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1 COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP 2 SHAWN A. WILLIAMS (213113) JOHN K. GRANT (169813) 3 100 Pine Street, Suite 2600 San Francisco, CA 94111 4 Telephone: 415/288-4545 415/288-4534 (fax) 5 [email protected] [email protected] 6 ­ and ­ DARREN J. ROBBINS (168593) 7 RAMZI ABADOU (222567) 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900 8 San Diego, CA 92101-3301 Telephone: 619/231-1058 9 619/231-7423 (fax) [email protected] 10 [email protected] 11 12 [Proposed] Lead Counsel for Plaintiff 13 14 15 CITY OF WESTLAND POLICE AND FIRE 16 RETIREMENT SYSTEM, On Behalf of Itself and All Others Similarly Situated, 17 Plaintiff, 18 vs. 19 SONIC SOLUTIONS, et al., 20 Defendants. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

LABATON SUCHAROW LLP CHRISTOPHER J. KELLER ANDREI V. RADO ALLEN I. ELLMAN 140 Broadway, 34th Floor New York, NY 10005 Telephone: 212/907-0700 212/818-0477 (fax) [email protected]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA No. 3:07-cv-05111-MJJ CLASS ACTION DECLARATION OF RAMZI ABADOU IN SUPPORT OF THE RETIREMENT FUNDS' MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT AS LEAD PLAINTIFF AND APPROVAL OF THEIR SELECTION OF LEAD COUNSEL DATE: TIME: CTRM: January 15, 2007 9:30 a.m. 11, 19 Floor The Honorable Martin J. Jenkins

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I, Ramzi Abadou, declares: 1. I am associated with the law firm of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP

3 ("Coughlin Stoia"). I submit this declaration in support of the motion of the Retirement Funds for 4 appointment as lead plaintiff. 5 2. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a true and accurate copy of the notice published by

6 plaintiff in the action entitled City of Westland Police and Fire Retirement System vs. Sonic 7 Solutions, et al., Civil Action No. 3:07-cv-05111-MJJ (N.D. Cal.), on Business Wire, a national, 8 business-oriented newswire service, on October 4, 2007. 9 3. Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and accurate copy of a loss chart presenting the

10 transactions in the subject securities and summarizing the estimated losses of the Retirement Funds 11 at $128,880, in connection with its purchases of Sonic Solutions securities. 12 13 4. 5. Attached hereto as Exhibit C are true and correct copies of movants' Certifications. Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of the resume of Coughlin

14 Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP. 15 6. Attached hereto as Exhibit E is a true and correct copy of the resume of Labaton

16 Sucharow LLP. 17 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the

18 foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 3rd day of December, 2007, at San Diego, California. 19 20 21
S:\CasesSD\Sonic Solutions Secs\DEC00047581-LP.doc

s/ Ramzi Abadou RAMZI ABADOU

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
DECLARATION OF RAMZI ABADOU IN SUPPORT OF THE RETIREMENT FUNDS' MOT FOR APPOINTMENT AS LEAD PLTF AND APPROVAL OF ITS SELECTION OF LEAD COUNSEL - 3:07-cv-05111-MJJ

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on December 3, 2007, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk

3 of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the e-mail 4 addresses denoted on the attached Electronic Mail Notice List, and I hereby certify that I have 5 mailed the foregoing document or paper via the United States Postal Service to the non-CM/ECF 6 participants indicated on the attached Manual Notice List. 7 I further certify that I caused this document to be forwarded to the following designated

8 Internet site at: http://securities.csgrr.com/. 9 I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the

10 foregoing is true and correct. Executed on December 3, 2007. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 s/ Ramzi Abadou RAMZI ABADOU COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900 San Diego, CA 92101-3301 Telephone: 619/231-1058 619/231-7423 (fax) E-mail: [email protected]

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Mailing Information for a Case 3:07-cv-05111-MJJ
Electronic Mail Notice List
The following are those who are currently on the list to receive e-mail notices for this case. John K. Grant [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected] Monica Patel [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],ga Darren Jay Robbins [email protected] Shawn A. Williams [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],cwood@csgr

