Harman Securities Settlement

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Harman Securities Settlement
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The information contained on this website is only a summary of information presented in more detail in the Notice of Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement (the “Notice”), which you can access by clicking here. Since this website is just a summary, you should review the Notice for additional details.

Your Legal Rights Are Affected Whether You Act or Do Not Act. Please Read the Notice Carefully.

IF YOU PURCHASED SHARES OF HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES, INC. COMMON STOCK BETWEEN APRIL 26, 2007 AND FEBRUARY 5, 2008, INCLUSIVE, YOU COULD RECEIVE A PAYMENT FROM A PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES

SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM

Postmarked or received on or before September 8, 2017

EXCLUDE YOURSELF

Received on or before August 29, 2017

OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT

Received on or before August 29, 2017, and filed with the Court no later than August 29, 2017

FINAL APPROVAL HEARING

September 28, 2017, at 10:00 a.m.

United States District Court for the District of Columbia, E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse

DO NOTHING

Receive no payment

 

The Court’s Final Approval Hearing

The Final Approval Hearing will be held on September 28, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. before the Honorable Rudolph Contreras at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Courtroom 14, Washington D.C. 20001, to determine:

      I.           whether the proposed settlement of the Action on the terms and conditions provided for in the Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Class and should be approved by the Court;

     II.           whether a judgment should be entered, as proposed in the Settlement, which, among other things, would dismiss the Action against Defendants with prejudice and release, on behalf of the Class, the Released Claims against the Released Parties (the “Judgment”);

   III.           whether, for purposes of the Settlement, the Class should be finally certified; whether Lead Plaintiff should be finally appointed as Class Representative for the Class; and whether Lead Counsel should be finally appointed as Class Counsel for the Class;

    IV.           whether the proposed Plan of Allocation is reasonable and should be approved by the Court; and

     V.           whether Lead Counsel’s request for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses should be approved by the Court.

The Court may change the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing without another notice being sent to Class Members. Please check this website for any updates to the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing.

 

What This Case is About

The Complaint in this Action asserts, among other things, that in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), Defendants misled investors by misrepresenting or concealing the true nature of Harman’s personal navigation device (“PND”) business.  In particular, the Complaint asserts that Defendants knowingly or recklessly represented to investors that the Company’s PND business was strong and poised for growth when in reality the Company’s inventory of PNDs was ballooning and Defendants were unable to meet their PND sales targets.  When the market learned the truth about the Company’s PND business, the price of Harman’s common stock declined and investors were allegedly harmed.

Lead Plaintiff filed a motion for class certification on April 1, 2016 and the parties began active discovery.  The discovery conducted in this Action was extensive.  Lead Plaintiff reviewed over 32,000 documents; produced over 600 documents on behalf of Lead Plaintiff; issued four document subpoenas to non-parties; and prepared for and defended the deposition of Lead Plaintiff, three of Lead Plaintiff’s investment managers, and Lead Plaintiff’s market efficiency expert.  Lead Plaintiff also deposed Defendants’ market efficiency expert in connection with class certification.

On September 16, 2016, Lead Plaintiff, Defendants and certain of Defendants’ insurance carriers (the “D&O Insurers”) participated in a full-day mediation session with the Honorable Daniel Weinstein (Ret.) of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“JAMS”).  Although a resolution was not reached during the mediation session, the parties continued to engage in arms-length negotiations through Judge Weinstein during the weeks that followed the mediation.  On November 17, 2016, Judge Weinstein made a mediator’s proposal to settle the case for $28,250,000.  On November 18, 2016, Lead Plaintiff, Defendants and the D&O Insurers accepted the mediator’s proposal and agreed, subject to Court approval, to settle the Action.

Defendants have denied and continue to deny each and all of the claims alleged by Lead Plaintiff in the Action and affirm that they acted properly and lawfully at all times.  Defendants have expressly denied and continue to deny all charges of wrongdoing or liability against them arising out of any and all of the conduct, statements, acts or omissions alleged, or that could have been alleged, in the Action.  Defendants have, however, taken into account the uncertainty and risks inherent in any litigation, especially in a complex case such as this.  Defendants have concluded that further conduct of the Action would be protracted and expensive, and that it is desirable that the Action be fully and finally settled in the manner and upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Settlement.

The Settlement Benefits

Subject to Court approval, Lead Plaintiff, on behalf of itself and the Class, has agreed to settle all Released Claims against Defendants and the Released Parties in exchange for a settlement payment of $28,250,000 in cash (the “Settlement Amount”) to be deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account (the “Settlement Fund”) and certain other terms.  The Settlement Fund less all Taxes, Notice and Administration Costs, and attorneys’ fees and Litigation Expenses that may be awarded by the Court to Lead Counsel and Lead Plaintiff (the “Net Settlement Fund”) will be distributed to members of the Class in accordance with the plan of allocation (the “Plan of Allocation”) that is subject to approval by the Court.  The proposed Plan of Allocation is included in the Notice, and may be modified by the Court without further notice.

Your share of the Net Settlement Fund will depend on the number of shares that Authorized Claimants submit to the Claims Administrator, relative to the Net Settlement Fund; how many shares you purchased and when you purchased them; whether you held or sold those shares; the date on which you sold those shares; and the price at which you sold them, among other factors.  At this time, it is not possible to determine how much individual Class Members who are determined to be Authorized Claimants may receive from the Settlement.

The Rights of Class Members

If you are a Class Member, you have the following options:

Submit a Claim Form

If you are a Class Member, to be eligible to share in the distribution of the Settlement proceeds, you must timely submit a valid Claim Form, which can be found here, postmarked or submitted no later than September 8, 2017.  If you are a Class Member and do not submit a timely and valid Claim Form, you will not be eligible to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, but you will nevertheless be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in connection with the Settlement.

Exclude yourself from the Class

If you are a Class Member, but wish to exclude yourself from the Class, you must submit a written request for exclusion in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice, that is received no later than August 29, 2017.  If you are a Class Member and do not timely exclude yourself from the Class, you will be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in connection with the Settlement.

Object to the Settlement

Any objections to the proposed Settlement, Judgment, Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel’s application for award of attorneys’ fees and Litigation Expenses must be mailed to the Court, Lead Counsel for the Class, and counsel for Defendants in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice and received no later than August 29, 2017.

Go to the Hearing

You may attend the hearing to speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement; the requested Judgment to approve the Settlement; the proposed Plan of Allocation; or Lead Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses.  You cannot object to the Settlement unless you are a member of the Class and do not validly exclude yourself.

Do Nothing

Receive no payment, remain a Class Member, give up your rights to seek recovery against the Defendants and other Released Parties through other litigation and be bound by the Judgment entered by the Court if it approves the Settlement, including the release of the Released Claims.

Further Information

For more details regarding this Settlement, please see the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, dated April 19, 2017, or other documents filed in the case under the “Court Documents” link on the left.  You may also contact the Claims Administrator or Lead Counsel for further information regarding this Settlement:

 

Claims Administrator:

 

Harman International Industries Inc. Securities Settlement

c/o A.B. Data, Ltd.

P.O. Box 173035

Milwaukee, WI  53217

877-265-3027

info@harmansecuritiessettlement.com



 

Lead Counsel:

 

COHEN MILSTEIN SELLERS & TOLL PLLC

S. Douglas Bunch

1100 New York Ave N.W.

Suite 500, East Tower Washington, D.C. 20005

New York, NY 10005

202-408-4600

dbunch@cohenmilstein.com

 


Please read the Notice carefully. If you have questions, you may call the Harman Securities Settlement Help Line at 877-265-3027 or email info@harmansecuritiessettlement.com .

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