassification Litig., C.A. No. 12286-VCL (Del. Ch. Sept. 25, 2017): 

Kessler Topaz served as co-lead counsel in this stockholder class action that challenged a proposed 

reclassification of Facebook’s capital structure to accommodate the charitable giving goals of its founder 

and controlling stockholder Mark Zuckerberg. The Reclassification involved the creation of a new class of 

nonvoting Class C stock, which would be issued as a dividend to all Facebook Class A and Class B 

stockholders (including Zuckerberg) on a 2-for-1 basis. The purpose and effect of the Reclassification was 

that it would allow Zuckerberg to sell billions of dollars worth of nonvoting Class C shares without losing 

his voting control of Facebook. The litigation alleged that Zuckerberg and Facebook’s board of directors 

breached their fiduciary duties in approving the Reclassification at the behest of Zuckerberg and for his 

personal benefit. At trial Kessler Topaz was seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the consummation 

of the Reclassification. The litigation was carefully followed in the business and corporate governance 

communities, due to the high-profile nature of Facebook, Zuckerberg, and the issues at stake. After almost 

a year and a half of hard fought litigation, just one business day before trial was set to commence, Facebook 

and Zuckerberg abandoned the Reclassification, granting Plaintiffs complete victory. 

In re CytRx Stockholder Derivative Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 9864-VCL (Del. Ch. Nov. 20, 2015): 

Kessler Topaz served as co-lead counsel in a shareholder derivative action challenging 2.745 million 

“spring-loaded” stock options. On the day before CytRx announced the most important news in the 

Company’s history concerning the positive trial results for one of its significant pipeline drugs, the 

Compensation Committee of CytRx’s Board of Directors granted the stock options to themselves, their 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 21 of 57
fellow directors and several Company officers which immediately came “into the money” when CytRx’s 

stock price shot up immediately following the announcement the next day. Kessler Topaz negotiated a 

settlement recovering 100% of the excess compensation received by the directors and approximately 76% 

of the damages potentially obtainable from the officers. In addition, as part of the settlement, Kessler Topaz 

obtained the appointment of a new independent director to the Board of Directors and the implementation 

of significant reforms to the Company’s stock option award processes. The Court complimented the 

settlement, explaining that it “serves what Delaware views as the overall positive function of stockholder 

litigation, which is not just recovery in the individual case but also deterrence and norm enforcement.” 

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 Pension Fund v. Black, et al., Case No. 37-

2011-00097795-CU-SL-CTL (Sup. Ct. Cal., San Diego Feb. 5, 2016) (“Encore Capital Group, Inc.”): 

Kessler Topaz, as co-lead counsel, represented International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 

Pension Fund in a shareholder derivative action challenging breaches of fiduciary duties and other 

violations of law in connection with Encore’s debt collection practices, including robo-signing affidavits 

and improper use of the court system to collect alleged consumer debts. Kessler Topaz negotiated a 

settlement in which the Company implemented industry-leading reforms to its risk management and 

corporate governance practices, including creating Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer 

positions, various compliance committees, and procedures for consumer complaint monitoring. 

In re Southern Peru Copper Corp. Derivative Litigation, Consol. CA No. 961-CS (Del. Ch. 2011): 

Kessler Topaz served as co-lead counsel in this landmark $2 billion post-trial decision, believed to be the 

largest verdict in Delaware corporate law history. In 2005, Southern Peru, a publicly-traded copper mining 

company, acquired Minera Mexico, a private mining company owned by Southern Peru’s majority 

stockholder Grupo Mexico. The acquisition required Southern Peru to pay Grupo Mexico more than $3 

billion in Southern Peru stock. We alleged that Grupo Mexico had caused Southern Peru to grossly overpay 

for the private company in deference to its majority shareholder’s interests. Discovery in the case spanned 

years and continents, with depositions in Peru and Mexico. The trial court agreed and ordered Grupo 

Mexico to pay more than $2 billion in damages and interest. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed on 

appeal. 

Quinn v. Knight, No. 3:16-cv-610 (E.D. Va. Mar. 16, 2017) (“Apple REIT Ten”): 

This shareholder derivative action challenged a conflicted “roll up” REIT transaction orchestrated by Glade 

M. Knight and his son Justin Knight. The proposed transaction paid the Knights millions of dollars while 

paying public stockholders less than they had invested in the company. The case was brought under 

Virginia law, and settled just ten days before trial, with stockholders receiving an additional $32 million in 

merger consideration. 

Kastis v. Carter, C.A. No. 8657-CB (Del. Ch. Sept. 19, 2016) (“Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc.”): 

This derivative action challenged improper bonuses paid to two company executives of this small 

pharmaceutical company that had never turned a profit. In response to the complaint, Hemispherx’s board 

first adopted a “fee-shifting” bylaw that would have required stockholder plaintiffs to pay the company’s 

legal fees unless the plaintiffs achieved 100% of the relief they sought. This sort of bylaw, if adopted more 

broadly, could substantially curtail meritorious litigation by stockholders unwilling to risk losing millions 

of dollars if they bring an unsuccsessful case. After Kessler Topaz presented its argument in court, 

Hemispherx withdrew the bylaw. Kessler Topaz ultimately negotiated a settlement requiring the two 

executives to forfeit several million dollars’ worth of accrued but unpaid bonuses, future bonuses and 

director fees. The company also recovered $1.75 million from its insurance carriers, appointed a new 

independent director to the board, and revised its compensation program. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 22 of 57
Montgomery v. Erickson, Inc., et al., C.A. No. 8784-VCL (Del. Ch. Sept. 12, 2016): 

Kessler Topaz represented an individual stockholder who asserted in the Delaware Court of Chancery class 

action and derivative claims challenging merger and recapitalization transactions that benefitted the 

company’s controlling stockholders at the expense of the company and its minority stockholders. Plaintiff 

alleged that the controlling stockholders of Erickson orchestrated a series of transactions with the intent and 

effect of using Erickson’s money to bail themselves out of a failing investment. Defendants filed a motion 

to dismiss the complaint, which Kessler Topaz defeated, and the case proceeded through more than a year 

of fact discovery. Following an initially unsuccessful mediation and further litigation, Kessler Topaz 

ultimately achieved an $18.5 million cash settlement, 80% of which was distributed to members of the 

stockholder class to resolve their direct claims and 20% of which was paid to the company to resolve the 

derivative claims. The settlement also instituted changes to the company’s governing documents to prevent 

future self-dealing transactions like those that gave rise to the case. 

In re Helios Closed-End Funds Derivative Litig., No. 2:11-cv-02935-SHM-TMP (W.D. Tenn.):

Kessler Topaz represented stockholders of four closed-end mutual funds in a derivative action against the 

funds’ former investment advisor, Morgan Asset Management. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants 

mismanaged the funds by investing in riskier securities than permitted by the funds’ governing documents 

and, after the values of these securities began to precipitously decline beginning in early 2007, cover up 

their wrongdoing by assigning phony values to the funds’ investments and failing to disclose the extent of 

the decrease in value of the funds’ assets. In a rare occurrence in derivative litigation, the funds’ Boards of 

Directors eventually hired Kessler Topaz to prosecute the claims against the defendants on behalf of the 

funds. Our litigation efforts led to a settlement that recovered $6 million for the funds and ensured that the 

funds would not be responsible for making any payment to resolve claims asserted against them in a related 

multi-million dollar securities class action. The fund’s Boards fully supported and endorsed the settlement, 

which was negotiated independently of the parallel securities class action. 

In re Viacom, Inc. Shareholder Derivative Litig., Index No. 602527/05 (New York County, NY 2005):

Kessler Topaz represented the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi and served as Lead 

Counsel in a derivative action alleging that the members of the Board of Directors of Viacom, Inc. paid 

excessive and unwarranted compensation to Viacom’s Executive Chairman and CEO, Sumner M. 

Redstone, and co-COOs Thomas E. Freston and Leslie Moonves, in breach of their fiduciary duties. 

Specifically, we alleged that in fiscal year 2004, when Viacom reported a record net loss of $17.46 billion, 

the board improperly approved compensation payments to Redstone, Freston, and Moonves of 

approximately $56 million, $52 million, and $52 million, respectively. Judge Ramos of the New York 

Supreme Court denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss the action as we overcame several complex 

arguments related to the failure to make a demand on Viacom’s Board; Defendants then appealed that 

decision to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York. Prior to a decision by the appellate 

court, a settlement was reached in early 2007. Pursuant to the settlement, Sumner Redstone, the company's 

Executive Chairman and controlling shareholder, agreed to a new compensation package that, among other 

things, substantially reduces his annual salary and cash bonus, and ties the majority of his incentive 

compensation directly to shareholder returns. 

In re Family Dollar Stores, Inc. Derivative Litig., Master File No. 06-CVS-16796 (Mecklenburg 

County, NC 2006): 

Kessler Topaz served as Lead Counsel, derivatively on behalf of Family Dollar Stores, Inc., and against 

certain of Family Dollar’s current and former officers and directors. The actions were pending in 

Mecklenburg County Superior Court, Charlotte, North Carolina, and alleged that certain of the company’s 

officers and directors had improperly backdated stock options to achieve favorable exercise prices in 

violation of shareholder-approved stock option plans. As a result of these shareholder derivative actions, 

Kessler Topaz was able to achieve substantial relief for Family Dollar and its shareholders. Through Kessler 

Topaz’s litigation of this action, Family Dollar agreed to cancel hundreds of thousands of stock options 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 23 of 57
granted to certain current and former officers, resulting in a seven-figure net financial benefit for the 

company. In addition, Family Dollar has agreed to, among other things: implement internal controls and 

granting procedures that are designed to ensure that all stock options are properly dated and accounted for; 

appoint two new independent directors to the board of directors; maintain a board composition of at least 

75 percent independent directors; and adopt stringent officer stock-ownership policies to further align the 

interests of officers with those of Family Dollar shareholders. The settlement was approved by Order of the 

Court on August 13, 2007. 

Carbon County Employees Retirement System, et al., Derivatively on Behalf of Nominal Defendant 

Southwest Airlines Co. v. Gary C. Kelly, et al. Cause No. 08-08692 (District Court of Dallas County, 

Texas): 

As lead counsel in this derivative action, we negotiated a settlement with far-reaching implications for the 

safety and security of airline passengers. 

Our clients were shareholders of Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) who alleged that certain officers and 

directors had breached their fiduciary duties in connection with Southwest’s violations of Federal Aviation 

Administration safety and maintenance regulations. Plaintiffs alleged that from June 2006 to March 2007, 

Southwest flew 46 Boeing 737 airplanes on nearly 60,000 flights without complying with a 2004 FAA 

Airworthiness Directive requiring fuselage fatigue inspections. As a result, Southwest was forced to pay a 

record $7.5 million fine. We negotiated numerous reforms to ensure that Southwest’s Board is adequately 

apprised of safety and operations issues, and implementing significant measures to strengthen safety and 

maintenance processes and procedures. 

The South Financial Group, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2008-CP-23-8395 (S.C. C.C.P. 

2009): 

Represented shareholders in derivative litigation challenging board’s decision to accelerate “golden 

parachute” payments to South Financial Group’s CEO as the company applied for emergency assistance in 

2008 under the Troubled Asset Recovery Plan (TARP). 

We sought injunctive relief to block the payments and protect the company’s ability to receive the TARP 

funds. The litigation was settled with the CEO giving up part of his severance package and agreeing to 

leave the board, as well as the implementation of important corporate governance changes one commentator 

described as “unprecedented.” 

Options Backdating 

In 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported that three companies appeared to have “backdated” stock option 

grants to their senior executives, pretending that the options had been awarded when the stock price was at 

its lowest price of the quarter, or even year. An executive who exercised the option thus paid the company 

an artificially low price, which stole money from the corporate coffers. While stock options are designed 

to incentivize recipients to drive the company’s stock price up, backdating options to artificially low prices 

undercut those incentives, overpaid executives, violated tax rules, and decreased shareholder value. 

Kessler Topaz worked with a financial analyst to identify dozens of other companies that had engaged in 

similar practices, and filed more than 50 derivative suits challenging the practice. These suits sought to 

force the executives to disgorge their improper compensation and to revamp the companies’ executive 

compensation policies. Ultimately, as lead counsel in these derivative actions, Kessler Topaz achieved 

significant monetary and non-monetary benefits at dozens of companies, including: 

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Comverse Technology, Inc.: Settlement required Comverse’s founder and CEO Kobi Alexander, who fled 

to Namibia after the backdating was revealed, to disgorge more than $62 million in excessive backdated 

option compensation. The settlement also overhauled the company’s corporate governance and internal 

controls, replacing a number of directors and corporate executives, splitting the Chairman and CEO 

positions, and instituting majority voting for directors. 

Monster Worldwide, Inc.: Settlement required recipients of backdated stock options to disgorge more than 

$32 million in unlawful gains back to the company, plus agreeing to significant corporate governance 

measures. These measures included (a) requiring Monster’s founder Andrew McKelvey to reduce his voting 

control over Monster from 31% to 7%, by exchanging super-voting stock for common stock; and (b) 

implementing new equity granting practices that require greater accountability and transparency in the 

granting of stock options moving forward. In approving the settlement, the court noted “the good results, 

mainly the amount of money for the shareholders and also the change in governance of the company itself, 

and really the hard work that had to go into that to achieve the results....” 

Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.: Settlement required executives, including founder Darwin Deason, to 

give up $20 million in improper backdated options. The litigation was also a catalyst for the company to 

replace its CEO and CFO and revamp its executive compensation policies. 

Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation 

City of Daytona Beach Police and Fire Pension Fund v. ExamWorks Group, Inc., et al., C.A. No. 12481-

VCL (Del. Ch.): 

On September 12, 2017, the Delaware Chancery Court approved one of the largest class action M&A 

settlements in the history of the Delaware Chancery Court, a $86.5 million settlement relating to the 

acquisition of ExamWorks Group, Inc. by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, LP. 

The settlement caused ExamWorks stockholders to receive a 6% improvement on the $35.05 per share 

merger consideration negotiated by the defendants. This amount is unusual especially for litigation 

challenging a third-party merger. The settlement amount is also noteworthy because it includes a $46.5 

million contribution from ExamWorks’ outside legal counsel, Paul Hastings LLP. 

In re ArthroCare Corporation S’holder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 9313-VCL (Del. Ch. Nov. 13, 2014):

Kessler Topaz, as co-lead counsel, challenged the take-private of Arthrocare Corporation by private equity 

firm Smith & Nephew. This class action litigation alleged, among other things, that Arthrocare’s Board 

breached their fiduciary duties by failing to maximize stockholder value in the merger. Plaintiffs also 

alleged that that the merger violated Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits 

mergers with “interested stockholders,” because Smith & Nephew had contracted with JP Morgan to 

provide financial advice and financing in the merger, while a subsidiary of JP Morgan owned more than 

15% of Arthrocare’s stock. Plaintiffs also alleged that the agreement between Smith & Nephew and the JP 

Morgan subsidiary violated a “standstill” agreement between the JP Morgan subsidiary and Arthrocare. 

The court set these novel legal claims for an expedited trial prior to the closing of the merger. The parties 

agreed to settle the action when Smith & Nephew agreed to increase the merger consideration paid to 

Arthrocare stockholders by $12 million, less than a month before trial. 