Manual Notice List
The following is the list of attorneys who are not on the list to receive e-mail notices for this case (who therefore require manual noticing). You may wish to use your mouse to select and copy this list into your word processing program in order to create notices or labels for these recipients.
Catherine J Kowalewski Lerach Coughlin et al LLP 655 W Broadway #1900 San Diego, CA 92101 David C. Walton Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP 655 West Broadway Suite 1900 San Diego, CA 92101-3301

https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/MailList.pl?325963459365753-L_685_0-1

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EXHIBIT A

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EXHIBIT B

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EXHIBIT C

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EXHIBIT D

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COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP
COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP ("Coughlin Stoia") is a 190-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Houston and Philadelphia (www.csgrr.com). Coughlin Stoia is actively engaged in complex litigation, emphasizing securities, consumer, insurance, healthcare, human rights, employment discrimination and antitrust class actions. Coughlin Stoia's unparalleled experience and capabilities in these fields are based upon the talents of its attorneys who have successfully prosecuted thousands of class-action lawsuits. As a result, Coughlin Stoia attorneys have been responsible for recoveries of more than $45 billion. This successful track record stems from our experienced attorneys, including many who left partnerships at other firms or came to Coughlin Stoia from federal, state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies, including dozens of former prosecutors and SEC attorneys. Coughlin Stoia also includes more than 25 former federal and state judicial clerks. Coughlin Stoia currently represents more institutional investors, including public and multi-employer pension funds ­ domestic and international financial institutions ­ in securities and corporate litigation than any other firm in the United States. Coughlin Stoia is committed to practicing law with the highest level of integrity and in an ethical and professional manner. We are a diverse firm with lawyers and staff from all walks of life. Our lawyers and other employees are hired and promoted based on the quality of their work and their ability to enhance our team and treat others with respect and dignity. Evaluations are never influenced by one's background, gender, race, religion or ethnicity. We also strive to be good corporate citizens and to work with a sense of global responsibility. Contributing to our communities and our environment is important to us. We raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and we often take cases on a pro bono basis. We are committed to the rights of workers and to the extent possible, we contract with union vendors. We care about civil rights, workers' rights and treatment, workplace safety and environmental protection. Indeed, while we have built a reputation as the finest securities and consumer class action law firm in the nation, our lawyers have also worked tirelessly in less highprofile, but no less important, cases involving human rights.

