NOTICE OF (I) PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION, CERTIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT CLASS AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT; (II) SETTLEMENT FAIRNESS HEARING; AND (III) MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND REIMBURSEMENT OF LITIGATION EXPENSES
A Federal Court authorized a Notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.
NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION: Please be advised that your rights may be affected by the above-captioned class action (the “Action”) pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (the “Court”), if you acquired At-Issue Taxable Municipal Securities1 at a premium (above par value) in a taxable account maintained by UBS Financial Services Inc. (“UBS” or “Defendant”) between January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2019, inclusive (the “Settlement Class Period”) and received a Form 1099.2
NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT: Please also be advised that plaintiff Richard Goodman, individually and as Trustee of the Richard M. Goodman Revocable Living Trust (“Plaintiff”), on behalf of himself and the Settlement Class (as defined in ¶ 13 of the Notice), have reached a proposed settlement of the Action for $2,500,000 in cash that, if approved, will resolve all claims in the Action (the “Settlement”).
PLEASE READ THE NOTICE CAREFULLY. The Notice explains important rights you may have, including the possible receipt of cash from the Settlement. If you are a member of the Settlement Class, your legal rights will be affected whether or not you act.
If you have any questions about the Notice, the proposed Settlement, or your eligibility to participate in the Settlement, please DO NOT contact UBS or its counsel. All questions should be directed to Lead Plaintiff’s Counsel or the Settlement Administrator (see ¶ 57 of the Notice).
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THE SETTLEMENT:
IF YOU ARE A SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TO RECEIVE A PAYMENT.
If you are a Settlement Class Member, you do not have to do anything to qualify for a payment. If you remain in the Settlement Class, you will be eligible to receive a payment, but you will also be bound by the Settlement as approved by the Court and you will give up any Released Plaintiff’s Claims that you have against Defendant’s Releasees. Paragraphs 20-23 of the Notice explains what claims you are releasing.
EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT CLASS BY SUBMITTING A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 16, 2023.
If you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you will not be eligible to receive any payment from the Settlement Fund. This is the only option that allows you ever to be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant or the other Defendant’s Releasees concerning the Released Plaintiff’s Claims.
OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT BY SUBMITTING A WRITTEN OBJECTION SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 16, 2023.
If you do not like the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or the request for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses, you may write to the Court and explain why you do not like them. You cannot object to the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation or the fee and expense request unless you are a Settlement Class Member and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class.
GO TO A HEARING ON DECEMBER 7, 2023 AT 11:00 A.M., AND FILE A NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPEAR SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 16, 2023.
Filing a written objection and notice of intention to appear by November 16, 2023 allows you to speak in Court, at the discretion of the Court, about the fairness of the proposed Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, and/or the request for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses. If you submit a written objection, you may (but you do not have to) attend the hearing and, at the discretion of the Court, speak to the Court about your objection.
1 “At-Issue Taxable Municipal Securities” means Build America Bonds and certain other bonds created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), consisting of TED (Tribal Economic Development Bonds); QZA (Qualified Zone Academy Bonds); QEC (Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds); QSC (Qualified School Construction Bonds); RZF (Recovery Zone Facility Bonds); RZE (Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds); RZP (Recovery Zone Private Activity Bonds); and CRE (Clean Renewable Energy Bonds).
2 All capitalized terms used in this Notice that are not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement dated June 8, 2023 (the “Stipulation”), which is available here.