In re Safeway Inc. Stockholders Litig., C.A. No. 9445-VCL (Del. Ch. Sept. 17, 2014):

Kessler Topaz represented the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System in class action 

litigation challenging the acquisition of Safeway, Inc. by Albertson’s grocery chain for $32.50 per share in 

cash and contingent value rights. Kessler Topaz argued that the value of CVRs was illusory, and Safeway’s 

shareholder rights plan had a prohibitive effect on potential bidders making superior offers to acquire 

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Safeway, which undermined the effectiveness of the post-signing “go shop.” Plaintiffs sought to enjoin the 

transaction, but before the scheduled preliminary injunction hearing took place, Kessler Topaz negotiated 

(i) modifications to the terms of the CVRs and (ii) defendants’ withdrawal of the shareholder rights plan. 

In approving the settlement, Vice Chancellor Laster of the Delaware Chancery Court stated that “the 

plaintiffs obtained significant changes to the transaction . . . that may well result in material increases in the 

compensation received by the class,” including substantial benefits potentially in excess of $230 million. 

In re MPG Office Trust, Inc. Preferred Shareholder Litig., Cons. Case No. 24-C-13-004097 (Md. Cir. 

Oct. 20, 2015): 

Kessler Topaz challenged a coercive tender offer whereby MPG preferred stockholders received preferred 

stock in Brookfield Office Properties, Inc. without receiving any compensation for their accrued and unpaid 

dividends. Kessler Topaz negotiated a settlement where MPG preferred stockholders received a dividend 

of $2.25 per share, worth approximately $21 million, which was the only payment of accrued dividends 

Brookfield DTLA Preferred Stockholders had received as of the time of the settlement. 

In re Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. Stockholders Litig., C.A. 10865-VCG (Del. Ch. Feb. 15, 2016): 

Kessler Topaz served as co-lead counsel in class action litigation arising from Globe’s acquisition by Grupo 

Atlantica to form Ferroglobe. Plaintiffs alleged that Globe’s Board breached their fiduciary duties to 

Globe’s public stockholders by agreeing to sell Globe for an unfair price, negotiating personal benefits for 

themselves at the expense of the public stockholders, failing to adequately inform themselves of material 

issues with Grupo Atlantica, and issuing a number of materially deficient disclosures in an attempt to mask 

issues with the negotiations. At oral argument on Plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction motion, the Court held 

that Globe stockholders likely faced irreparable harm from the Board’s conduct, but reserved ruling on the 

other preliminary injunction factors. Prior to the Court’s final ruling, the parties agreed to settle the action 

for $32.5 million and various corporate governance reforms to protect Globe stockholders’ rights in 

Ferroglobe. 

In re Dole Food Co., Inc. Stockholder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 8703-VCL, 2015 WL 5052214 (Del. 

Ch. Aug. 27, 2015): 

On August 27, 2015, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster issued his much-anticipated post-trial verdict in 

litigation by former stockholders of Dole Food Company against Dole’s chairman and controlling 

stockholder David Murdock. In a 106-page ruling, Vice Chancellor Laster found that Murdock and his 

longtime lieutenant, Dole’s former president and general counsel C. Michael Carter, unfairly manipulated 

Dole’s financial projections and misled the market as part of Murdock’s efforts to take the company private 

in a deal that closed in November 2013. Among other things, the Court concluded that Murdock and Carter 

“primed the market for the freeze-out by driving down Dole’s stock price” and provided the company’s 

outside directors with “knowingly false” information and intended to “mislead the board for Mr. Murdock’s 

benefit.” 

Vice Chancellor Laster found that the $13.50 per share going-private deal underpaid stockholders, and 

awarded class damages of $2.74 per share, totaling $148 million. That award represents the largest posttrial class recovery in the merger context. The largest post-trial derivative recovery in a merger case 

remains Kessler Topaz’s landmark 2011 $2 billion verdict in In re Southern Peru. 

In re Genentech, Inc. Shareholders Lit., Cons. Civ. Action No. 3991-VCS (Del. Ch. 2008): 

Kessler Topaz served as Co-Lead Counsel in this shareholder class action brought against the directors of 

Genentech and Genentech’s majority stockholder, Roche Holdings, Inc., in response to Roche’s July 21, 

2008 attempt to acquire Genentech for $89 per share. We sought to enforce provisions of an Affiliation 

Agreement between Roche and Genentech and to ensure that Roche fulfilled its fiduciary obligations to 

Genentech’s shareholders through any buyout effort by Roche. After moving to enjoin the tender offer, 

Kessler Topaz negotiated with Roche and Genentech to amend the Affiliation Agreement to allow a 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 26 of 57
negotiated transaction between Roche and Genentech, which enabled Roche to acquire Genentech for $95 

per share, approximately $3.9 billion more than Roche offered in its hostile tender offer. In approving the 

settlement, then-Vice Chancellor Leo Strine complimented plaintiffs’ counsel, noting that this benefit was 

only achieved through “real hard-fought litigation in a complicated setting.” 

In re GSI Commerce, Inc. Shareholder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 6346-VCN (Del. Ch. Nov. 15, 2011): 

On behalf of the Erie County Employees’ Retirement System, we alleged that GSI’s founder breached his 

fiduciary duties by negotiating a secret deal with eBay for him to buy several GSI subsidiaries at below 

market prices before selling the remainder of the company to eBay. These side deals significantly reduced 

the acquisition price paid to GSI stockholders. Days before an injunction hearing, we negotiated an 

improvement in the deal price of $24 million. 

In re Amicas, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, 10-0174-BLS2 (Suffolk County, MA 2010): 

Kessler Topaz served as lead counsel in class action litigation challenging a proposed private equity buyout 

of Amicas that would have paid Amicas shareholders $5.35 per share in cash while certain Amicas 

executives retained an equity stake in the surviving entity moving forward. Kessler Topaz prevailed in 

securing a preliminary injunction against the deal, which then allowed a superior bidder to purchase the 

Company for an additional $0.70 per share ($26 million). The court complimented Kessler Topaz attorneys 

for causing an “exceptionally favorable result for Amicas’ shareholders” after “expend[ing] substantial 

resources.” 

In re Harleysville Mutual, Nov. Term 2011, No. 02137 (C.C.P., Phila. Cnty.): 

Kessler Topaz served as co-lead counsel in expedited merger litigation challenging Harleysville’s 

agreement to sell the company to Nationwide Insurance Company. Plaintiffs alleged that policyholders 

were entitled to receive cash in exchange for their ownership interests in the company, not just new 

Nationwide policies. Plaintiffs also alleged that the merger was “fundamentally unfair” under Pennsylvania 

law. The defendants contested the allegations and contended that the claims could not be prosecuted directly 

by policyholders (as opposed to derivatively on the company’s behalf). Following a two-day preliminary 

injunction hearing, we settled the case in exchange for a $26 million cash payment to policyholders. 

Consumer Protection and Fiduciary Litigation 

In re: J.P. Jeanneret Associates Inc., et al., No. 09-cv-3907 (S.D.N.Y.): 

Kessler Topaz served as lead counsel for one of the plaintiff groups in an action against J.P. Jeanneret and 

Ivy Asset Management relating to an alleged breach of fiduciary and statutory duty in connection with the 

investment of retirement plan assets in Bernard Madoff-related entities. By breaching their fiduciary duties, 

Defendants caused significant losses to the retirement plans. Following extensive hard-fought litigation, 

the case settled for a total of $216.5 million. 

In re: National City Corp. Securities, Derivative and ERISA Litig, No. 08-nc-7000 (N.D. Ohio): 

Kessler Topaz served as a lead counsel in this complex action alleging that certain directors and officers of 

National City Corp. breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 

of 1974. These breaches arose from an investment in National City stock during a time when defendants 

knew, or should have known, that the company stock was artificially inflated and an imprudent investment 

for the company’s 401(k) plan. The case settled for $43 million on behalf of the plan, plaintiffs and a 

settlement class of plan participants. 

Alston, et al. v. Countrywide Financial Corp. et al., No. 07-cv-03508 (E.D. Pa.): 

Kessler Topaz served as lead counsel in this novel and complex action which alleged that Defendants 

Countrywide Financial Corporation, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. and Balboa Reinsurance Co. violated 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 27 of 57
the Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (“RESPA”) and ultimately cost borrowers millions of dollars. 

Specifically, the action alleged that Defendants engaged in a scheme related to private mortgage insurance 

involving kickbacks, which are prohibited under RESPA. After three and a half years of hard-fought 

litigation, the action settled for $34 million. 

Trustees of the Local 464A United Food and Commercial Workers Union Pension Fund, et al. v. 

Wachovia Bank, N.A., et al., No. 09-cv-00668 (DNJ): 

For more than 50 years, Wachovia and its predecessors acted as investment manager for the Local 464A 

UFCW Union Funds, exercising investment discretion consistent with certain investment guidelines and 

fiduciary obligations. Until mid-2007, Wachovia managed the fixed income assets of the funds safely and 

conservatively, and their returns closely tracked the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index (now known as the 

Barclay’s Capital Aggregate Bond Index) to which the funds were benchmarked. However, beginning in 

mid-2007 Wachovia significantly changed the investment strategy, causing the funds’ portfolio value to 

drop drastically below the benchmark. Specifically, Wachovia began to dramatically decrease the funds’ 

holdings in short-term, high-quality, low-risk debt instruments and materially increase their holdings in 

high-risk mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations. We represented the funds’ 

trustees in alleging that, among other things, Wachovia breached its fiduciary duty by: failing to invest the 

assets in accordance with the funds’ conservative investment guidelines; failing to adequately monitor the 

funds’ fixed income investments; and failing to provide complete and accurate information to plaintiffs 

concerning the change in investment strategy. The matter was resolved privately between the parties. 

In re Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Foreign Exchange Transactions Litig., No. 1:12-md-02335 

(S.D.N.Y.): 

On behalf of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Pension Fund and a class of similarly 

situated domestic custodial clients of BNY Mellon, we alleged that BNY Mellon secretly assigned a spread 

to the FX rates at which it transacted FX transactions on behalf of its clients who participated in the BNY 

Mellon’s automated “Standing Instruction” FX service. BNY Mellon determining this spread by executing 

its clients’ transactions at one rate and then, typically, at the end of the trading day, assigned a rate to its 

clients which approximated the worst possible rates of the trading day, pocketing the difference as riskless 

profit. This practice was despite BNY Mellon’s contractual promises to its clients that its Standing 

Instruction service was designed to provide “best execution,” was “free of charge” and provided the “best 

rates of the day.” The case asserted claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty on behalf of 

BNY Mellon’s custodial clients and sought to recover the unlawful profits that BNY Mellon earned from 

its unfair and unlawful FX practices. The case was litigated in collaboration with separate cases brought by 

state and federal agencies, with Kessler Topaz serving as lead counsel and a member of the executive 

committee overseeing the private litigation. After extensive discovery, including more than 100 depositions, 

over 25 million pages of fact discovery, and the submission of multiple expert reports, Plaintiffs reached a 

settlement with BNY Mellon of $335 million. Additionally, the settlement is being administered by Kessler 

Topaz along with separate recoveries by state and federal agencies which bring the total recovery for BNY 

Mellon’s custodial customers to $504 million. The settlement was finally approved on September 24, 2015. 

In approving the settlement, Judge Lewis Kaplan praised counsel for a “wonderful job,” recognizing that 

they were “fought tooth and nail at every step of the road.” In further recognition of the efforts of counsel, 

Judge Kaplan noted that “[t]his was an outrageous wrong by the Bank of New York Mellon, and plaintiffs’ 

counsel deserve a world of credit for taking it on, for running the risk, for financing it and doing a great 

job.” 

CompSource Oklahoma v. BNY Mellon Bank, N.A., No. CIV 08-469-KEW (E.D. Okla. October 25, 

2012): 

Kessler Topaz served as Interim Class Counsel in this matter alleging that BNY Mellon Bank, N.A. and the 

Bank of New York Mellon (collectively, “BNYM”) breached their statutory, common law and contractual 

duties in connection with the administration of their securities lending program. The Second Amended 

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Complaint alleged, among other things, that BNYM imprudently invested cash collateral obtained under its 

securities lending program in medium term notes issued by Sigma Finance, Inc. -- a foreign structured 

investment vehicle (“SIV”) that is now in receivership -- and that such conduct constituted a breach of 

BNYM’s fiduciary obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, a breach of 

its fiduciary duties under common law, and a breach of its contractual obligations under the securities 

lending agreements. The Complaint also asserted claims for negligence, gross negligence and willful 

misconduct. The case recently settled for $280 million. 

Transatlantic Holdings, Inc., et al. v. American International Group, Inc., et al., American Arbitration 

Association Case No. 50 148 T 00376 10: 

Kessler Topaz served as counsel for Transatlantic Holdings, Inc., and its subsidiaries (“TRH”), alleging 

that American International Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“AIG”) breached their fiduciary duties, 

contractual duties, and committed fraud in connection with the administration of its securities lending 

program. Until June 2009, AIG was TRH’s majority shareholder and, at the same time, administered TRH’s 

securities lending program. TRH’s Statement of Claim alleged that, among other things, AIG breached its 

fiduciary obligations as investment advisor and majority shareholder by imprudently investing the majority 

of the cash collateral obtained under its securities lending program in mortgage backed securities, including 

Alt-A and subprime investments. The Statement of Claim further alleged that AIG concealed the extent of 

TRH’s subprime exposure and that when the collateral pools began experiencing liquidity problems in 

2007, AIG unilaterally carved TRH out of the pools so that it could provide funding to its wholly owned 

subsidiaries to the exclusion of TRH. The matter was litigated through a binding arbitration and TRH was 

awarded $75 million. 

Board of Trustees of the AFTRA Retirement Fund v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. – Consolidated 

Action No. 09-cv-00686 (SAS) (S.D.N.Y.): 

On January 23, 2009, the firm filed a class action complaint on behalf of all entities that were participants 

in JPMorgan’s securities lending program and that incurred losses on investments that JPMorgan, acting in 

its capacity as a discretionary investment manager, made in medium-term notes issue by Sigma Finance, 

Inc. – a now defunct structured investment vehicle. The losses of the Class exceeded $500 million. The 

complaint asserted claims for breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act (ERISA), as well as common law breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and negligence. Over the 

course of discovery, the parties produced and reviewed over 500,000 pages of documents, took 40 

depositions (domestic and foreign) and exchanged 21 expert reports. The case settled for $150 million. Trial 

was scheduled to commence on February 6, 2012. 

In re Global Crossing, Ltd. ERISA Litigation, No. 02 Civ. 7453 (S.D.N.Y. 2004):

Kessler Topaz served as Co-Lead Counsel in this novel, complex and high-profile action which alleged that 

certain directors and officers of Global Crossing, a former high-flier of the late 1990’s tech stock boom, 

breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) to 

certain company-provided 401(k) plans and their participants. These breaches arose from the plans’ alleged 

imprudent investment in Global Crossing stock during a time when defendants knew, or should have 

known, that the company was facing imminent bankruptcy. A settlement of plaintiffs’ claims restoring $79 

million to the plans and their participants was approved in November 2004. At the time, this represented 

the largest recovery received in a company stock ERISA class action. 