PRACTICE AREAS
Securities Fraud As recent corporate scandals demonstrate clearly, it has become all too common for companies and their executives ­ and often with the help of their advisors, such as bankers, lawyers and accountants ­ to manipulate the market price of their securities by misleading the public about the company's financial condition or prospects for the future. This misleading information has the effect of artificially inflating the price of the company's securities above their true value. When the underlying truth is eventually revealed, the prices of these securities plummet, harming those innocent investors who relied upon the company's misrepresentations. Coughlin Stoia is the leader in the fight to provide investors with relief from corporate securities fraud. We utilize a wide range of federal and state laws to provide investors with remedies, either by
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bringing a class action on behalf of all affected investors or, where appropriate, by bringing individual cases. The Firm's reputation for excellence has been repeatedly noted by courts and has resulted in the appointment of Coughlin Stoia attorneys to lead roles in hundreds of complex class-action securities and other cases. In the securities area alone, the Firm's attorneys have been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries on behalf of investors. Currently, Coughlin Stoia attorneys are lead or named counsel in approximately 500 securities class action or large institutional-investor cases. Some current and past cases include: · In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig., Case No. H-01-3624 (S.D. Tex.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys are sole lead counsel representing the interests of Enron investors in this class action alleging securities fraud violation against numerous defendants, including many of Wall Street's biggest banks and law firms. To date, Coughlin Stoia attorneys and lead plaintiff The Regents of the University of California have obtained settlements in excess of $7.3 billion for the benefit of investors, the largest aggregate settlement in securities litigation history. In re WorldCom Sec. Litig. (Alaska Electrical Pension Fund v. CitiGroup, Inc.), Case No. 03-CV-8269 (DLC) (S.D.N.Y.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys represented more than 50 private and public institutions that opted out of the class-action case and sued WorldCom's bankers, officers and directors, and auditors in courts around the country for losses related to WorldCom bond offerings from 1998-2001. The Firm's clients included major public institutions from across the country such as CalPERS, CalSTRS, the state pension funds of Maine, Illinois, New Mexico and West Virginia, union pension funds, and private entities such as AIG and Northwestern Mutual. Coughlin Stoia attorneys recovered more than $650 million for its clients on the May 2000 and May 2001 bond offerings (the primary offerings at issue), substantially more than they would have recovered in the class. In re Cardinal Health, Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. C2-04-00575 (ALM) (S.D. Ohio). As sole lead counsel representing Cardinal Health shareholders, Coughlin Stoia obtained a recovery of $600 million that was preliminarily approved in July 2007. On behalf of the lead plaintiffs, Amalgamated Bank, the New Mexico State Investment Council, the California Ironworkers Field Trust Fund and PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund, Coughlin Stoia aggressively pursued class claims and won notable courtroom victories, including a favorable decision on defendants' motion to dismiss. In re Cardinal Health, Inc. Sec. Litig., 426 F. Supp. 2d 688 (S.D. Ohio 2006). At the time, the $600 million settlement was the tenth largest settlement in the history of securities fraud litigation and is the largest ever recovery in a securities fraud action in the Sixth Circuit. AOL Time Warner Cases I & II, JCCP Nos. 4322 & 4325 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles County). Coughlin Stoia represented The Regents of the University of California, six Ohio state pension funds, Rabo Bank (NL), the Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, about a dozen Australian public and private funds, insurance companies, and numerous additional institutional investors, domestic and international, in state and federal court opt-out litigation stemming from Time Warner's disastrous 2001 merger
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with internet high flier America Online. Coughlin Stoia attorneys exposed a massive and sophisticated accounting fraud involving America Online's e-commerce and advertising revenue. After almost four years of litigation involving extensive discovery, Coughlin Stoia secured combined settlements for its opt-out clients totaling over $618 million just weeks before The Regents' case pending in California state court was scheduled to go to trial. The Regents' gross recovery of $244 million is the largest individual opt-out securities recovery in history. · In re HealthSouth Corp. Sec. Litig., Case No. CV-03-BE-1500-S (N.D. Ala.). As courtappointed co-lead counsel, Coughlin Stoia attorneys obtained a landmark settlement of $445 million from HealthSouth and certain of its former directors and officers and certain other parties for the benefit of stockholder plaintiffs. A product of hardfought litigation, the settlement represents one of the larger settlements in securities class action history and is considered among the top 15 settlements achieved after passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For nearly a decade, HealthSouth, its investment bankers and its auditor perpetrated one of the largest and most pervasive frauds in the history of United States healthcare, prompting Congressional and law enforcement inquiry and resulting in guilty pleas of 16 former HealthSouth executives in related federal criminal prosecutions. Coughlin Stoia attorneys continue to prosecute complex civil actions vigorously against remaining defendants, including former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy as well as UBS AG and Ernst & Young LLP for their participation in this massive scheme to defraud HealthSouth's investors. In January 2007, Coughlin Stoia attorneys defeated the remaining defendants' motions to dismiss, and the case has now proceeded to full discovery where Coughlin Stoia attorneys are aggressively marshaling the evidence required to win further large recoveries for the victims of this immense fraud. In re Qwest Commc'ns Int'l, Inc. Sec. Litig., Case No. 01-CV-1451-REB-CBS (D. Colo.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys are currently serving as lead counsel for the class of investors that purchased Qwest securities. In July 2001, the Firm filed the initial complaint in this action on behalf of its clients, long before any investigation into Qwest's financial statements was initiated by the SEC or Department of Justice. After five years of litigation, lead plaintiffs entered into a proposed partial settlement with Qwest and certain individual defendants that guarantees a $400 million recovery for the class and further provides for a mechanism that will allow the vast majority of class members to share in an additional $250 million recovered by the SEC. The district court approved the settlement in late 2006. Non-settling defendants such as Joseph P. Nacchio and Robert S. Woodruff have appealed the final approval of the settlement. Coughlin Stoia will continue to prosecute the class' claims against Joseph P. Nacchio and Robert S. Woodruff, the CEO and CFO respectively of Qwest during large portions of the class period. In re AT&T Corp. Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1399 (D.N.J.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys served as lead counsel for a class of investors that purchased AT&T common stock. The case charged defendants AT&T Corporation and its former Chairman and CEO, C. Michael Armstrong, with violations of the federal securities laws in connection with AT&T's April 2000 initial public offering of its wireless tracking stock, the largest IPO in American history. After two weeks of trial, and on the eve of scheduled testimony by
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Armstrong and infamous telecom analyst Jack Grubman, defendants agreed to settle the case for $100 million. In granting approval of the settlement, the Court stated the following about the Coughlin Stoia attorneys handing the case: Lead Counsel are highly skilled attorneys with great experience in prosecuting complex securities action[s], and their professionalism and diligence displayed during [this] litigation substantiates this characterization. The Court notes that Lead Counsel displayed excellent lawyering skills through their consistent preparedness during court proceedings, arguments and the trial, and their well-written and thoroughly researched submissions to the Court. Undoubtedly, the attentive and persistent effort of Lead Counsel was integral in achieving the excellent result for the Class. · Brody v. Hellman (U.S. West Dividend Litigation), Case No. 00-CV-4142 (Dist. Ct. for the City and Cty. of Denver, Colo.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys were court-appointed counsel for the class of former stockholders of U.S. West, Inc. who sought to recover a dividend declared by U.S. West before its merger with Qwest. The merger closed before the record and payment dates for the dividend, which Qwest did not pay following the merger. The case was aggressively litigated, and the plaintiffs survived a motion to dismiss, two motions for summary judgment, and successfully certified the class over vigorous opposition from defendants. In certifying the class, the Court commented, "Defendants do not contest that Plaintiffs' attorneys are extremely well qualified to represent the putative class. This litigation has been ongoing for years; in that time Plaintiffs' counsel has proven that they are more than adequate in ability, determination, and resources to represent the putative class." The case settled for $50 million on the day before trial was scheduled to commence. At the August 30, 2005 final approval hearing relating to the settlement, the Court noted that the case "was litigated by extremely talented lawyers on both sides" and that the settlement was "a great result." In describing the risk taken by Coughlin Stoia and its co-counsel, the Court noted, "There wasn't any other lawyer[] in the United States that took the gamble that these people did. Not one other firm anywhere said I'm willing to take that on. I'll go five years. I'll pay out the expenses. I'll put my time and effort on the line." In discussing the difficulties facing Coughlin Stoia in this case, the Court said, "There wasn't any issue that wasn't fought. It took a great deal of skill to get to the point of trial." In concluding, the Court remarked that the class was "fortunate they had some lawyers that had the guts to come forward and do it."

