Opinion ID: 789053
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Complexity, Duration, and Time-Consuming Nature of the Litigation

Text: 37 In assessing the complexity, expense and likely duration of the litigation under the Girsh factors, the District Court found the litigation presented layers of factual and legal complexity which assured that, absent a global settlement, these disputes would take on Dickensian dimensions. Id. at 608. The court noted class counsel incurred many hours reviewing and analyzing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents produced by Rite Aid and KPMG, and dissecting Rite Aid's financials and the results of internal investigations. Id. (internal quotations omitted). Furthermore, the court noted the moving target nature of Rite Aid's financial saga resulted in plaintiffs' counsel preparing no less than four amended complaints. Id. at 607. Moreover, the court noted the litigation took several years, and the stipulation of settlement came about only with the assistance of mediation. Id. at 606. Also significant was the § 10(b) scienter requirement, which the District Court recognized may have been difficult to prove against outside auditors. See id. at 608. 38 Given the complexity of the accounting matters at issue, the volume of documents, the shifting factual sands that required several amended complaints, the difficulties in proving scienter against an outside auditor, the duration of the litigation, and the necessity of resorting to mediation to reach a final settlement, we see no abuse of discretion in the District Court's finding the matter was a complex one. 39