Zarabi v. Golar LNG Limited
- Jesse Furman
- 1:20-cv-07926
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Zarabi v. Golar LNG Limited, Judge Furman set deadlines and a conference for selecting lead plaintiffs and counsel in a securities class action.
Daniel Zarabi, proposed class members and potential lead plaintiffs, the defendants, and plaintiff's counsel were affected by the notice, filing deadlines, conference, and service requirements.
What happened
Daniel Zarabi filed a proposed class action against Golar LNG Limited and other defendants on behalf of people who purchased Golar securities between April 30 and September 24, 2020. The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws.
The court noted that the required class notice was corrected and published on September 25, 2020. It set November 24 for motions to become lead plaintiff and December 8 for oppositions. It also scheduled a December 16 conference to consider lead-plaintiff, lead-counsel, and consolidation motions.
Judge Jesse M. Furman issued an order managing those next steps. The order did not decide the securities claims and required the named plaintiffs to promptly serve it on the defendants.
The detailed version
- Zarabi v. Golar LNG Limited · No. 1:20-cv-07926
- Jesse Furman
- Sept. 30, 2020
Background
On September 24, 2020, Daniel Zarabi filed a proposed class action on behalf of purchasers of Golar LNG Limited securities during the period from April 30, 2020, through September 24, 2020. The complaint alleges violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5.
Notice and Lead- Plaintiff Process
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act requires publication of notice within 20 days after a securities class action complaint is filed. The notice must advise members of the proposed class about the case, the claims, and the proposed class period. A proposed class member may then move to serve as lead plaintiff within 60 days after publication. The court must consider those motions within 90 days after publication and appoint the person or persons it finds most capable of adequately representing the class. If substantially similar class actions have been filed and a party seeks consolidation, the court must decide the consolidation motion before appointing a lead plaintiff.
Plaintiff's counsel notified the court that a corrected version of the required notice was published on September 25, 2020. The order therefore set November 24, 2020, as the deadline for motions to serve as lead plaintiff and December 8, 2020, as the deadline for serving and filing oppositions.
Court's Order
Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered a conference for December 16, 2020, at 4:45 p.m., either remotely or in Courtroom 1105 of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse, to consider motions concerning appointment of a lead plaintiff and lead counsel and consolidation. The order also required plaintiff's counsel to notify the court within one week if an amended complaint or related case was filed before a lead plaintiff was appointed. That letter must identify differences between the new and original allegations and explain why the court should not require republication of notice and set a new deadline for lead-plaintiff motions. The named plaintiffs were ordered to promptly serve the order on each defendant.
This order addressed case-management and lead-plaintiff procedures. It did not decide the merits of the alleged securities-law violations.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.