In re AOL Time Warner ERISA Litigation, No. 02-CV-8853 (S.D.N.Y. 2006):

Kessler Topaz, which served as Co-Lead Counsel in this highly-publicized ERISA fiduciary breach class 

action brought on behalf of the Company’s 401(k) plans and their participants, achieved a record $100 

million settlement with defendants. The $100 million restorative cash payment to the plans (and, 

concomitantly, their participants) represents the largest recovery from a single defendant in a breach of 

fiduciary action relating to mismanagement of plan assets held in the form of employer securities. The 

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action asserted claims for breach of fiduciary duties pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) on behalf of the participants in the AOL Time Warner Savings Plan, the AOL Time 

Warner Thrift Plan, and the Time Warner Cable Savings Plan (collectively, the “Plans”) whose accounts 

purchased and/or held interests in the AOLTW Stock Fund at any time between January 27, 1999 and July 

3, 2003. Named as defendants in the case were Time Warner (and its corporate predecessor, AOL Time 

Warner), several of the Plans’ committees, as well as certain current and former officers and directors of 

the company. In March 2005, the Court largely denied defendants’ motion to dismiss and the parties began 

the discovery phase of the case. In January 2006, Plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification, while at 

the same time defendants moved for partial summary judgment. These motions were pending before the 

Court when the settlement in principle was reached. Notably, an Independent Fiduciary retained by the 

Plans to review the settlement in accordance with Department of Labor regulations approved the settlement 

and filed a report with Court noting that the settlement, in addition to being “more than a reasonable 

recovery” for the Plans, is “one of the largest ERISA employer stock action settlements in history.” 

In re Honeywell International ERISA Litigation, No. 03-1214 (DRD) (D.N.J. 2004):

Kessler Topaz served as Lead Counsel in a breach of fiduciary duty case under ERISA against Honeywell 

International, Inc. and certain fiduciaries of Honeywell defined contribution pension plans. The suit alleged 

that Honeywell and the individual fiduciary defendants, allowed Honeywell’s 401(k) plans and their 

participants to imprudently invest significant assets in company stock, despite that defendants knew, or 

should have known, that Honeywell’s stock was an imprudent investment due to undisclosed, wide-ranging 

problems stemming from a consummated merger with Allied Signal and a failed merger with General 

Electric. The settlement of plaintiffs’ claims included a $14 million payment to the plans and their affected 

participants, and significant structural relief affording participants much greater leeway in diversifying their 

retirement savings portfolios. 

Henry v. Sears, et. al., Case No. 98 C 4110 (N.D. Ill. 1999):

The Firm served as Co-Lead Counsel for one of the largest consumer class actions in history, consisting of 

approximately 11 million Sears credit card holders whose interest rates were improperly increased in 

connection with the transfer of the credit card accounts to a national bank. Kessler Topaz successfully 

negotiated a settlement representing approximately 66% of all class members’ damages, thereby providing 

a total benefit exceeding $156 million. All $156 million was distributed automatically to the Class members, 

without the filing of a single proof of claim form. In approving the settlement, the District Court stated: “. 

. . I am pleased to approve the settlement. I think it does the best that could be done under the circumstances 

on behalf of the class. . . . The litigation was complex in both liability and damages and required both 

professional skill and standing which class counsel demonstrated in abundance.” 

Antitrust Litigation 

In re: Flonase Antitrust Litigation, No. 08-cv-3149 (E.D. Pa.): 

Kessler Topaz served as a lead counsel on behalf of a class of direct purchaser plaintiffs in an antitrust 

action brought pursuant to Section 4 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 15, alleging, among other things, that 

defendant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2, by engaging in 

“sham” petitioning of a government agency. Specifically, the Direct Purchasers alleged that GSK 

unlawfully abused the citizen petition process contained in Section 505(j) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

Cosmetic Act and thus delayed the introduction of less expensive generic versions of Flonase, a highly 

popular allergy drug, causing injury to the Direct Purchaser Class. Throughout the course of the four year 

litigation, Plaintiffs defeated two motions for summary judgment, succeeded in having a class certified and 

conducted extensive discovery. After lengthy negotiations and shortly before trial, the action settled for 

$150 million. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 30 of 57
In re: Wellbutrin SR Antitrust Litigation, No. 04-cv-5898 (E.D. Pa.): 

Kessler Topaz was a lead counsel in an action which alleged, among other things, that defendant 

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) violated the antitrust, consumer fraud, and consumer protection laws of various 

states. Specifically, Plaintiffs and the class of Third-Party Payors alleged that GSK manipulated patent 

filings and commenced baseless infringement lawsuits in connection wrongfully delaying generic versions 

of Wellbutrin SR and Zyban from entering the market, and that Plaintiffs and the Class of Third-Party 

Payors suffered antitrust injury and calculable damages as a result. After more than eight years of litigation, 

the action settled for $21.5 million. 

In re: Metoprolol Succinate End-Payor Antitrust Litigation, No. 06-cv-71 (D. Del.): 

Kessler Topaz was co-lead counsel in a lawsuit which alleged that defendant AstraZeneca prevented generic 

versions of Toprol-XL from entering the market by, among other things, improperly manipulating patent 

filings and filing baseless patent infringement lawsuits. As a result, AstraZeneca unlawfully monopolized 

the domestic market for Toprol-XL and its generic bio-equivalents. After seven years of litigation, 

extensive discovery and motion practice, the case settled for $11 million. 

In re Remeron Antitrust Litigation, No. 02-CV-2007 (D.N.J. 2004):

Kessler Topaz was Co-Lead Counsel in an action which challenged Organon, Inc.’s filing of certain patents 

and patent infringement lawsuits as an abuse of the Hatch-Waxman Act, and an effort to unlawfully extend 

their monopoly in the market for Remeron. Specifically, the lawsuit alleged that defendants violated state 

and federal antitrust laws in their efforts to keep competing products from entering the market, and sought 

damages sustained by consumers and third-party payors. After lengthy litigation, including numerous 

motions and over 50 depositions, the matter settled for $36 million. 

OUR PROFESSIONALS 

PARTNERS 

JULES D. ALBERT, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in mergers and acquisition litigation 

and stockholder derivative litigation. Mr. Albert received his law degree from the University of 

Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a Senior Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor 

and Employment Law and recipient of the James Wilson Fellowship. Mr. Albert also received a Certificate 

of Study in Business and Public Policy from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. 

Albert graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Emory University. 

Mr. Albert is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, and has been admitted to practice before the United 

States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Albert has litigated in state and federal courts across the country, and has represented stockholders in 

numerous actions that have resulted in significant monetary recoveries and corporate governance 

improvements, including: In re Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. Deriv. Litig., No. 07-00143 (D.D.C.); Mercier 

v. Whittle, et al., No. 2008-CP-23-8395 (S.C. Ct. Com. Pl., 13th Jud. Cir.); In re K-V Pharmaceutical Co. 

Deriv. Litig., No. 06-00384 (E.D. Mo.); In re Progress Software Corp. Deriv. Litig., No. SUCV2007-

01937-BLS2 (Mass. Super. Ct., Suffolk Cty.); In re Quest Software, Inc. Deriv. Litig. No 06CC00115 (Cal. 

Super. Ct., Orange Cty.); and Quaco v. Balakrishnan, et al., No. 06-2811 (N.D. Cal.). 

NAUMON A. AMJED, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice on new matter development with 

a focus on analyzing securities class action lawsuits, direct (or opt-out) actions, non-U.S. securities and 

shareholder litigation, SEC whistleblower actions, breach of fiduciary duty cases, antitrust matters, data 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 31 of 57
breach actions and oil and gas litigation. Mr. Amjed is a graduate of the Villanova University School of 

Law, cum laude, and holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Temple University, 

cum laude. Mr. Amjed is a member of the Delaware State Bar, the Bar of the Commonwealth of 

Pennsylvania, the New York State Bar, and is admitted to practice before the United States Courts for the 

District of Delaware, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Southern District of New York. 

As a member of the Firm’s lead plaintiff practice group, Mr. Amjed has represented clients serving as lead 

plaintiffs in several notable securities class action lawsuits including: In re Bank of America Corp. 

Securities, Derivative, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Litigation, No. 09MDL2058 

(S.D.N.Y.) (settled -- $2.425 billion); In re Wachovia Preferred Securities and Bond/Notes Litigation, No. 

09-cv-6351 (RJS) (S.D.N.Y.) ($627 million recovery); In re Lehman Bros. Equity/Debt Securities 

Litigation, No. 08-cv-5523 (LAK) (S.D.N.Y.) ($615 million recovery) and In re JPMorgan Chase & Co. 

Securities Litigation, No. 12-3852-GBD (“London Whale Litigation”) ($150 million recovery). 

Additionally, Mr. Amjed served on the national Executive Committee representing financial institutions 

suffering losses from Target Corporation’s 2013 data breach – one of the largest data breaches in history. 

The Target litigation team was responsible for a landmark data breach opinion that substantially denied 

Target’s motion to dismiss and was also responsible for obtaining certification of a class of financial 

institutions. See In re Target Corp. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., 64 F. Supp. 3d 1304 (D. Minn. 2014); 

In re Target Corp. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., No. MDL 14-2522 PAM/JJK, 2015 WL 5432115 (D. 

Minn. Sept. 15, 2015). At the time of its issuance, the class certification order in Target was the first of its 

kind in data breach litigation by financial institutions. 

Mr. Amjed also has significant experience conducting complex litigation in state and federal courts 

including federal securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions, suits by third-party insurers and 

other actions concerning corporate and alternative business entity disputes. Mr. Amjed has litigated in 

numerous state and federal courts across the country, including the Delaware Court of Chancery, and has 

represented shareholders in several high profile lawsuits, including: LAMPERS v. CBOT Holdings, Inc. et 

al., C.A. No. 2803-VCN (Del. Ch.); In re Alstom SA Sec. Litig., 454 F. Supp. 2d 187 (S.D.N.Y. 2006); In 

re Global Crossing Sec. Litig., 02— Civ. — 910 (S.D.N.Y.); In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig., 465 F. Supp. 2d 

687 (S.D. Tex. 2006); and In re Marsh McLennan Cos., Inc. Sec. Litig. 501 F. Supp. 2d 452 (S.D.N.Y. 

2006). 

ETHAN J. BARLIEB, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the areas of ERISA, consumer 

protection and antitrust litigation. Mr. Barlieb received his law degree, magna cum laude, from the 

University of Miami School of Law in 2007 and his undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 2003. 

Mr. Barlieb is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Barlieb was an associate with Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & 

Raspanti, LLP, where he worked on various commercial, securities and employment matters. Before that, 

Mr. Barlieb served as a law clerk for the Honorable Mitchell S. Goldberg in the U.S. District Court for the 

Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

STUART L. BERMAN, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice on securities class action litigation 

in federal courts throughout the country, with a particular emphasis on representing institutional investors 

active in litigation. Mr. Berman received his law degree from George Washington University National Law 

Center, and is an honors graduate from Brandeis University. Mr. Berman is licensed to practice in 

Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Mr. Berman regularly counsels and educates institutional investors located around the world on emerging 

legal trends, new case ideas and the rights and obligations of institutional investors as they relate to 

securities fraud class actions and individual actions. In this respect, Mr. Berman has been instrumental in 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 32 of 57
courts appointing the Firm’s institutional clients as lead plaintiffs in class actions as well as in representing 

institutions individually in direct actions. Mr. Berman is currently representing institutional investors in 

direct actions against Vivendi and Merck, and took a very active role in the precedent setting Shell 

settlement on behalf of many of the Firm’s European institutional clients. 

Mr. Berman is a frequent speaker on securities issues, especially as they relate to institutional investors, at 

events such as The European Pension Symposium in Florence, Italy; the Public Funds Symposium in 

Washington, D.C.; the Pennsylvania Public Employees Retirement (PAPERS) Summit in Harrisburg, 

Pennsylvania; the New England Pension Summit in Newport, Rhode Island; the Rights and Responsibilities 

for Institutional Investors in Amsterdam, Netherlands; and the European Investment Roundtable in 

Barcelona, Spain. 

DAVID A. BOCIAN, a partner of the Firm, focuses his practice on whistleblower representation and False 

Claims Act litigation. Mr. Bocian received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law 

and graduated cum laude from Princeton University. He is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth 

of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and the District of Columbia. 

Mr. Bocian began his legal career in Washington, D.C., as a litigation associate at Patton Boggs LLP, where 

his practice included internal corporate investigations, government contracts litigation and securities fraud 

matters. He spent more than ten years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District 

of New Jersey, where he was appointed Senior Litigation Counsel and managed the Trenton U.S. Attorney’s 

office. During his tenure, Mr. Bocian oversaw multifaceted investigations and prosecutions pertaining to 

government corruption and federal program fraud, commercial and public sector kickbacks, tax fraud, and 

other white collar and financial crimes. He tried numerous cases before federal juries, and was a recipient 

of the Justice Department’s Director’s Award for superior performance by an Assistant U.S. Attorney, as 

well as commendations from federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI and IRS.

Mr. Bocian has extensive experience in the health care field. As an adjunct professor of law, he has taught 

Healthcare Fraud and Abuse at Rutgers School of Law – Camden, and previously was employed in the 

health care industry, where he was responsible for implementing and overseeing a system-wide compliance 

program for a complex health system. 

GREGORY M. CASTALDO, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Mr. Castaldo received his law degree from Loyola Law School, where he received the American 

Jurisprudence award in legal writing. He received his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of 

Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Mr. Castaldo served as one of Kessler Topaz’s lead litigation partners in In re Bank of America Corp. 

Securities, Derivative, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Litigation, No. 09 MDL 

2058 (S.D.N.Y.) (settled -- $2.425 billion). Mr. Castaldo also served as the lead litigation partner in In re 

Tenet Healthcare Corp., No. 02-CV-8462 (C.D. Cal. 2002), securing an aggregate recovery of $281.5 

million for the class, including $65 million from Tenet’s auditor. Mr. Castaldo also played a primary 

litigation role in the following cases: In re Liberate Technologies Sec. Litig., No. C-02-5017 (MJJ) (N.D. 

Cal. 2005) (settled — $13.8 million); In re Sodexho Marriott Shareholders Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 18640-

NC (Del. Ch. 1999) (settled — $166 million benefit); In re Motive, Inc. Sec. Litig., 05-CV-923 (W.D.Tex. 

2005) (settled — $7 million cash, 2.5 million shares); and In re Wireless Facilities, Inc., Sec. Litig., 04-

CV-1589 (S.D. Cal. 2004) (settled — $16.5 million). In addition, Mr. Castaldo served as one of the lead 

trial attorneys for shareholders in the historic In re Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd. Securities 

Litigation, No. 11-cv-3658 (S.D.N.Y.) trial, which resulted in a verdict in favor of investors on liability and 

damages. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 33 of 57
DARREN J. CHECK, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of shareholder litigation 

and client relations. Mr. Check manages the Firm’s Portfolio Monitoring Department and works closely 

with the Firm’s Case Evaluation Department. Mr. Check received his law degree from Temple University 

School of Law and is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College. Mr. Check is admitted to practice in 

numerous state and federal courts across the United States. 