Coughlin Stoia's Securities Department includes dozens of former federal and state prosecutors and trial attorneys. The Firm's securities practice is also strengthened by the existence of a strong Appellate Department, whose collective work has established numerous legal precedents. The Securities Department also utilizes an extensive group of in-house economic and damage analysts, investigators and forensic accountants to aid in the prosecution of complex securities issues. While obtaining monetary recoveries for our clients is our primary focus, Coughlin Stoia attorneys have also been at the forefront of securities fraud prevention. The Firm's prevention efforts are focused on creating important changes in corporate governance, either as part of the global
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settlements of derivative and class cases or through court orders. Recent cases in which such changes were made include: · Pirelli Armstrong Tire Corp. Retiree Med. Benefits Trust v. Hanover Compressor Co., Case No. H-02-0410 (S.D. Tex.). Groundbreaking corporate governance changes obtained include: direct shareholder nomination of two directors; mandatory rotation of the outside audit firm; two-thirds of the board required to be independent; audit and other key committees to be filled only by independent directors; and creation and appointment of lead independent director with authority to set up board meetings. In re Sprint Corp. S'holder Litig., Case No. 00-CV-230077 (Cir. Ct. Jackson County, Mo.). In connection with the settlement of a derivative action involving Sprint Corporation, the company adopted over 60 new corporate governance provisions which, among other things, established a truly independent board of directors and narrowly defines "independence" to eliminate cronyism between the board and top executives; required outside board directors to meet at least twice a year without management present; created an independent director who will hold the authority to set the agenda, a power previously reserved for the CEO; and imposed new rules to prevent directors and officers from vesting their stock on an accelerated basis. Teachers' Ret. Sys. of La. v. Occidental Petroleum Corp., Case No. BC185009 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles County). As part of the settlement, corporate governance changes were made to the composition of the company's board of directors, the company's nominating committee, compensation committee and audit committee. Barry v. E*Trade Group, Inc., Case No. CIV419804 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Mateo County). In connection with settlement of derivative suit, excessive compensation of the company's CEO was eliminated (reduced salary from $800,000 to zero; bonuses reduced and to be repaid if company restates earnings; reduction of stock option grant; and elimination of future stock option grants) and important governance enhancements were obtained, including the appointment of a new unaffiliated outside director as chair of board's compensation committee.

