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In re Worldcom

United States District Court, S.D. New York
Jan 30, 2004
MASTER FILE No. 03 Civ. 7297, No. 03 4500 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 30, 2004)

Opinion

MASTER FILE No. 03 Civ. 7297, No. 03 4500

January 30, 2004

William S. Lerach, Darren J. Robbins, Spencer Burkholz, Michael J. Dowd, Randall Baron, Thomas E. Egler, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes Lerach LLP, San Diego, CA, Melvyn I. Weiss, Steven G. Schulman, Sol Schreiber, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes Lerach LLP, New York, NY, Patrick J. Coughlin Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes Lerach LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Plaintiffs

Max W. Berger, John P. Coffey, Steven B. Singer, Beata Gocyk-Farber, John C. Browne, Jennifer L. Edlind, Bernstein Litowitz Berger Grossman LLP, New York, NY, Leonard Barrack, Gerald J. Rodos, Jeffrey W. Golan, Mark R. Rosen, Jeffrey A. Barrack, Pearlette V. Toussant, Barrack Rodos Bacine, Philadelphia, PA, for Lead Plaintiff in the Securities Litigation

Eliot Lauer, Michael Moscato, Michael Hanin, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt Mosle LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant Arthur Anderson LLP

Jay B. Kasner, Susan L. Saltzstein, Steven J. Kolleeny, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher Flom LLP, New York, NY, for Underwriter Defendants

Martin London, Richard A. Rosen, Brad S. Karp, Eric S. Goldstein, Walter Rieman, Marc Falcone, Joyce S. Huang, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton Garrison LLP, New York, NY, Robert McCaw, Peter K. Vigeland, Wilmer Cutler Pickering, New York, NY, for Defendants Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. f/k/a Salomon Smith Barney, Inc., Citigroup Inc., and Jack Grubman


MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER


IBEW Local 683 Pension Fund Pension Plan and IBEW Local 683 Profit Sharing Annuity Plan ("The 683 Funds") are two of ten plaintiffs in 03 Civ. 4500. McMorgan Company ("McMorgan") is the sole plaintiff in 03 Civ. 7297. These three identified plaintiffs ("Plaintiffs"), who are represented by Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes Lerach ("Milberg Weiss"), have brought motions pursuant to Rule 41(a), Fed.R.Civ.P., to dismiss their actions voluntarily in order to join the securities class action arising from the collapse of WorldCom, Inc. ("WorldCom"). For the reasons contained in the Opinion and Order issued by this Court on January 26, 2004 to resolve a parallel motion brought in six other actions filed by Milberg Weiss, the Plaintiffs' motions are granted with the following condition — they may not opt out of the class or seek in any way to continue their Individual Actions.

This Memorandum Opinion and Order assumes familiarity with the background, discussion, and conclusions stated in the January 26 Opinion and Order, which are incorporated herein. See In re WorldCom, Inc. Sec. Litig.. No. 02 Civ. 3288 (DLC), 2004 WL113484 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 26, 2004).

The 683 Funds filed their action in the Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga County, Ohio on March 27, 2003. They amended their complaint on July 11. McMorgan filed its action on June 2, 2003 in Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco. Its amended complaint was filed on October 10, following the transfer of its action to this district. McMorgan's renewed motion to remand its action to state court was denied on December 17, 2003.

It does not appear that the 683 Funds renewed their motion to remand their action. As a result, and pursuant to prior scheduling orders, it has been forfeited.

A January 20, 2004 Opinion granted the defendants' motions to dismiss certain claims in each of these actions. In re WorldCom, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 02 Civ. 3288 (DLC), 2004 WL 77879 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 20, 2004) ("January 20 Opinion"). With respect to the 683 Funds, the January 20 Opinion dismissed the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") claims against defendants added through the July 11 amendment and claims based on the 1998 WorldCom Bond Offering. As to McMorgan's claims, the January 20 Opinion granted the defendants' motions to dismiss Securities Act claims based on the 1998 and May 2000 WorldCom Bond Offerings and against defendants added through the October 10 amendment.

Meanwhile, on January 7, 2004, McMorgan filed a motion for a voluntary dismissal of its action in order to join the class actions. The 683 Funds filed a similar motion on January 12. The rotions were fully submitted on January 23.

conclusion

Each of the Plaintiffs requests that it be permitted to dismiss its Individual Action without prejudice to allow it to participate fully in the class action. Plaintiffs' motions are granted with the condition that they not opt out of the class or seek in any way to continue their Individual Actions.

SO ORDERED.


Summaries of

In re Worldcom

United States District Court, S.D. New York
Jan 30, 2004
MASTER FILE No. 03 Civ. 7297, No. 03 4500 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 30, 2004)
Case details for

In re Worldcom

Case Details

Full title:IN RE WORLDCOM, INC. SECURITIES LITIGATION, This Document Relates to: 02…

Court:United States District Court, S.D. New York

Date published: Jan 30, 2004

Citations

MASTER FILE No. 03 Civ. 7297, No. 03 4500 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 30, 2004)