Currently, Mr. Check consults with institutional investors from around the world with regard to their 

investment rights and responsibilities. He currently works with clients in the United States, Canada, the 

Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, 

France, Australia and throughout Asia and the Middle East. 

Mr. Check assists Firm clients in evaluating and analyzing opportunities to take an active role in shareholder 

litigation, arbitration, and other loss recovery methods. This includes U.S. based litigation and arbitration, 

as well as an increasing number of cases from jurisdictions around the globe. With an increasingly complex 

investment and legal landscape, Mr. Check has experience advising on traditional class actions, direct 

actions, non-U.S. opt-in actions, fiduciary actions, appraisal actions and arbitrations to name a few. Mr. 

Check is frequently called upon by his clients to help ensure they are taking an active role when their 

involvement can make a difference, and that they are not leaving money on the table. 

Mr. Check regularly speaks on the subjects of shareholder litigation, corporate governance, investor 

activism, and recovery of investment losses at conferences around the world. 

Mr. Check has also been actively involved in the precedent setting Shell and Fortis settlements in the 

Netherlands, the Olympus shareholder case in Japan, direct actions against Petrobras, BP, Vivendi, and 

Merck, and securities class actions against Bank of America, Lehman Brothers, Royal Bank of Scotland 

(U.K.), and Hewlett-Packard. Currently Mr. Check represents investors in numerous high profile actions in 

the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom. 

EMILY N. CHRISTIANSEN, a partner of the Firm, focuses her practice in securities litigation and 

international actions, in particular. Ms. Christiansen received her Juris Doctor and Global Law certificate, 

cum laude, from Lewis and Clark Law School in 2012. Ms. Christiansen is a graduate of the University of 

Portland, where she received her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Political Science and German Studies. 

Ms. Christiansen is currently licensed to practice law in New York and Pennsylvania. 

While in law school, Ms. Christiansen worked as an intern in Trial Chambers III at the International 

Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Ms. Christiansen also spent two months in India as foreign 

legal trainee with the corporate law firm of Fox Mandal. Ms. Christiansen is a 2007 recipient of a Fulbright 

Fellowship and is fluent in German. 

Ms. Christiansen devotes her time to advising clients on the challenges and benefits of pursuing particular 

litigation opportunities in jurisdictions outside the U.S. In those non-US actions where Kessler Topaz is 

actively involved, Emily liaises with local counsel, helps develop case strategy, reviews pleadings, and 

helps clients understand and successfully navigate the legal process. Her experience includes non-US optin actions, international law, and portfolio monitoring and claims administration. In her role, Ms. 

Christiansen has helped secure recoveries for institutional investors in litigation in Japan against Olympus 

Corporation (settled - ¥11 billion) and in the Netherlands against Fortis Bank N.V. (settled - €1.2 billion). 

JOSHUA E. D’ANCONA, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the securities litigation and 

lead plaintiff departments of the Firm. Mr. D’Ancona received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Temple 

University Beasley School of Law in 2007, where he served on the Temple Law Review and as president 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 34 of 57
of the Moot Court Honors Society, and graduated with honors from Wesleyan University. He is licensed to 

practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Before joining the Firm in 2009, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe of the United 

States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

RYAN T. DEGNAN, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice on new matter development with a 

specific focus on analyzing securities class action lawsuits, antitrust actions, and complex consumer actions. 

Mr. Degnan received his law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he was a Notes 

and Comments Editor for the Temple Journal of Science, Technology & Environmental Law, and earned 

his undergraduate degree in Biology from The Johns Hopkins University. While a law student, Mr. Degnan 

served as a Judicial Intern to the Honorable Gene E.K. Pratter of the United States District Court for the 

Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Degnan is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

As a member of the Firm’s lead plaintiff litigation practice group, Mr. Degnan has helped secure the Firm’s 

clients’ appointments as lead plaintiffs in: In re HP Sec. Litig., No. 12-cv-5090, 2013 WL 792642 (N.D. 

Cal. Mar. 4, 2013); In re JPMorgan Chase & Co. Securities Litigation, No. 12-3852-GBD (“London Whale 

Litigation”) ($150 million recovery); Freedman v. St. Jude Medical, Inc., et al., No. 12-cv-3070 (D. Minn.); 

United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers & Allied Workers Local Union No. 8 v. Ocwen Fin. Corp., No. 14 

Civ. 81057 (WPD), 2014 WL 7236985 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 7, 2014); Louisiana Municipal Police Employees’ 

Ret. Sys. v. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., et al., No. 11-cv-289, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89192 (D. 

Vt. Apr. 27, 2012); and In re Longtop Fin. Techs. Ltd. Sec. Litig., No. 11-cv-3658, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 

112970 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 4, 2011). Additional representative matters include: In re Bank of New York Mellon 

Corp. Foreign Exchange Transactions Litig., No. 12-md-02335 (S.D.N.Y.) ($335 million settlement); and 

Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of the City of Chicago, et al. v. Bank of America, NA, et al., No. 12-

cv-02865 (S.D.N.Y.) ($69 million settlement). 

ELI R. GREENSTEIN is managing partner of the Firm’s San Francisco office and a member of the Firm’s 

federal securities litigation practice group. Mr. Greenstein concentrates his practice on federal securities 

law violations and white collar fraud, including violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934. Mr. Greenstein received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 

2001, and his M.B.A. from Santa Clara’s Leavey School of Business in 2002. Mr. Greenstein received his 

B.A. in Business Administration from the University of San Diego in 1997 where he was awarded the 

Presidential Scholarship. He is licensed to practice in California. 

Mr. Greenstein also was a judicial extern for the Honorable James Ware (Ret.), Chief Judge of the United 

States District Court for the Northern District of California. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Greenstein was 

a partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP in its federal securities litigation practice group. His 

relevant background also includes consulting for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s International Tax and 

Legal Services division, and work on the trading floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, S&P 500 

futures and options division. 

Mr. Greenstein has been involved in dozens of high-profile securities fraud actions resulting in more than 

$1 billion in recoveries for clients and investors, including: Nieman v. Duke Energy Corp., 2013 U.S. Dist. 

LEXIS 110693 (W.D.N.C.) ($146 million recovery); In re HP Secs. Litig., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168292 

(N.D. Cal.) ($100 million recovery); In re VeriFone Holdings, Inc. Sec. Litig., 704 F.3d 694 (N.D. Cal) 

($95 million recovery); In re AOL Time Warner Sec. Litig. State Opt-Out Actions (Regents of the Univ. of 

Cal. v. Parsons (Cal. Super. Ct.), Ohio Pub. Emps. Ret. Sys. v. Parsons (Franklin County Ct. of Common 

Pleas) ($618 million in total recoveries); Minneapolis Firefighters’ Relief Association v. Medtronic, Inc., 

No. 08-cv-06324-PAM-AJB (D. Minn.) (settled -- $85 million); In re MGM Mirage Securities Litigation, 

Case No. 2:09-cv-01558-GMN-VCF (D. Nev.) ($75 million settlement); In re Weatherford Int’l Securities 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 35 of 57
Litigation, No. 11-cv-01646-LAK-JCF (S.D.N.Y.) (settled -- $52.5 million); In re Sunpower Secs. Litig., 

2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152920 (N.D. Cal.) ($19.7 million recovery); In re Am. Serv. Group, Inc., 2009 

U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28237 (M.D. Tenn.) ($15.1 million recovery); In re Terayon Communs. Sys. Sec. Litig., 

2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5502 (N.D. Cal.) ($15 million recovery); In re Nuvelo, Inc. Sec. Litig., 668 F. Supp. 

2d 1217 (N.D. Cal.) ($8.9 million recovery); In re Endocare, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. CV02-8429 DT (CTX) 

(C.D. Cal.) ($8.95 million recovery); Greater Pa. Carpenters Pension Fund v. Whitehall Jewellers, Inc., 

2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12971 (N.D. Ill.) ($7.5 million recovery); In re Am. Apparel, Inc. S'holder Litig., 

2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6977 (C.D. Cal.) ($4.8 million recovery); In re Purus Sec. Litig. No. C-98-20449-

JF(RS) (N.D. Cal) ($9.95 million recovery). 

SEAN M. HANDLER, a partner of the Firm and member of Kessler Topaz’s Management Committee, 

currently concentrates his practice on all aspects of new matter development for the Firm including 

securities, consumer and intellectual property. Mr. Handler earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from 

Temple University School of Law, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College, 

graduating with distinction in American Studies. Mr. Handler is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New 

Jersey and New York. 

As part of his responsibilities, Mr. Handler also oversees the lead plaintiff appointment process in securities 

class actions for the Firm’s clients. In this role, Mr. Handler has achieved numerous noteworthy 

appointments for clients in reported decisions including Foley v. Transocean, 272 F.R.D. 126 (S.D.N.Y. 

2011); In re Bank of America Corp. Sec., Derivative & Employment Ret. Income Sec. Act (ERISA) Litig., 

258 F.R.D. 260 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) and Tanne v. Autobytel, Inc., 226 F.R.D. 659 (C.D. Cal. 2005) and has 

argued before federal courts throughout the country. 

Mr. Handler was also one of the principal attorneys in In re Brocade Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal. 2008), 

where the team achieved a $160 million settlement on behalf of the class and two public pension fund class 

representatives. This settlement is believed to be one of the largest settlements in a securities fraud case in 

terms of the ratio of settlement amount to actual investor damages. 

Mr. Handler also lectures and serves on discussion panels concerning securities litigation matters, most 

recently appearing at American Conference Institute's National Summit on the Future of Fiduciary 

Responsibility and Institutional Investor’s The Rights & Responsibilities of Institutional Investors. 

GEOFFREY C. JARVIS, a partner of the Firm, focuses on securities litigation for institutional investors. 

Mr. Jarvis graduated from Harvard Law School in 1984, and received his undergraduate degree from 

Cornell University in 1980. He is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and 

Washington, D.C. 

Following law school, Mr. Jarvis served as a staff attorney with the Federal Communications Commission, 

participating in the development of new regulatory policies for the telecommunications industry. 

Mr. Jarvis had a major role in Oxford Health Plans Securities Litigation, DaimlerChrysler Securities 

Litigation, and Tyco Securities Litigation all of which were among the top ten securities settlements in U.S. 

history at the time they were resolved, as well as a large number of other securities cases over the past 16 

years. He has also been involved in a number of actions before the Delaware Chancery Court, including a 

Delaware appraisal case that resulted in a favorable decision for the firm’s client after trial, and a Delaware 

appraisal case that was tried in October, argued in 2016, which is still awaiting a final decision. 

Mr. Jarvis then became an associate in the Washington office of Rogers & Wells (subsequently merged 

into Clifford Chance), principally devoted to complex commercial litigation in the fields of antitrust and 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 36 of 57
trade regulations, insurance, intellectual property, contracts and defamation issues, as well as counseling 

corporate clients in diverse industries on general legal and regulatory compliance matters. He was 

previously associated with a prominent Philadelphia litigation boutique and had first-chair assignments in 

cases commenced under the Pennsylvania Whistleblower Act and in major antitrust, First Amendment, civil 

rights, and complex commercial litigation, including several successful arguments before the U.S. Court of 

Appeals for the Third Circuit. From 2000 until early 2016, Mr. Jarvis was a Director (Senior Counsel 

through 2001) at Grant & Eisenhofer, P.A., where he engaged in a number of federal securities, and state 

fiduciary cases (primarily in Delaware), including several of the largest settlements of the past 15 years. He 

also was lead trial counsel and/or associate counsel in a number of cases that were tried to a verdict (or are 

pending final decision). 

JENNIFER L. JOOST, a partner in the Firm’s San Francisco office, focuses her practice on securities 

litigation. Ms. Joost received her law degree, cum laude, from Temple University Beasley School of Law, 

where she was the Special Projects Editor for the Temple International and Comparative Law Journal. Ms. 

Joost earned her undergraduate degree with honors from Washington University in St. Louis. She is licensed 

to practice in Pennsylvania and California and is admitted to practice before the United States Courts of 

Appeals for the Second, Fourth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the 

Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Northern District of California and the Southern District of California. 

Ms. Joost has represented institutional investors in numerous securities fraud class actions including In re 

Bank of America Corp. Securities, Derivative, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 

Litigation, No. 09 MDL 2058 (S.D.N.Y.) (settled -- $2.425 billion); In re Citigroup Bond Litigation, No. 

08-cv-09522-SHS (S.D.N.Y.) ($730 million recovery); David H. Luther, et al., v. Countrywide Financial 

Corp., et. al., 2:12-cv-05125 (C.D.Cal. 2012) (settled -- $500 million); In re JPMorgan Chase & Co. 

Securities Litigation, No. 12-3852-GBD (“London Whale Litigation”) ($150 million recovery); 

Minneapolis Firefighters’ Relief Association v. Medtronic, Inc., No. 08-cv-06324-PAM-AJB (D. Minn.) 

(settled -- $85 million); In re MGM Mirage Securities Litigation, Case No. 2:09-cv-01558-GMN-VCF (D. 

Nev.) ($75 million settlement); and In re Weatherford Int’l Securities Litigation, No. 11-cv-01646-LAKJCF (S.D.N.Y.) (settled -- $52.5 million). 

STACEY KAPLAN, a partner in the Firm’s San Francisco office, concentrates her practice on prosecuting 

securities class actions. Ms. Kaplan received her J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles 

School of Law in 2005, and received her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre 

Dame in 2002, with majors in Finance and Philosophy. Ms. Kaplan is admitted to the California Bar and is 

licensed to practice in all California state courts, as well as the United States District Courts for the Northern 

and Central Districts of California. 

 

During law school, Ms. Kaplan served as a Judicial Extern to the Honorable Terry J. Hatter, Jr., United 

States District Court, Central District of California. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Kaplan was an associate 

with Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP in San Diego, California. 

DAVID KESSLER, a partner of the Firm, manages the Firm’s internationally recognized securities 

department. Mr. Kessler graduated with distinction from the Emory School of Law, after receiving his 

undergraduate B.S.B.A. degree from American University. Mr. Kessler is licensed to practice law in 

Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, and has been admitted to practice before numerous United States 

District Courts. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Kessler was a Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Kessler has achieved or assisted in obtaining Court approval for the following outstanding results in 

federal securities class action cases: In re Bank of America Corp. Securities, Derivative, and Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Litigation, No. 09 MDL 2058 (S.D.N.Y.) (settled -- $2.425 

billion); In re Tyco International, Ltd. Sec. Lit., No. 02-1335-B (D.N.H. 2002) ($3.2 billion settlement); In 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 37 of 57
re Wachovia Preferred Securities and Bond/Notes Litigation, No. 09-cv-6351 (RJS) (S.D.N.Y.) ($627 

million recovery); In re: Lehman Brothers Securities and ERISA Litigation, Master File No. 09 MD 2017 

(LAK) (S.D.N.Y) (settled - $516,218,000); In re Satyam Computer Services Ltd. Sec. Litig., Master File 

No. 09 MD 02027 (BSJ) ($150.5 million settlement); In re Tenet Healthcare Corp., 02-CV-8462 (C.D. Cal. 

2002) (settled — $281.5 million); In re Initial Public Offering Sec. Litig., Master File No. 21 MC 92(SAS) 

($586 million settlement). 