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Through these efforts, Coughlin Stoia has been able to create substantial shareholder guarantees to prevent future securities fraud. The Firm works closely with noted corporate governance consultant Robert Monks and his firm, LENS Governance Advisors, to shape corporate governance remedies for the benefit of investors. Corporate Takeover Litigation Coughlin Stoia is at the forefront of representing the rights of the public shareholders of companies whose management has agreed to a corporate buyout, merger or other corporate transaction. Directors and officers of public companies owe shareholders the highest fiduciary duties under the law. Because corporate takeover transactions are often riddled with conflicts of interest, the duties owed to shareholders are all too often breached, resulting in transactions that are either financially unfair to shareholders, procedurally unfair to shareholders, or both. Among the cases in which

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Coughlin Stoia attorneys have successfully represented shareholders in corporate takeover litigation are: · Charter Township of Clinton Police and Fire Ret. Sys. v. OSI Res. Partners, Inc., Case No. 06-010348 (Hillsborough County Cir. Ct., Fla.). On behalf of a large institutional investor, Coughlin Stoia's attorneys sued to block a deal under which two private equity firms teamed up with the founders and executives of the Outback Steakhouse ("OSI") chain to take the company private. As a result of the litigation, OSI was forced to make major modifications to the corporate merger agreement and to disclose a host of additional financial and other information about the negotiations to shareholders. This, in turn, led to a concern by the private equity buyers that the shareholders, armed with more information, would vote against the transaction. Thus, the consideration was increased by over $60 million. The OSI shareholders approved the transaction, which was improved both procedurally and financially by the litigation. In re HCA Inc. S'holder Litig., Case No. 06-1816 III (Davidson County Ch. Ct., Tenn.). Coughlin Stoia represented Pirelli Armstrong Tire Corporation Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, on behalf of itself and HCA's shareholders, in this action challenging the inadequate process by which defendants agreed to sell HCA (the $33 billion sale was the largest management-led buyout in history at the time it was announced). On the eve of a preliminary injunction hearing challenging the sale of HCA, defendants capitulated to Coughlin Stoia's client's demands and agreed to various provisions that helped ensure a fair merger process for HCA's public shareholders. Specifically, Coughlin Stoia was instrumental in achieving the following substantial benefits on behalf of the class: (i) a material expansion of appraisal rights for those HCA shareholders who opted for appraisal rather than accepting the $51 per share offered in the transaction; (ii) a $280 million (or almost 60%) reduction in the termination fee that that would have been payable to the buyout group in the event that a competing bid for HCA emerged, thus making competing bids more feasible; (iii) disclosure of additional material information to shareholders, thus aiding them in deciding whether to approve or reject the transaction, and whether to seek appraisal as an alternative thereto; and (iv) a provision creating "majority of the minority" protection for the company's public shareholders which would permit the litigation to proceed unless the transaction obtained the approval of a majority of those shareholders unaffiliated with the First family (HCA's controlling shareholders). Wetzel v. Karol (ElkCorp Derivative), Case No. CC-06-18562-B (Dallas County Ct. at Law, Tex.). Coughlin Stoia's attorneys challenged defendants' modifications to ElkCorp's shareholder rights plan (the "poison pill") as a deal-protection device to "lock up" the proposed buyout of the company by Carlyle and prevent the company shareholders from tendering their shares into the tender offer that had been made by Building Materials Corporation of America ("BMCA"). The Court granted Coughlin Stoia's request for a temporary restraining order which prohibited defendants from issuing any rights certificates pursuant to the poison pill and also prohibited the payment of a termination fee of $29 million by the company to Carlyle.

