David Guin spoke recently at the National Summit on the Future of Fiduciary Responsibility conference for institutional investors in New York. Topics included pre-litigation securities fraud settlement strategies, the role of institutional investors as private regulators and agents of corporate accountability, and litigation regarding mortgage-backed securities.
David Donaldson, David Guin, Tammy Stokes and Dawn Evans were listed in the March, 2011 edition of B-Metro Magazine on the list of Top Lawyers.
Donaldson Guin won an important appeal in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on September 22, 2010, allowing our accounting malpractice and securities claims to proceed in the case of Corporate America Credit Union vs. RubinBrown LLP. The case rejected the accounting firm defendant’s efforts to enforce an arbitration agreement against our client, who was not a party to the arbitration agreement.
Congratulations to Tammy McClendon Stokes for receiving the prestigious “AV” peer-review rating from Martindale-Hubbell. An “AV” rating is the highest rating awarded. For more about Ms. Stokes, see her bio.
In re HealthSouth Securities Litigation (N.D. Ala.)
D&G served as Liaison Counsel for the Retirement Systems of Alabama and a certified class of other large institutional purchasers of HealthSouth bonds.
On July 26, 2010, Judge Karon Bowdre entered final judgments approving the Bondholder Plaintiffs’ settlements with investment bank UBS Warburg for $100 million, and with auditor Ernst & Young for $33.5 million. These settlements bring the total amount recovered for HealthSouth Bondholders to approximately $230 million and bring the Bondholder litigation to conclusion.
At the final hearing to approve these settlements, the Court said the following to Mr. Guin and the other plaintiffs’ counsel:
And I just want to commend all of you for the way that you have conducted the case. [You] have proved to me that there are ways to conduct complex litigation with lots of lawyers involved and to do so in a professional manner. And I appreciate that very much. (Transcript of July 22, 2010, at 55, lines 2-13)
Previously, in 2007, a $445 million class action settlement was reached with HealthSouth, certain of its former directors and officers, and certain of its insurance carriers. Claim forms have been mailed to all known bond investors. At about the same time, the SEC obtained a $100 million settlement for stock and bond investors.
Prior to these final settlements, fact discovery had been completed, with more than 120 depositions taken. On September 30, 2009, Judge Bowdre certified the case to proceed as a class action on behalf of all investors in HealthSouth bonds.
For information regarding this litigation, contact David Guin or Tammy Stokes.
We’ve known Rex Slate since he clerked with us more than a decade ago, and we have followed his legal career closely since then. Mr. Slate has had great success as a trial lawyer, and we’re pleased and proud to have him here. For more about Mr. Slate, see his bio.
Congratulations to Dawn Stith Evans for receiving the prestigious “AV” peer-review rating from Martindale-Hubbell. An “AV” rating indicates Ms. Evans’ peers rank her at the highest level of professional excellence, for her legal knowledge, analytical capabilities, communication ability, judgment, and legal experience. For more about Ms. Evans, see her bio.
On April 22, 2010, Bondholder Plaintiffs – led by the Retirement Systems of Alabama – filed with the court settlements with investment bank UBS Warburg for $100 million, and with auditor Ernst & Young for $33.5 million. These settlements bring the total amount recovered for HealthSouth Bondholders to more than$230 million. D&G serves as Liaison Counsel for the Retirement Systems of Alabama and a class of other HealthSouth bondholders in this litigation.
The March issue of B-Metro recognizes David Guin as among the select few Birmingham attorneys who have “reached the highest levels of ethical standards and professional excellence.”
Working with Make Way Partners, D&G sponsors the “Character in Service” program for Phillips Academy students in downtown Birmingham. The CIS program matches a school with a “lost boy” orphan from Sudan/Darfur, teaching students about awareness and compassion for the needs of others.