Mr. Kessler is also currently serving as one of the Firm’s primary litigation partners in the Citigroup, 

JPMorgan, Hewlett Packard, Pfizer and Morgan Stanley securities litigation matters. 

In addition, Mr. Kessler often lectures and writes on securities litigation related topics and has been 

recognized as “Litigator of the Week” by the American Lawyer magazine for his work in connection with 

the Lehman Brothers securities litigation matter in December of 2011 and was honored by Benchmark as 

one of the preeminent plaintiffs practitioners in securities litigation throughout the country. Most recently 

Mr. Kessler co-authored The FindWhat.com Case: Acknowledging Policy Considerations When Deciding 

Issues of Causation in Securities Class Actions published in Securities Litigation Report. 

JAMES A. MARO, JR., a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the Firm’s case development 

department. He also has experience in the areas of consumer protection, ERISA, mergers and acquisitions, 

and shareholder derivative actions. Mr. Maro received his law degree from the Villanova University School 

of Law, and received a B.A. in Political Science from the Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Maro is licensed 

to practice law in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is admitted to practice in the United 

States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Eastern District 

of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey. 

JOSHUA A. MATERESE, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice at Kessler Topaz in the areas 

of securities and consumer protection litigation. Mr. Materese received his Juris Doctor from Temple 

University Beasley School of Law in 2012, graduating with honors. He received his undergraduate degree 

from the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Communications. Mr. Materese is licensed to practice 

in Pennsylvania and admitted to practice before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and 

Third Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the District 

of New Jersey, the District of Colorado, and the Northern District of Illinois. 

MARGARET E. MAZZEO, a partner of the Firm, focuses her practice on securities litigation. Ms. 

Mazzeo received her law degree, cum laude, from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she 

was a Beasley Scholar and a staff editor for the Temple Journal of Science, Technology, and Environmental 

Law. Ms. Mazzeo graduated with honors from Franklin and Marshall College. She is licensed to practice 

in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Ms. Mazzeo has been involved in several nationwide securities cases on behalf of investors, including In 

re Lehman Brothers Securities Litigation, No. 1:09-md-02017-LAK (S.D.N.Y.) ($616 million recovery); 

and David H. Luther, et al., v. Countrywide Financial Corp., et. al., 2:12-cv-05125 (C.D. Cal. 2012) (settled 

-- $500 million). Ms. Mazzeo also was a member of the trial team who won a jury verdict in favor of 

investors in the In re Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd. Securities Litigation, No. 11-cv-3658 (S.D.N.Y.) 

action. 

JAMIE M. MCCALL, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice on securities fraud litigation. Prior 

to joining the Firm, Mr. McCall spent twelve years with the Department of Justice in the U.S. Attorney’s 

Offices for Miami, Florida and Wilmington, Delaware, where he oversaw complex criminal investigations 

ranging from securities, tax, bank and wire frauds, to the theft of trade secrets and cybercrime, among 

others. 

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Mr. McCall has successfully tried numerous jury trials, including: United States v. Wilmington Trust Corp., 

et al., a seven-week securities fraud trial, which arose from financial conduct during the Great Recession, 

and resulted in both the conviction of four bank executives and a $60 million civil settlement to victimshareholders; and United States v. David Matusiewicz, et al., a five-week multi-defendant stalking-murder 

case, which stemmed from the 2013-shootout at the New Castle County Courthouse in Delaware, and 

resulted in first-in-the-nation convictions for “cyberstalking resulting in death” under the Violence Against 

Women Act. For his work on both of these cases, Mr. McCall was twice awarded the Director’s Award for 

Superior Performance by the Department of Justice. Most recently, Mr. McCall served as the section chief 

for the National Security and Cybercrime Division for the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office. 

Mr. McCall also spent several years practicing civil law at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphia, where 

he worked on major, high-stakes litigation matters involving Fortune 250 companies. Mr. McCall began 

his legal career as a Judge Advocate in the Marine Corps, working primarily as a prosecutor and achieving 

the rank of Captain. In 2004, Mr. McCall served for nearly five months as the principal legal advisor to 1st 

Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in and around Fallujah, Iraq, including during the First Battle of Fallujah. 

JOSEPH H. MELTZER, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the areas of ERISA, fiduciary 

and antitrust complex litigation. Mr. Meltzer received his law degree with honors from Temple University 

School of Law and is an honors graduate of the University of Maryland. Honors include being named a 

Pennsylvania Super Lawyer. Mr. Meltzer is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, 

the Supreme Court of the United States, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. 

Mr. Meltzer leads the Firm’s Fiduciary Litigation Group which has excelled in the highly specialized area 

of prosecuting cases involving breach of fiduciary duty claims. Mr. Meltzer has served as lead or co-lead 

counsel in numerous nationwide class actions brought under ERISA. Since founding the Fiduciary 

Litigation Group, Mr. Meltzer has helped recover hundreds of millions of dollars for clients and class 

members including some of the largest settlements in ERISA fiduciary breach actions. Mr. Meltzer 

represented the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo Laborers Security Fund in its action against J.P. Jeanneret 

Associates which involved a massive, fraudulent scheme orchestrated by Bernard L. Madoff, No. 09-3907 

(S.D.N.Y.). Mr. Meltzer also represented an institutional client in a fiduciary breach action against Wells 

Fargo for large losses sustained while Wachovia Bank and its subsidiaries, including Evergreen 

Investments, were managing the client’s investment portfolio. 

As part of his fiduciary litigation practice, Mr. Meltzer was actively involved in actions related to losses 

sustained in securities lending programs, including Bd. of Trustees of the AFTRA Ret. Fund v. JPMorgan 

Chase Bank, No. 09-00686 (S.D.N.Y.) ($150 million settlement) and CompSource Okla. v. BNY Mellon, 

No. 08-469 (E.D. OK) ($280 million settlement). In addition, Mr. Meltzer represented a publicly traded 

company in a large arbitration against AIG, Inc. related to securities lending losses, Transatlantic Holdings, 

Inc. v. AIG, No. 50-148T0037610 (AAA) ($75million settlement). 

A frequent lecturer on ERISA litigation, Mr. Meltzer is a member of the ABA and has been recognized by 

numerous courts for his ability and expertise in this complex area of the law. Mr. Meltzer is also a patron 

member of Public Justice and a member of the Class Action Preservation Committee. 

Mr. Meltzer also manages the Firm’s Antitrust and Pharmaceutical Pricing Groups. Here, Mr. Meltzer 

focuses on helping clients that have been injured by anticompetitive and unlawful business practices, 

including with respect to overcharges related to prescription drug and other health care expenditures. Mr. 

Meltzer served as co-lead counsel for direct purchasers in the Flonase Antitrust Litigation, No.08-3149 

(E.D. PA) ($150 million settlement) and has served as lead or co-lead counsel in numerous nationwide 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 39 of 57
actions. Mr. Meltzer also serves as a special assistant attorney general for the states of Montana, Utah and 

Alaska. Mr. Meltzer also lectures on issues related to antitrust litigation. 

MATTHEW L. MUSTOKOFF, a partner of the Firm, is an experienced securities and corporate 

governance litigator. He has represented clients at the trial and appellate level in numerous high-profile 

shareholder class actions and other litigations involving a wide array of matters, including financial fraud, 

market manipulation, mergers and acquisitions, fiduciary mismanagement of investment portfolios, and 

patent infringement. Mr. Mustokoff received his law degree from the Temple University School of Law, 

and is a Phi Beta Kappa honors graduate of Wesleyan University. At law school, Mr. Mustokoff was the 

articles and commentary editor of the Temple Political and Civil Rights Law Review and the recipient of 

the Raynes, McCarty, Binder, Ross and Mundy Graduation Prize for scholarly achievement in the law. He 

is admitted to practice before the state courts of New York and Pennsylvania, the United States District 

Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the 

District of Colorado, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh and Federal Circuits. 

Mr. Mustokoff is currently prosecuting several nationwide securities cases on behalf of U.S. and overseas 

institutional investors, including In re JPMorgan Chase Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.), arising out of the 

“London Whale” derivatives trading scandal which led to over $6 billion in losses in the bank’s proprietary 

trading portfolio. He serves as lead counsel for six public pension funds in the multi-district securities 

litigation against BP in Texas federal court stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf 

of Mexico. He successfully argued the opposition to BP’s motion to dismiss, resulting in a landmark 

decision sustaining fraud claims under English law for purchasers of BP shares on the London Stock 

Exchange. 

Mr. Mustokoff also played a major role in prosecuting In re Citigroup Bond Litigation (S.D.N.Y.), 

involving allegations that Citigroup concealed its exposure to subprime mortgage debt on the eve of the 

2008 financial crisis. The $730 million settlement marks the second largest recovery under Section 11 of 

the Securities Act in the history of the statute. Mr. Mustokoff’s significant courtroom experience includes 

serving as one of the lead trial lawyers for shareholders in the only securities fraud class action arising out 

of the financial crisis to be tried to jury verdict. In addition to his trial practice in federal courts, he has 

successfully tried cases before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). 

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Mustokoff practiced at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York, where 

he represented public companies and financial institutions in SEC enforcement and white collar criminal 

matters, shareholder litigation and contested bankruptcy proceedings. 

SHARAN NIRMUL, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities, consumer 

and fiduciary class litigation, principally representing the interests of plaintiffs in class action and complex 

commercial litigation. Mr. Nirmul has represented clients in federal and state courts and in alternative 

dispute resolution forums. Mr. Nirmul received his law degree from The George Washington University 

Law School (J.D. 2001) where he served as an articles editor for the Environmental Lawyer Journal and 

was a member of the Moot Court Board. He was awarded the school’s Lewis Memorial Award for 

excellence in clinical practice. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University (B.S. 1996). 

Mr. Nirmul is admitted to practice law in the Second and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in the state 

courts of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, and in the U.S. District Courts for the 

Southern District of New York, District of New Jersey, and District of Delaware. 

Mr. Nirmul has represented institutional investors in a number of notable securities class action cases. These 

include In re Bank of America Securities Litigation, a case which represents the sixth largest recovery for 

shareholders under the federal securities laws ($2.45 billion settlement) and which included significant 

corporate governance enhancements at Bank of America; In re Global Crossing Securities Litigation

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 40 of 57
(recovery of over $450 million); In re Delphi Securities Litigation ($284 million settlement with Delphi, 

its former officers and directors and underwriters, and a separate $38.25 million settlement with the 

auditors); and Satyam Computer Services Securities Litigation, ($150.5 million settlement). 

Mr. Nirmul has also been at the forefront of litigation on behalf of investors who suffered losses through 

fraud, breach of fiduciary and breach of contract by their custodians and investment fiduciaries. In a matter 

before the American Arbitration Association, Mr. Nirmul represented a publicly traded reinsurance 

company in a breach of contract and breach of fiduciary suit against its former controlling shareholder and 

fiduciary investment manager, arising out of its participation and losses through a securities lending 

program and securing a $70 million recovery. Mr. Nirmul is also presently litigating breach of contract and 

Trust Indenture Act claims against the trustees of mortgage backed securities issued by Washington Mutual 

(Washington State Investments Board et al v. Bank of America National Association et al) on behalf of 

several state public pension funds. In connection with a scheme to manipulate foreign exchange rates 

assigned to its custodial clients, Mr. Nirmul is a member of the team litigating a consumer class action 

asserting contractual and fiduciary duty claims against BNY Mellon in the Southern District of New York 

(In re BNY Mellon Forex Litigation). 

Mr. Nirmul regularly speaks on matters affecting institutional investors at conferences and symposiums. 

He has been a speaker and/or panelist at the annual Rights and Responsibilities of Institutional Investors in 

Amsterdam, The Netherlands and annual Evolving Fiduciary Obligations of Pension Plans in Washington, 

D.C. 

JUSTIN O. RELIFORD, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisition 

litigation and shareholder derivative litigation. Mr. Reliford graduated from the University of Pennsylvania 

Law School in 2007 and received his B.A. from Williams College in 2003, majoring in Psychology with a 

concentration in Leadership Studies. Mr. Reliford is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bars, 

and he is admitted to practice in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 

and the District of New Jersey. 

 

Mr. Reliford has extensive experience representing clients in connection with nationwide class and 

collective actions. Most notably, Mr. Reliford, was part of the trial team In re Dole Food Co., Inc. 

Stockholder Litig., C.A. No. 8703-VCL, that won a trial verdict in favor of Dole stockholders for $148 

million. Mr. Reliford also obtained a favorable recovery for an institutional investor in a securities class 

action In re Allergan, Inc. Proxy Violation Securities Litigation, No. 8:14-cv-02004 (C.D. Cal. 2018), which 

challenged a brazen insider trading scheme by Valeant Pharmaceuticals to tip Bill Ackman’s hedge fund 

Pershing Square Capital that it intended to launch a hostile takeover attempt to buy rival pharma company 

Allergan. After three years, the case settled weeks before trial for $250 million. He also litigated In re GFI 

Group, Inc. Stockholder Litig. Consol. C.A. No. 10136-VCL (Del. Ch.) ($10.75 million cash settlement); 

In re Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. Stockholders Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 10865-VCG (Del. Ch.) ($32.5 

million settlement); and In re Harleysville Mutual (CCP, Phila. Cnty. 2012) (an expedited merger litigation 

case challenging Harleysville’s agreement to sell the company to Nationwide Insurance Company, which 

lead to a $26 million cash payment to policyholders). Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Reliford was an 

associate in the labor and employment practice group of Morgan Lewis & Bockius, LLP. There, Mr. 

Reliford concentrated his practice on employee benefits, fiduciary, and workplace discrimination litigation. 

LEE D. RUDY, a partner of the Firm, manages the Firm’s mergers and acquisition and shareholder 

derivative litigation. Mr. Rudy received his law degree from Fordham University, and his undergraduate 

degree, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Rudy is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania 

and New York. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 41 of 57
Representing both institutional and individual shareholders in these actions, he has helped cause significant 

monetary and corporate governance improvements for those companies and their shareholders. Mr. Rudy 

also co-chairs the Firm’s qui tam and whistleblower practices, where he represents whistleblowers before 

administrative agencies and in court. Mr. Rudy regularly practices in the Delaware Court of Chancery, 

where he served as co-lead trial counsel in the landmark case of In re S. Peru Copper Corp. S’holder 

Derivative Litig., C.A. No. 961-CS, a $2 billion trial verdict against Southern Peru’s majority shareholder. 

He previously served as lead counsel in dozens of high profile derivative actions relating to the “backdating” 

of stock options. Mr. Rudy also obtained a favorable recovery for an institutional investor in a securities 

class action In re Allergan, Inc. Proxy Violation Securities Litigation, No. 8:14-cv-02004 (C.D. Cal. 2018), 

which challenged a brazen insider trading scheme by Valeant Pharmaceuticals to tip Bill Ackman’s hedge 

fund Pershing Square Capital that it intended to launch a hostile takeover attempt to buy rival pharma 

company Allergan. After three years, the case settled weeks before trial for $250 million. In addition, Mr. 

Rudy represented stockholders in obtaining substantial recoveries in numerous shareholder derivative and 

class actions, many of which resulted in significant monetary relief, including: In re Facebook, Inc. Class 

C Reclassification Litigation, C.A. No. 12286-VCL (Del. Ch. Sept. 25, 2017) (KTMC challenged a 

proposed reclassification of Facebook's stock structure as harming the company's public stockholders. 