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In re Prime Hospitality, Inc. S'holders Litig., Case No. 652-N, 2005 Del. Ch. LEXIS 61 (Del. Ch. Ct. May 4, 2005). On behalf of a large institutional investor, Coughlin Stoia's attorneys successfully objected to an inadequate settlement in this action. After the Court refused to approve the settlement and granted the institutional investor's motion to intervene, Coughlin Stoia successfully renegotiated a $25 million settlement for Prime Hospitality's shareholders. In re Cablevision Sys. Corp. S'holders Litig., Case No. 06-016807 (N.Y. Super. Ct., County of Nassau). Coughlin Stoia represented a large institutional investor as one of the court-appointed lead counsel in a lawsuit seeking to block the attempted buyout of Cablevision by its majority shareholders. The litigation resulted in an increase of more than $2.2 billion in cash consideration being offered to Cablevision's public stockholders, and provided additional protections, including $300 million of personal guarantees from the controlling shareholders for any liabilities payable as a result of a breach of the merger agreement. Phillips v. Reckson Assoc. Realty Corp., Case No. 06-12871 (N.Y. Super. Ct., County of Nassau). Coughlin Stoia served as lead counsel in an action involving the takeover of Reckson Associates Corporation by SL Green Realty Corporation pursuant to which SL Green was to acquire Reckson and then sell a large portion of Reckson's real estate properties back to former members of Reckson's management team. Following briefing on a motion for a preliminary injunction, defendants agreed, among other things, that if the former members of Reckson's management sell their interests in certain of those properties at a profit within three years, Reckson's stockholders would receive an agreed-upon percentage of any such profit. In addition, in the event that Reckson's former management is given the right and approval to develop a certain parcel of land, they are required to pay Reckson's former shareholders an additional $20 million in cash. Moreover, as part of the settlement, Reckson's former shareholders received Reckson's interests in contingent profit-sharing participations in connection with the sale of certain Long Island industrial properties. Also, as a result of the litigation, defendants were required to make additional disclosures about the terms and conditions of the deal between SL Green and Reckson management. Those disclosures resulted in shareholders demanding and receiving a $25 million dividend.

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Options Backdating Litigation As has been widely reported in the media, the stock options backdating scandal suddenly engulfed hundreds of publicly traded companies throughout the country. Coughlin Stoia is at the forefront of investigating and, where necessary, pursuing options backdating derivative and securities cases in this new and developing area. Coughlin Stoia's lawyers are presently prosecuting the enormous and high-profile UnitedHealth Group securities class action in Minnesota, where the California Public Employees' Retirement System is the court-appointed sole lead plaintiff. Coughlin Stoia's lawyers are also serving as lead counsel in several large derivative actions such as The Home Depot, Inc., Vitesse Semiconductor, Family Dollar Stores, Inc. and KLA-Tencor Corp.

