Paul C. Kraft and Linda E. Kraft JTWROS v. Third Coast Midstream
Paul C. Kraft and Linda E. Kraft JTWROS, Randall Dobler v. Third Coast Midstream, LLC
- Lewis Liman
- 1:19-cv-09398
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Paul C. Kraft and Linda E. Kraft JTWROS v. Third Coast Midstream, Judge Caproni appointed the Krafts and Randall Dobler as co-lead plaintiffs and approved lead counsel.
The proposed class, Paul C. Kraft, Linda E. Kraft JTWROS, Randall Dobler, Labaton Sucharow LLP, and the defendants’ counsel are affected by the lead-plaintiff, lead-counsel, scheduling, and caption orders.
What happened
In Paul C. Kraft and Linda E. Kraft JTWROS v. Third Coast Midstream, the Krafts and Randall Dobler sought appointment as lead plaintiffs for the proposed class, calling themselves the “American Midstream Investor Group.”
The court found that all three had significant financial interests and met the requirements of adequacy and typicality under Rule 23. It decided that appointing them as co-lead plaintiffs, rather than as a group, would best serve the class.
Judge Valerie Caproni appointed Paul C. Kraft, Linda E. Kraft JTWROS, and Randall Dobler as co-lead plaintiffs, approved Labaton Sucharow LLP as lead counsel, directed counsel to submit a proposed case schedule, and ordered that Randall Dobler be added to the caption.
The detailed version
- Paul C. Kraft and Linda E. Kraft JTWROS v. Third Coast Midstream · No. 1:19-cv-09398
- Lewis Liman
- Dec. 11, 2019
Background
Three movants—Paul C. Kraft and Linda E. Kraft JTWROS and Randall Dobler—sought appointment as lead plaintiff in this putative class action. They referred to themselves as the “American Midstream Investor Group.” The motion was filed on December 9, 2019.
The opinion states that federal securities laws require the court to identify the “most adequate plaintiff” by considering which movant has the largest financial interest in the relief sought and otherwise satisfies Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. Rule 23 requires, among other things, that the proposed representative’s claims be typical and that the representative adequately protect the class.
Court’s Findings
The court found that the Krafts and Dobler had significant financial interests in the litigation and satisfied Rule 23’s requirements of adequacy and typicality. The court further found that appointing them as co-lead plaintiffs, rather than treating them as a single group, would best serve the class.
Order
The court appointed Paul C. Kraft, Linda E. Kraft JTWROS, and Randall Dobler as co-lead plaintiffs. It directed them to keep reasonable records of time spent in that role if they anticipated seeking a service fee.
The court approved Labaton Sucharow LLP as lead counsel for the class and directed lead counsel to assign work in a way that promotes orderly and efficient prosecution and avoids duplicative or unproductive effort.
Consistent with the parties’ stipulation, the court directed defense counsel and lead counsel to confer and jointly submit, within ten days after entry of the order, a proposed schedule for an amended complaint and any motion to dismiss. The court also ordered that Randall Dobler be added as a named plaintiff in the caption and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion at docket entry 23.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.