Facebook abandoned the proposal just one business day before trial was to commence; granting Plaintiffs 

complete victory); City of Daytona Beach Police and Fire Pension Fund v. ExamWorks Group, Inc., et al., 

C.A. No. 12481-VCL (Del. Ch. Sept. 12, 2017) ($86.5 million settlement relating to the acquisition of 

ExamWorks Group, Inc. by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, LP.); Quinn v. Knight, No. 3:16-

cv-610 (E.D. Va. Mar. 16, 2017) (class action settling just ten days before trial, with stockholders receiving 

an additional $32 million in merger consideration); In re MPG Office Trust, Inc. Preferred Shareholder 

Litigation, Cons. Case No. 24-C-13-004097 (Md. Cir. Oct. 20, 2015) (Kessler Topaz negotiated a settlement 

where MPG preferred stockholders received a dividend of $2.25 per share, worth approximately $21 

million); In re Harleysville Mutual (CCP, Phila. Cnty. 2012) (an expedited merger litigation case 

challenging Harleysville’s agreement to sell the company to Nationwide Insurance Company, which lead 

to a $26 million cash payment to policyholders); and In re Amicas, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, 10-0174-

BLS2 (Suffolk County, MA 2010) (Kessler Topaz prevailed in securing a preliminary injunction against 

the deal, which allowed a superior bidder to purchase the Company for an additional $0.70 per share ($26 

million)). 

Prior to civil practice, Mr. Rudy served for several years as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan 

(NY) District Attorney’s Office, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the US Attorney’s Office 

(DNJ). 

RICHARD A. RUSSO, JR., a partner of the Firm, focuses his practice on securities litigation. Mr. Russo 

received his law degree from the Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he graduated cum laude 

and was a member of the Temple Law Review, and graduated cum laude from Villanova University, where 

he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Mr. Russo is licensed to practice in 

Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Mr. Russo has represented individual and institutional investors in obtaining significant recoveries in 

numerous class actions arising under the federal securities laws, including In re Bank of America Corp. 

Securities, Derivative, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Litigation, No. 09 MDL 

2058 (S.D.N.Y.) (settled -- $2.425 billion), In re Citigroup Bond Litigation, No. 08-cv-09522-SHS 

(S.D.N.Y.) ($730 million recovery), In re Lehman Brothers Securities Litigation, No. 1:09-md-02017-LAK 

(S.D.N.Y.) ($616 million recovery).

MARC A. TOPAZ, a partner of the Firm, oversees the Firm’s derivative, transactional and case 

development departments. Mr. Topaz received his law degree from Temple University School of Law, 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 42 of 57
where he was an editor of the Temple Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. He also 

received his Master of Law (L.L.M.) in taxation from the New York University School of Law, where he 

served as an editor of the New York University Tax Law Review. He is licensed to practice law in 

Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and has been admitted to practice before the United States District Court for 

the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Topaz has been heavily involved in all of the Firm’s cases related to the subprime mortgage crisis, 

including cases seeking recovery on behalf of shareholders in companies affected by the subprime crisis, 

as well as cases seeking recovery for 401K plan participants that have suffered losses in their retirement 

plans. Mr. Topaz has also played an instrumental role in the Firm’s option backdating litigation. These 

cases, which are pled mainly as derivative claims or as securities law violations, have served as an important 

vehicle both for re-pricing erroneously issued options and providing for meaningful corporate governance 

changes. In his capacity as the Firm’s department leader of case initiation and development, Mr. Topaz has 

been involved in many of the Firm’s most prominent cases, including In re Initial Public Offering Sec. 

Litig., Master File No. 21 MC 92(SAS) (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 12, 2002); Wanstrath v. Doctor R. Crants, et al., 

No. 99-1719-111 (Tenn. Chan. Ct., 20th Judicial District, 1999); In re Tyco International, Ltd. Sec. Lit., 

No. 02-1335-B (D.N.H. 2002) (settled — $3.2 billion); and virtually all of the 80 options backdating cases 

in which the Firm is serving as Lead or Co-Lead Counsel. Mr. Topaz has played an important role in the 

Firm’s focus on remedying breaches of fiduciary duties by corporate officers and directors and improving 

corporate governance practices of corporate defendants. 

MELISSA L. TROUTNER, a partner of the Firm, concentrates her practice on new matter development 

with a specific focus on analyzing securities class action lawsuits, antitrust actions, and complex consumer 

actions. Ms. Troutner is also a member of the Firm’s Consumer Protection group. Ms. Troutner received 

her law degree, Order of the Coif, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2002 and 

her Bachelor of Arts, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University in 1999. Ms. Troutner 

is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware. 

 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Ms. Troutner practiced as a litigator with several large defense firms, 

focusing on complex commercial, products liability and patent litigation, and clerked for the Honorable 

Stanley S. Brotman, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey. 

JOHNSTON de F. WHITMAN, JR., a partner of the Firm, focuses his practice on securities litigation, 

primarily in federal court. Mr. Whitman received his law degree from Fordham University School of Law, 

where he was a member of the Fordham International Law Journal, and graduated cum laude from Colgate 

University. He is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New York., and is admitted to practice in courts 

around the country, including the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second, Third, and Fourth Circuits. 

Mr. Whitman has represented institutional investors in obtaining substantial recoveries in numerous 

securities fraud class actions, including: (i) In re Bank of America Securities Litigation, a case which 

represents the sixth largest recovery for shareholders under the federal securities laws (settled --$2.425 

billion); (ii) In re Royal Ahold Sec. Litig., No. 03-md-01539 (D. Md. 2003) ($1.1 billion settlement); (iii) 

In re DaimlerChrysler AG Sec. Litig., No. 00-0993 (D. Del. 2000) ($300 million settlement); (iv) In re 

Dollar General, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 01-cv-0388 (M.D. Tenn. 2001) ( $162 million settlement); and (v) In 

re JPMorgan Chase & Co. Securities Litigation, No. 12-3852-GBD (“London Whale Litigation”) ($150 

million recovery). Mr. Whitman has also obtained favorable recoveries for institutional investors pursuing 

direct securities fraud claims, including cases against Merck & Co., Inc., Qwest Communications 

International, Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. In addition, Mr. Whitman represented a publicly traded 

company in a large arbitration against AIG, Inc. related to securities lending losses, Transatlantic Holdings, 

Inc. v. AIG, No. 50-148T0037610 (AAA) ($75million settlement). 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 43 of 57
ROBIN WINCHESTER, a partner of the Firm, concentrated her practice in the areas of securities 

litigation and lead plaintiff litigation, when she joined the Firm. Presently, Ms. Winchester concentrates her 

practice in the area of shareholder derivative actions. Ms. Winchester earned her Juris Doctor degree from 

Villanova University School of Law, and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from St. 

Joseph’s University. Ms. Winchester is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Ms. Winchester served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert F. Kelly in 

the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

Ms. Winchester has served as lead counsel in numerous high-profile derivative actions relating to the 

backdating of stock options, including In re Eclipsys Corp. Derivative Litigation, Case No. 07-80611-CivMIDDLEBROOKS (S.D. Fla.); In re Juniper Derivative Actions, Case No. 5:06-cv-3396-JW (N.D. Cal.); 

In re McAfee Derivative Litigation, Master File No. 5:06-cv-03484-JF (N.D. Cal.); In re Quest Software, 

Inc. Derivative Litigation, Consolidated Case No. 06CC00115 (Cal. Super. Ct., Orange County); and In re 

Sigma Designs, Inc. Derivative Litigation, Master File No. C-06-4460-RMW (N.D. Cal.). Settlements of 

these, and similar, actions have resulted in significant monetary returns and corporate governance 

improvements for those companies, which, in turn, greatly benefits their public shareholders. 

ERIC L. ZAGAR, a partner of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of shareholder derivative 

litigation. Mr. Zagar received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, cum laude, 

where he was an Associate Editor of the Michigan Law Review, and his undergraduate degree from 

Washington University in St. Louis. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, California and New York. 

Mr. Zagar previously served as a law clerk to Justice Sandra Schultz Newman of the Pennsylvania Supreme 

Court. 

Since 2001 Mr. Zagar has served as Lead or Co-Lead counsel in hundreds of derivative actions in courts 

throughout the nation. He was a member of the trial team in the landmark case of In re S. Peru Copper 

Corp. S’holder Derivative Litig., C.A. No. 961-CS, a $2 billion trial verdict against Southern Peru’s 

majority shareholder. Mr. Zagar has successfully achieved significant monetary and corporate governance 

relief for the benefit of shareholders, and has extensive experience litigating matters involving Special 

Litigation Committees. 

TERENCE S. ZIEGLER, a partner of the Firm, concentrates a significant percentage of his practice to 

the investigation and prosecution of pharmaceutical antitrust actions, medical device litigation, and related 

anticompetitive and unfair business practice claims. Mr. Ziegler received his law degree from the Tulane 

University School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University. Mr. Ziegler is 

licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and the State of Louisiana, and has been admitted to practice before 

several courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

Mr. Ziegler has represented investors, consumers and other clients in obtaining substantial recoveries, 

including: In re Flonase Antitrust Litigation; In re Wellbutrin SR Antitrust Litigation; In re Modafinil 

Antitrust Litigation; In re Guidant Corp. Implantable Defibrillators Products Liability Litigation (against 

manufacturers of defective medical devices — pacemakers/implantable defibrillators — seeking costs of 

removal and replacement); and In re Actiq Sales and Marketing Practices Litigation (regarding drug 

manufacturer’s unlawful marketing, sales and promotional activities for non-indicated and unapproved 

uses). 

ANDREW L. ZIVITZ, a partner of the Firm, received his law degree from Duke University School of 

Law, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree, with distinction, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

Mr. Zivitz is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 44 of 57
Drawing on two decades of litigation experience, Mr. Zivitz concentrates his practice in the area of 

securities litigation and is currently litigating several of the largest federal securities fraud class actions in 

the U.S. Andy is skilled in all aspects of complex litigation, from developing and implementing strategies, 

to conducting merits and expert discovery, to negotiating resolutions. He has represented dozens of major 

institutional investors in securities class actions and has helped the firm recover more than $1 billion for 

damaged clients and class members in numerous securities fraud matters in which Kessler Topaz was Lead 

or Co-Lead Counsel, including David H. Luther, et al., v. Countrywide Financial Corp., et. al., 2:12-cv05125 (C.D.Cal. 2012) (settled -- $500 million); In re Pfizer Sec. Litig., 1:04-cv-09866 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) 

(settled -- $486 million); In re Tenet Healthcare Corp., 02-CV-8462 (C.D. Cal. 2002) (settled — $281.5 

million); In re JPMorgan Chase & Co. Securities Litigation, No. 12-3852-GBD (“London Whale 

Litigation”) ($150 million recovery); In re Computer Associates Sec. Litig., No. 02-CV-122 6 (E.D.N.Y. 

2002) (settled — $150 million); In re Hewlett-Packard Sec. Litig., 12-cv-05980 (N.D.Cal. 2012) (settled -

- $100 million); and In re Minneapolis Firefighters’ Relief Association v. Medtronic, Inc., No. 08-cv-06324-

PAM-AJB (D. Minn.) (settled -- $ 85 million). 

Andy’s extensive courtroom experience serves his clients well in trial situations, as well as pre-trial 

proceedings and settlement negotiations. He served as one of the lead plaintiffs’ attorneys in the only 

securities fraud class action arising out of the financial crisis to be tried to a jury verdict, has handled a 

Daubert trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and successfully argued 

back-to-back appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Before joining Kessler Topaz, Andy 

worked at the international law firm Drinker Biddle and Reath, primarily representing defendants in large, 

complex litigation. His experience on the defense side of the bar provides a unique perspective in 

prosecuting complex plaintiffs’ litigation. 

COUNSEL 

JENNIFER L. ENCK, Counsel to the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities litigation 

and settlement matters. Ms. Enck received her law degree, cum laude, from Syracuse University College 

of Law, where she was a member of the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, and her 

undergraduate degree in International Politics/International Studies from The Pennsylvania State 

University. Ms. Enck also received a Master’s degree in International Relations from Syracuse University’s 

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and has been 

admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third and Eleventh Circuits and the 

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

Ms. Enck has been involved in documenting and obtaining the required court approval for many of the 

firm’s largest and most complex securities class action settlements, including In re Bank of America Corp. 

Securities, Derivative, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Litigation, No. 09 MDL 

2058 (S.D.N.Y.) (settled -- $2.425 billion); David H. Luther, et al., v. Countrywide Financial Corp., et. al., 

2:12-cv-05125 (C.D. Cal. 2012) (settled -- $500 million); In re: Lehman Brothers Securities and ERISA 

Litigation, Master File No. 09 MD 2017 (LAK) (S.D.N.Y) (settled - $516,218,000); and In re Satyam 

Computer Services Ltd. Sec. Litig., Master File No. 09 MD 02027 (BSJ) ($150.5 million settlement). 

ERIC K. GERARD, counsel to the Firm, is a former federal prosecutor and experienced trial lawyer whose 

practice focuses on securities fraud, antitrust, and consumer protection litigation. Eric received his law 

degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, earning Order of the Coif honors while completing 

a master’s degree in international economics at the Johns Hopkins University. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 45 of 57
Before joining Kessler Topaz, Eric served an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District 

Attorney’s Office, as a civil litigator at an international law firm in Houston and a prominent boutique in 

New Orleans, and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida. He has tried a range of complex cases to verdict, 

including international money laundering, wire fraud conspiracy, securities counterfeiting, identity theft, 

obstruction of justice, extraterritorial child exploitation, civil healthcare liability claims, and murder-forhire. 

LISA LAMB PORT, Counsel to the Firm, concentrates her practice on consumer, antitrust, and securities 

fraud class actions. Ms. Lamb Port received her law degree, Order of the Coif, summa cum laude, from the 

Villanova University School of Law in 2003 and her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Princeton 

University in 2000. Ms. Lamb Port is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth Pennsylvania. 

 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Ms. Lamb Port was a partner at another class action firm, where she 

represented institutional and individual investors in securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and 

shareholder derivative cases, as well as in litigation resulting from mergers and acquisitions. 

DONNA SIEGEL MOFFA, Counsel to the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of consumer 

protection litigation. Ms. Siegel Moffa received her law degree, with honors, from Georgetown University 

Law Center in May 1982 and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers, the State University 

of New Jersey, Graduate School-Camden in January 2017. She received her undergraduate degree, cum 

laude, from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Ms. Siegel Moffa is admitted to practice before the 

Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Courts for the District of New Jersey and the District of 

Columbia, as well as the Supreme Court of New Jersey and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. 

Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Siegel Moffa was a member of the law firm of Trujillo, Rodriguez & Richards, 

LLC, where she litigated, and served as co-lead counsel, in complex class actions arising under federal and 

state consumer protection statutes, lending laws and laws governing contracts and employee compensation. 

Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Siegel Moffa worked at both the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (FERC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). At the FTC, she prosecuted cases 

involving allegations of deceptive and unsubstantiated advertising. In addition, both at FERC and the FTC, 

Ms. Siegel Moffa was involved in a wide range of administrative and regulatory issues including labeling 

and marketing claims, compliance, FOIA and disclosure obligations, employment matters, licensing and 

rulemaking proceedings. 

