Heng Ren Silk Road Investments LLC v. Sino Agro Food, Inc.
- Jesse Furman
- 1:19-cv-02680
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Heng Ren Silk Road Investments v. Sino Agro Food, Judge Furman ordered a joint letter clarifying shareholder notice and the settlement agreement’s date.
The plaintiffs, defendants, and shareholders who could receive notice of the proposed settlement hearing were affected by the required clarification and possible correction of the proposed notice.
What happened
In Heng Ren Silk Road Investments LLC v. Sino Agro Food, Inc., the court addressed a proposed notice connected to a settlement hearing.
The court questioned why the proposed notice covered shareholders who owned stock on June 30, 2020, and continued to own it through the settlement hearing, instead of all current shareholders. The court also noted conflicting dates for the settlement agreement: June 30, 2020, and June 27, 2020.
Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered the parties to submit a joint letter of no more than three pages by July 21, 2020, explaining the notice’s scope and clarifying the agreement’s correct date. Any corrected proposed notice had to be filed with that letter.
The detailed version
- Heng Ren Silk Road Investments LLC v. Sino Agro Food, Inc. · No. 1:19-cv-02680
- Jesse Furman
- July 17, 2020
Background
The parties had submitted a proposed settlement notice and proposed order in a shareholder-related case. The proposed notice stated that it would go to shareholders who “owned stock of the Company as of June 30, 2020 and continue to own such stock through” the date of the settlement hearing. The proposed order instead referred to all “current SIAF Shareholder[s].” The court cited authorities discussing notice to company shareholders under Rule 23.1.
The court also identified inconsistent dates for the settlement agreement. One part of the agreement said it was dated June 30, 2020. Another part said the settlement was entered into as of June 27, 2020, and signature pages were dated June 27, 2020.
Order
The court ordered the parties to submit a joint letter, no longer than three pages, by July 21, 2020. The letter had to explain why the proposed notice was limited to shareholders who owned stock as of June 30, 2020, and continued to own it through the settlement hearing, rather than being directed to all current shareholders. The parties also had to clarify the correct date of the settlement agreement. Any corrected proposed notice had to be filed with the joint letter.
This order did not decide whether to approve the settlement or resolve the underlying claims. The court’s order was signed by United States District Judge Jesse M. Furman.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.