Ms. Siegel Moffa served as co-lead counsel for the class in Robinson v. Thorn Americas, Inc., L-03697-94 

(Law Div. 1995), a case that resulted in a significant monetary recovery for consumers and changes to rentto-own contracts in New Jersey. Ms. Siegel Moffa was also counsel in Muhammad v. County Bank of 

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, 189 N.J. 1 (2006), U.S. Sup. Ct. cert. denied, 127 S. Ct. 2032(2007), in which 

the New Jersey Supreme Court struck a class action ban in a consumer arbitration contract. She has served 

as class counsel representing consumers pressing TILA claims, e.g. Cannon v. Cherry Hill Toyota, Inc., 

184 F.R.D. 540 (D.N.J. 1999), and Dal Ponte v. Am. Mortg. Express Corp., CV- 04-2152 (D.N.J. 2006), 

and has pursued a wide variety of claims that impact consumers and individuals including those involving 

predatory and sub-prime lending, mandatory arbitration clauses, price fixing, improper medical billing 

practices, the marketing of light cigarettes and employee compensation. Ms. Siegel Moffa’s practice has 

involved significant appellate work representing individuals, classes, and non-profit organizations 

participating as amicus curiae, such as the National Consumer Law Center and the AARP. In addition, Ms. 

Siegel Moffa has regularly addressed consumer protection and litigation issues in presentations to 

organizations and professional associations. 

MICHELLE M. NEWCOMER, Counsel to the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Ms. Newcomer earned her law degree from Villanova University School of Law in 2005, and 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 46 of 57
earned her B.B.A. in Finance and Art History from Loyola University Maryland in 2002. Ms. Newcomer 

is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey and has been 

admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 

Second, Ninth and Tenth Circuits, and the United States District Court for the Districts of New Jersey and 

Colorado. 

Ms. Newcomer has represented shareholders in numerous securities class actions in which the Firm has 

served as Lead or Co-Lead Counsel, through all aspects of pre-trial proceedings, including complaint 

drafting, litigating motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, conducting document, deposition and 

expert discovery, and appeal. Ms. Newcomer also has been involved in the Firm’s securities class action 

trials, including most recently serving as part of the trial team in the Longtop Financial Technologies 

securities class action trial that resulted in a jury verdict on liability and damages in favor of investors. Ms. 

Newcomer began her legal career with the Firm in 2005. Prior to joining the Firm, she was a summer law 

clerk for the Hon. John T.J. Kelly, Jr. of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. 

Ms. Newcomer’s representative cases include: In re Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd. Sec. Litig. No. 

11-cv-3658 (SAS) (S.D.N.Y.) – obtained on behalf of investors a jury verdict on liability and damages 

against the company’s former CFO; re Lehman Brothers Securities Litigation, No. 1:09-md-02017-LAK 

(S.D.N.Y.) ($616 million recovery); In re Pfizer, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 04-9866-LTS (S.D.N.Y.) – represents 

three of the court-appointed class representatives, and serves as additional counsel for the class in securities 

fraud class action based on alleged misrepresentations and omissions concerning cardiovascular risks 

associated with Celebrex® and Bextra®, which survived Defendants’ motion for summary judgment; 

Connecticut Retirement Plans & Trust Funds et al. v. BP p.l.c. et al. (S.D. Tex.) – represents several public 

pension funds in direct action asserting claims under Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5, for purchases of BP 

ADRs on the NYSE, and under English law for purchasers of BP ordinary shares on the London Stock 

Exchange, which recently survived Defendants’ motion to dismiss; litigation is ongoing. 

ASSOCIATES & STAFF ATTORNEYS 

ASHER S. ALAVI, an associate of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of qui tam litigation. Mr. 

Alavi received his law degree, cum laude, from Boston College Law School in 2011 where he served as 

Note Editor for the Boston College Journal of Law & Social Justice. He received his undergraduate degree 

in Communication Studies and Political Science from Northwestern University in 2007. Mr. Alavi is 

licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Alavi was an 

associate with Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti LLP in Philadelphia, where he worked on a 

variety of whistleblower and healthcare matters. 

SARA A. ALSALEH, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Ms. Alsaleh earned her Juris Doctor degree from Widener University School of Law in 

Wilmington, Delaware, and her undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University. Ms. Alsaleh is 

admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

During law school, Ms. Alsaleh interned at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Delaware 

Department of Justice in the Consumer Protection & Fraud Division where she was heavily involved in 

protecting consumers within a wide variety of subject areas. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Alsaleh practiced 

in the areas of pharmaceutical & health law litigation, and was an Associate at a general practice firm in 

Bensalem, Pennsylvania. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 47 of 57
DANIEL M. BAKER, an associate of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the areas of merger and 

acquisition litigation and shareholder derivative actions. Through his practice, Mr. Baker helps institutional 

and individual shareholders obtain significant financial recoveries and corporate governance reforms. 

While in law school, Mr. Baker interned at the Securities Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry 

Regulatory Authority. Mr. Baker was also a member of the Villanova Law Review, and served as Online 

Articles Editor. 

LaMARLON R. BARKSDALE, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of 

securities litigation. Mr. Barksdale received his law degree from Temple University, James E. Beasley 

School of Law in 2005 and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from the University of Delaware in 2001. 

He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and has been admitted to practice before the United States 

District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Barksdale worked in complex pharmaceutical litigation, commercial 

litigation, criminal law and bankruptcy law.

ADRIENNE BELL, an associate of the Firm, focuses her practice on case development and client 

relations. Ms. Bell received her law degree from Brooklyn Law School and her undergraduate degree in 

Music Theory and Composition from New York University, where she graduated magna cum laude. Ms. 

Bell is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Bell practiced in the areas of 

entertainment law and commercial litigation. 

MATTHEW BENEDICT, an associate of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of mergers and 

acquisitions litigation and shareholder derivative litigation. Mr. Benedict earned his law degree from 

Villanova University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Haverford College. He is licensed 

to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

ELIZABETH WATSON CALHOUN, a staff attorney of the Firm, focuses on securities litigation. She 

has represented investors in major securities fraud and has also represented shareholders in derivative and 

direct shareholder litigation. Ms. Calhoun received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center 

(cum laude), where she served as Executive Editor of the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law. She 

received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Maine, Orono (with high 

distinction). Ms. Calhoun is admitted to practice before the state court of Pennsylvania and the U.S. District 

Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Calhoun was employed with 

the Wilmington, Delaware law firm of Grant & Eisenhofer, P.A. 

KEVIN E.T. CUNNINGHAM, JR. an associate of the Firm, and focuses his practice in securities 

litigation. Kevin is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law. Prior to joining the Firm, 

Kevin served as a law clerk for the Hon. Judge Paula Dow of the New Jersey Superior Court, Burlington 

County - Chancery Division. Kevin also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Brian A. Jackson of the United 

States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. Kevin is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. 

QUIANA CHAPMAN-SMITH, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of 

securities litigation. She received her law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 

Pennsylvania and her Bachelor of Science in Management and Organizations from The Pennsylvania State 

University. Ms. Chapman-Smith is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Prior 

to joining Kessler Topaz, she worked in pharmaceutical litigation. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 48 of 57
THERESA M. DEANGELIS, an associate of the Firm, concentrates her practice in Whistleblower 

Litigation. Ms. DeAngelis received her law degree from Penn State Law in 2018 and her undergraduate 

degree from Penn State University in 2014. Ms. DeAngelis is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. 

ELIZABETH DRAGOVICH, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of 

securities litigation. Ms. Dragovich received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law 

School in 2002, and her undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1999. Ms. Dragovich is 

licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Elizabeth was a staff attorney with 

the Wilmington, Delaware law firm of Grant & Eisenhofer, P.A.

STEPHEN J. DUSKIN, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of antitrust 

litigation. Mr. Duskin received his law degree from Rutgers School of Law at Camden in 1985, and his 

undergraduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Rochester in 1976. Mr. Duskin is licensed to 

practice law in Pennsylvania. 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Duskin practiced corporate and securities law in private practice and in 

corporate legal departments, and also worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the 

Resolution Trust Corporation. 

DONNA EAGLESON, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation discovery matters. She received her law degree from the University of Dayton School of Law in 

Dayton, Ohio. Ms. Eagleson is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania. 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Ms. Eagleson worked as an attorney in the law enforcement field, and 

practiced insurance defense law with the Philadelphia firm Margolis Edelstein. 

PATRICK J. EDDIS, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of corporate 

governance litigation. Mr. Eddis received his law degree from Temple University School of Law in 2002 

and his undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont in 1995. Mr. Eddis is licensed to practice in 

Pennsylvania. 

 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Eddis was a Deputy Public Defender with the Bucks County Office of 

the Public Defender. Before that, Mr. Eddis was an attorney with Pepper Hamilton LLP, where he worked 

on various pharmaceutical and commercial matters. 

KIMBERLY V. GAMBLE, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation. She received her law degree from Widener University, School of Law in Wilmington, DE. While 

in law school, she was a CASA/Youth Advocates volunteer and had internships with the Delaware County 

Public Defender’s Office as well as The Honorable Judge Ann Osborne in Media, Pennsylvania. She 

received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from The Pennsylvania State University. Ms. Gamble is 

licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, she worked 

in pharmaceutical litigation. 

GRANT D. GOODHART, an associate of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the areas of mergers and 

acquisitions litigation and stockholder derivative actions. Mr. Goodhart received his law degree, cum laude, 

from Temple University Beasley School of Law and his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from the 

University of Pittsburgh. He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

TYLER S. GRADEN, an associate of the Firm, focuses his practice on consumer protection and 

whistleblower litigation. Mr. Graden received his Juris Doctor degree from Temple Law School and his 

undergraduate degrees in Economics and International Relations from American University. Mr. Graden is 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 49 of 57
licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has been admitted to practice before numerous 

United States District Courts. 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Graden practiced with a Philadelphia law firm where he litigated various 

complex commercial matters, and also served as an investigator with the Chicago District Office of the 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

Mr. Graden has represented individuals and institutional investors in obtaining substantial recoveries in 

numerous class actions, including Board of Trustees of the Buffalo Laborers Security Fund v. J.P. Jeanneret 

Associates, Inc., Case No. 09 Civ. 8362 (S.D.N.Y.) (settled - $219 million); Board of Trustees of the AFTRA 

Retirement Fund v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA., Case No. 09 Civ. 0686 (S.D.N.Y.) (settled - $150 million); 

In re Merck & Co., Inc. Vytorin ERISA Litig., Case No. 09 Civ. 197 4 (D.N.J.) (settled - $10.4 million); and 

In re 2008 Fannie Mae ERISA Litigation, Case No. 09-cv-1350 (S.D.N.Y.) (settled - $9 million). Mr. 

Graden has also obtained favorable recoveries on behalf of multiple, nationwide classes of borrowers whose 

insurance was force-placed by their mortgage servicers. 

STACEY A. GREENSPAN, an associate of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the areas of merger and 

acquisition litigation and shareholder derivative actions. Ms. Greenspan received her law degree from 

Temple University in 2007 and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 2001, with 

honors. Ms. Greenspan is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. 

 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Ms. Greenspan served as an Assistant Public Defender in Philadelphia for 

almost a decade, litigating hundreds of trials to verdict. Ms. Greenspan also worked at the Trial and Capital 

Habeas Units of the Federal Community Defender Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania throughout 

law school. At Kessler Topaz, she has assisted the Firm in obtaining a substantial recovery in a large class 

action on behalf of an institutional client in City of Daytona Beach Police and Fire Pension Fund v. 

ExamWorks Group, Inc., et al., C.A. No. 12481-VCL (Del. Ch. Sept. 12, 2017) ($86.5 million settlement 

relating to the acquisition of ExamWorks Group, Inc. by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, 

LP.). In addition, Ms. Greenspan served as co-lead counsel in In re Ebix, Inc. S’holder Litig., Consol. C.A. 

No. 8526-VCS (Del. Ch. Apr. 5, 2019), a case that challenged an improper executive bonus worth $825 

million for the company’s CEO. After five years of hard fought litigation and a trial the case settled for 

corporate governance measures and an amendment to the CEO’s stock appreciation rights agreement. 

KEITH S. GREENWALD, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Mr. Greenwald received his law degree from Temple University, Beasley School of Law in 2013 

and his undergraduate degree in History, summa cum laude, from Temple University in 2004. Mr. 

Greenwald is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania. 

 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Greenwald was a contract attorney on various projects in Philadelphia 

and was at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, at The Hague in The Netherlands, 

working in international criminal law. 

JOHN J. GROSSI, a staff attorney at the Firm, focuses his practice on securities litigation. Mr. Grossi 

received his law degree from Widener University Delaware School of Law and graduated cum laude from 

Curry College. He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Firm as a Staff Attorney, 

Mr. Grossi was employed in the Firm’s internship program as a Summer Law Clerk, where he was also a 

member of the securities fraud department. 

During his time as a Summer Law Clerk, Mr. Grossi conducted legal research for several securities fraud 

class actions on behalf of shareholders, including Bank of America related to its acquisition of Merrill 

Lynch, Lehman Brothers, St. Jude Medical and NII Holdings. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 50 of 57
NATHAN A. HASIUK, an associate of the Firm, concentrates his practice on securities litigation. Mr. 

Hasiuk received his law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law, and graduated summa cum 

laude from Temple University. He is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has been 

admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Prior to joining 

the Firm, Mr. Hasiuk was an Assistant Public Defender in Philadelphia. 

EVAN R. HOEY, an associate of the Firm, focuses his practice on securities litigation. Mr. Hoey received 

his law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he graduated cum laude, and 

graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University. He is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and 

is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

SUFEI HU, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities litigation. She 

received her J.D. from Villanova University School of Law, where she was a member of the Moot Court 

Board. Ms. Hu received her undergraduate degree from Haverford College in Political Science, with honors. 

She is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and is admitted to the United States District 

Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Hu worked in pharmaceutical, 

anti-trust, and securities law. 

JORDAN JACOBSON, an associate of the Firm, concentrates her practice in securities litigation. Ms. 

Jacobson received her law degree from Georgetown University in 2014 and her undergraduate degrees in 

history and political science from Arizona State University in 2011. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Jacobson 

clerked for the honorable Deborah J. Saltzman, United States Bankruptcy Judge, in the Central District of 

California. Ms. Jacobson was also previously an associate at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, and an attorney in 

the General Counsel’s office of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in Washington, D.C. Ms. 

Jacobson is licensed to practice law in California and Virginia and will sit for the July 2020 Pennsylvania 

bar exam. 

RAPHAEL JANOVE, an associate of the Firm represents investors and consumers in securities litigation 

and class actions. Mr. Janove started his career at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York City, where he 

defended large financial institutions in antitrust class-actions, FINRA arbitrations, and government 

investigations. Most recently, he worked at a litigation boutique in Chicago, representing a major fossilfuel refiner in nationwide global-warming nuisance lawsuits, defending one of the country’s largest 

agricultural cooperatives in a billion dollar class action, and pursuing multimillion dollar claims on behalf 

of his clients in arbitrations before the International Chamber of Commerce and the London Maritime 

Arbitration Association. 

In addition, Mr. Janove clerked for the Honorable Paul S. Diamond of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern 

District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and for the Honorable Thomas L. Ambro of the U.S. Court of 

Appeals for the Third Circuit in Wilmington, Delaware. 

During law school, Mr. Janove served as an Articles Editor on The University of Chicago Law Review and 

was a Kirkland & Ellis Scholar. At graduation, he received the Douglas Baird Prize in Commercial Law 

for his academic achievement in commercial and corporate law. Prior to law school, Mr. Janove taught 

English at a private school in Uijeongbu, South Korea.

MARGARET E. JULIANO, a staff attorney at the Firm, concentrates her practice in consumer fraud 

protection. She has a JD from Emory University School of Law, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the 

Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal and a BA from Oberlin College. She is licensed to practice in 

Pennsylvania and New York, and previously practiced in the state and federal courts in Delaware. 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 51 of 57
Maggie has experience representing plaintiffs in consumer fraud cases concerning mold and other building 

envelop issues. She also represented manufacturers and distributors in mass tort and product liability cases. 

She clerked for Judge Walrath of the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. 

NATALIE LESSER, an associate of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of consumer protection. 

Ms. Lesser received her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2010 and her 

undergraduate degree in English from the State University of New York at Albany in 2007. While attending 

Pitt Law, Ms. Lesser served as Editor in Chief of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review. Ms. Lesser is 

licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Prior to Joining Kessler Topaz, Ms. Lesser was an associate with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, 

where she worked on a number of complex commercial litigation cases, including defending allegations of 

securities fraud and violations of ERISA for improper calculation and processing of insurance benefits. 

JOSHUA A. LEVIN, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Mr. Levin received his law degree from Widener University School of Law, and earned his 

undergraduate degree from The Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Levin is licensed to practice in 

Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, he worked in pharmaceutical litigation. 

JOHN J. McCULLOUGH, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities 

litigation. In 2012, Mr. McCullough passed the CPA Exam. Mr. McCullough earned his Juris Doctor degree 

from Temple University School of Law, and his undergraduate degree from Temple University. Mr. 

McCullough is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. 

LAUREN M. McGINLEY, an associate of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the areas of securities 

and consumer protection. Ms. McGinley received her undergraduate degree from Temple University in 

2013 and her law degree from Drexel University, Thomas R. Kline School of Law in 2017. While at Drexel, 

Ms. McGinley received the Dean’s Scholar for Excellence in Civil Procedure in 2015. 

Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. McGinley clerked for the honorable Judge Alia Moses in the Western District 

of Texas from September 2017-August 2019. 

STEVEN D. McLAIN, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in mergers and acquisition 

litigation and stockholder derivative litigation. He received his law degree from George Mason University 

School of Law, and his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. Mr. McLain is licensed to 

practice in Virginia. Prior to joining Kessler, Topaz, he practiced with an insurance defense firm in Virginia. 

STEFANIE J. MENZANO, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Ms. Menzano received her law degree from Drexel University School of Law in 2012 and her 

undergraduate degree in Political Science from Loyola University Maryland. Ms. Menzano is licensed to 

practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Ms. Menzano was a fact witness for the Institute for Justice. During law 

school, Ms. Menzano served as a case worker for the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and as a judicial 

intern under the Honorable Judge Mark Sandson in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic County. 

JONATHAN F. NEUMANN, an associate of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities 

litigation and fiduciary matters. Mr. Neumann earned his Juris Doctor degree from Temple University 

Beasley School of Law, where he was an editor for the Temple International and Comparative Law Journal 

and a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. Mr. Neumann earned his undergraduate degree from the 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 52 of 57
University of Delaware. Mr. Neumann is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New York. Prior to 

joining the Firm, Mr. Neumann served as a law clerk to the Honorable Douglas E. Arpert of the United 

States District Court for the District of New Jersey. 

Mr. Neumann has represented institutional investors in obtaining substantial recoveries in numerous cases, 

including In re Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Foreign Exchange Transactions Litig., No. 12-md-02335 

(S.D.N.Y.) ($335 million settlement); Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of the City of Chicago, et al. 

v. Bank of America, NA, et al., No. 12-cv-02865 (S.D.N.Y.) ($69 million settlement); In re NII Holdings 

Sec. Litig., No. 14-cv-227 (E.D. Va.) (settled $41.5 million). 

ELAINE M. OLDENETTEL, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in consumer and 

ERISA litigation. She received her law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law and her 

undergraduate degree in International Studies from the University of Oregon. While attending law school, 

Ms. Oldenettel served as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert H. Hodges of the United States Court of 

Federal Claims and the Honorable Marcus Z. Shar of the Baltimore City Circuit Court. Ms. Oldenettel is 

licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and Virginia. 

MELANIE A. RADER, an associate of the Firm, focuses her practice in securities litigation and consumer 

protection. 

Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Rader served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Linda K. Caracappa, United 

States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Rader received her Juris Doctorate 

from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2018, and is a graduate of Gettysburg College, where 

she received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics. While in law school, Ms. Rader was a judicial intern to 

the Hon. Petrese B. Tucker, United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

ALLYSON M. ROSSEEL, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice at Kessler Topaz in the 

area of securities litigation. She received her law degree from Widener University School of Law, and 

earned her B.A. in Political Science from Widener University. Ms. Rosseel is licensed to practice law in 

Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Rosseel was employed as general counsel for 

a boutique insurance consultancy/brokerage focused on life insurance sales, premium finance and structured 

settlements. 

KARRISA J. SAUDER, an associate of the Firm, concentrates her practice on new matter development 

with a focus on analyzing securities, consumer, and antitrust class action lawsuits, as well as direct (or optout) actions. Prior to joining the firm, Karissa was an associate with Berger Montague, where she litigated 

complex antitrust class action lawsuits, and served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Eduardo C. 

Robreno, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Karissa received her law 

degree from Harvard Law School in 2014 and her undergraduate degree from Eastern Mennonite University 

in 2010. While in law school, Karissa served as Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review. 

MICHAEL J. SECHRIST, a staff attorney at the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Mr. Sechrist received his law degree from Widener University School of Law in 2005 and his 

undergraduate degree in Biology from Lycoming College in 1998. Mr. Sechrist is licensed to practice law 

in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Sechrist worked in pharmaceutical litigation. 

PENG SHAO, an associate of the Firm, focuses his practice in complex securities litigation and consumer 

protection. Peng is a graduate of UC Davis School of Law. During law school, Mr. Shao served various 

leadership roles for UC Davis School of Law’s Business Law Journal, Intellectual Property Law 

Association, and Immigration Law Clinic. Mr. Shao also represented UC Davis in various Moot Court 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 53 of 57
competitions and brought a case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Shao received his B.S. in 

Biology with honors from University of Kentucky, and is published in The Journal of BioChemistry. 

IGOR SIKAVICA, a staff attorney of the Firm, practices in the area of corporate governance litigation, 

with a focus on transactional and derivative cases. Mr. Sikavica received his J.D. from the Loyola 

University Chicago School of Law and his LL.B. from the University of Belgrade Faculty Of Law. Mr. 

Sikavica is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. Mr. Sikavica’s licenses to practice law in Illinois and the 

former Yugoslavia are no longer active. 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Sikavica has represented clients in complex commercial, civil and 

criminal matters before trial and appellate courts in the United States and the former Yugoslavia. Also, Mr. 

Sikavica has represented clients before international courts and tribunals, including – the International 

Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), European Court of Human Rights and the UN 

Committee Against Torture. 

MELISSA J. STARKS, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Ms. Starks earned her Juris Doctor degree from Temple University--Beasley School of Law, her 

LLM from Temple University--Beasley School of Law, and her undergraduate degree from Lincoln 

University. Ms. Starks is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. 

MICHAEL P. STEINBRECHER, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of 

securities litigation. Mr. Steinbrecher earned his Juris Doctor from Temple University James E. Beasley 

School of Law, and received his Bachelors of Arts in Marketing from Temple University. Mr. Steinbrecher 

is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, he worked in 

pharmaceutical litigation. 

JULIE SWERDLOFF, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the areas of consumer 

protection, antitrust, and whistleblower litigation. She received her law degree from Widener University 

School of Law, and her undergraduate degree in Real Estate and Business Law from The Pennsylvania 

State University. She is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has been admitted to 

practice before the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of 

New Jersey. 

While attending law school, Ms. Swerdloff interned as a judicial clerk for the Honorable James R. Melinson 

of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, 

Ms. Swerdloff managed major environmental claims litigation for a Philadelphia-based insurance company, 

and was an associate at a general practice firm in Montgomery County, PA. At Kessler Topaz, she has 

assisted the Firm in obtaining meaningful recoveries on behalf of clients in securities fraud litigation, 

including the historic Tyco case (In re Tyco International, Ltd. Sec. Litig., No. 02-1335-B (D.N.H. 2002) 

(settled -- $3.2 billion)), federal and state wage and hour litigation (In re FootLocker Inc. Fair Labor 

Standards Act (FLSA) and Wage and Hour Litig., No. 11-mdl-02235 (E.D. Pa. 2007) (settled – $7.15 

million)), and numerous shareholder derivative actions relating to the backdating of stock options. 

BRIAN W. THOMER, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Mr. Thomer received his Juris Doctor degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law, 

and his undergraduate degree from Widener University. Mr. Thomer is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. 

ALEXANDRA H. TOMICH, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation. She received her law degree from Temple Law School and her undergraduate degree from 

Columbia University with a B.A. in English. She is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania. 

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Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, she worked as an associate at Trujillo, Rodriguez, and Richards, LLC in 

Philadelphia. Ms. Tomich volunteers as an advocate for children through the Support Center for Child 

Advocates in Philadelphia and at Philadelphia VIP. 

JACQUELINE A. TRIEBL, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Ms. Triebl received her law degree, cum laude, from Widener University School of Law in 2007 

and her undergraduate degree in English from The Pennsylvania State University in 1990. Ms. Triebl is 

licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

KURT WEILER, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the area of securities litigation. 

He received his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law, where he was a member of the Moot 

Court Board and McArdle Wall Honoree, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of 

Pennsylvania. Mr. Weiler is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania. 

Prior to joining Kessler Topaz, Mr. Weiler was associate corporate counsel for a Philadelphia-based 

mortgage company, where he specialized in the area of foreclosures and bankruptcy. 

CHRISTOPHER M. WINDOVER, an associate of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the areas of 

shareholder derivative actions and mergers and acquisitions litigation. Mr. Windover received his law 

degree from Rutgers University School of Law, cum laude, and received his undergraduate degree from 

Villanova University. He is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Windover practiced litigation at a mid-sized law firm in Philadelphia. 

ANNE M. ZANESKI*, a staff attorney of the Firm, concentrates her practice in the area of securities 

litigation. Ms. Zaneski received her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School where she was a recipient of the CALI 

Award of Excellence, and her B.A. from Wellesley College. She is licensed to practice law in New York 

and Pennsylvania. 

Prior to joining the Firm, she was an associate with a boutique securities litigation law firm in New York 

City and served as a legal counsel with the New York City Economic Development Corporation in the areas 

of bond financing and complex litigation. 

* Admitted as Anne M. Zaniewski in Pennsylvania. 

PROFESSIONALS 

WILLIAM MONKS, CPA, CFF, CVA, Director of Investigative Services at Kessler Topaz Meltzer & 

Check, LLP (“Kessler Topaz”), brings nearly 30 years of white collar investigative experience as a Special 

Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and “Big Four” Forensic Accountant. As the Director, 

he leads the Firm’s Investigative Services Department, a group of highly trained professionals dedicated to 

investigating fraud, misrepresentation and other acts of malfeasance resulting in harm to institutional and 

individual investors, as well as other stakeholders. 

William’s recent experience includes being the corporate investigations practice leader for a global forensic 

accounting firm, which involved widespread investigations into procurement fraud, asset misappropriation, 

financial statement misrepresentation, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). 

 

While at the FBI, William worked on sophisticated white collar forensic matters involving securities and 

other frauds, bribery, and corruption. He also initiated and managed fraud investigations of entities in the 

manufacturing, transportation, energy, and sanitation industries. During his 25 year FBI career, William 

Case 2:16-cv-00302-NVW Document 411-3 Filed 09/10/20 Page 55 of 57
also conducted dozens of construction company procurement fraud and commercial bribery investigations, 

which were recognized as a “Best Practice” to be modeled by FBI offices nationwide. 

William also served as an Undercover Agent for the FBI on long term successful operations targeting 

organizations and individuals such as the KGB, Russian Organized Crime, Italian Organized Crime, and 

numerous federal, state and local politicians. Each matter ended successfully and resulted in 

commendations from the FBI and related agencies. 

 

William has also been recognized by the FBI, DOJ, and IRS on numerous occasions for leading multiagency teams charged with investigating high level fraud, bribery, and corruption investigations. His 

considerable experience includes the performance of over 10,000 interviews incident to white collar 

criminal and civil matters. His skills in interviewing and detecting deception in sensitive financial 

investigations have been a featured part of training for numerous law enforcement agencies (including the 

FBI), private sector companies, law firms and accounting firms. 

Among the numerous government awards William has received over his distinguished career is a personal 

commendation from FBI Director Louis Freeh for outstanding work in the prosecution of the West New 

York Police Department, the largest police corruption investigation in New Jersey history. 

William regards his work at Kessler Topaz as an opportunity to continue the public service that has been 

the focus of his professional life. Experience has shown and William believes, one person with conviction 

can make all the difference. William looks forward to providing assistance to any aggrieved party, investor, 

consumer, whistleblower, or other witness with information relative to a securities fraud, consumer 

protection, corporate governance, qui-tam, anti-trust, shareholder derivative, merger & acquisition or other 

matter. 

Education 

Pace University: Bachelor of Business Administration (cum laude) 

Florida Atlantic University: Master’s in Forensic Accounting (cum laude) 

BRAM HENDRIKS, European Client Relations Manager at Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP 

(“Kessler Topaz”), guides European institutional investors through the intricacies of U.S. class action 

litigation as well as securities litigation in Europe and Asia. His experience with securities litigation allows 

him to translate complex document and discovery requirements into straightforward, practical action. For 

shareholders who want to effect change without litigation, Bram advises on corporate governance issues 

and strategies for active investment. 

Bram has been involved in some of the highest-profile U.S. securities class actions of the last 20 years. 

Before joining Kessler Topaz, he handled securities litigation and policy development for NN Group N.V., 

a publicly-traded financial services company with approximately EUR 197 billion in assets under 

management. He previously oversaw corporate governance activities for a leading Amsterdam pension fund 

manager with a portfolio of more than 4,000 corporate holdings. 

 

A globally-respected investor advocate, Bram has co-chaired the International Corporate Governance 

Network Shareholder Rights Committee since 2009. In that capacity, he works with investors from more 

than 50 countries to advance public policies that give institutional investors a voice in decision-making. He 

is a sought-after speaker, panelist and author on corporate governance and responsible investment policies. 

Based in the Netherlands, Bram is available to meet with clients personally and provide hands-on-assistance 

when needed. 

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Education 

University of Amsterdam, MSc International Finance, specialization Law & Finance, 2010 

Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, MSc in Public Policy and Human Development, 

specialization WTO law, 2006 Tilburg University, Public Administration and administrative law B.A., 

2004 

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