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Insurance Fraud in the insurance industry by executives, agents, brokers, lenders and others is one of the most costly crimes in America. Driving up everyone's insurance prices, some experts estimate the annual cost of this rising tide of white collar crime to be $120 billion nationally. Coughlin Stoia stands at the forefront in protecting the rights of consumers and state and federal entities against insurance fraud and unfair business practices in the insurance industry. Coughlin Stoia attorneys were the first to expose the illegal and improper bid-rigging and kickback scandal between insurance companies and their brokers. The Firm is currently one of the lead firms representing businesses, individuals, school districts, counties and the State of California in numerous actions in state and federal courts nationwide. Our attorneys prosecute claims relating to the fraudulent and improper sale and servicing of insurance policies to recoup losses for victimized policy owners. For example, Coughlin Stoia attorneys have represented and continue to represent policy owners against insurance companies who made misrepresentations at the point of sale concerning how the policy will perform, the amount of money the policy will cost, and whether premiums will "vanish." Claims also include allegations that purchasers were misled concerning the financing of a new policy, falling victim to a "replacement" or "churning" sales scheme where they were convinced to use loans, partial surrenders or withdrawals of cash values from an existing permanent life insurance policy to purchase a new policy. Coughlin Stoia attorneys have long been at the forefront of race discrimination litigation against life insurance companies for their practice of intentionally charging African-Americans and other minorities more for life insurance than similarly situated Caucasians. Our attorneys have recovered over $400 million for African-Americans and other minority class members as redress for the civil rights abuses they were subjected to, including landmark recoveries in McNeil v. Am. Gen. Life & Accident Ins. Co., Thompson v. Metro. Life Ins. Co. and Williams v. United Ins. Co. of Am. Coughlin Stoia attorneys have also battled the automobile insurance companies that insists on placing low quality "imitation" parts on their customer's cars. The insurance group is also actively litigating against those insurers who overcharge their customers for their insurance coverage. Antitrust Coughlin Stoia's antitrust practice focuses on representing businesses and individuals who have been the victims of price-fixing, unlawful monopolization, tying and other anticompetitive conduct. The Firm has taken a leading role in many of the largest federal and state price-fixing, monopolization and tying cases throughout the United States. · The Apple iPod iTunes Antitrust Litig., Case No. C-05-00037-JW (N.D. Cal.). Coughlin Stoia is one of two firms appointed lead counsel for the proposed iPod directpurchaser class ­ a class of several million people. Plaintiffs assert that Apple illegally tied the purchase of digital music and video files from its iTunes Store to the purchase of an iPod by making it impossible to play music and video purchased on iTunes using other portable players, and unlawfully monopolized the market for portable digital music players. This conduct locked Apple's competitors out of the market and allowed
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Apple to inflate the price at which iPods were sold. The trial court denied Apple's motion to dismiss and discovery continues. · In re Digital Music Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1780 (S.D.N.Y.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys are co-lead counsel in an action against the major music labels (Sony-BMG, EMI, Universal and Warner Music Group) in a case involving music that can be downloaded digitally from the Internet. In this case, plaintiffs allege that defendants restrained the development of digital downloads and agreed to fix the distribution price of digital downloads at supracompetitive prices. Plaintiffs also allege that as a result of defendants' restraint of the development of digital downloads, and the market and price for downloads, defendants were able to maintain the prices of their CDs at supracompetitive levels. Defendants' motion to dismiss is being briefed. In re Late Fee and Over-Limit Fee Litig., Case No. C-07-00634-SBA (N.D. Cal.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys are lead counsel in an action against the major credit card issuers (Citibank, Bank of America, JPMorgan/Chase, Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual), challenging the pricing of late fees and over-limit fees on substantive due process grounds. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants have agreed to set the prices of late fees at supracompetitive levels. Defendants' motion to dismiss is being briefed. In re NASDAQ Market-Makers Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1023 (S.D.N.Y.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys served as co-lead counsel in this case, in which investors alleged that NASDAQ market-makers set and maintained artificially wide spreads pursuant to an industry-wide conspiracy. After three and one half years of intense litigation, the case settled for a total of $1.027 billion, the largest ever antitrust settlement. The Court commended counsel for its work, saying: Counsel for the Plaintiffs are preeminent in the field of class action litigation, and the roster of counsel for the Defendants includes some of the largest, most successful, and well regarded law firms in the country. It is difficult to conceive of better representation than the parties to this action achieved. See In re NASDAQ Market-Makers Antitrust Litig., 187 F.R.D. 465, 474 (S.D.N.Y. 1998). One of the most significant events in the case ­ Judge Sweet's decision to certify the class ­ resulted from efforts by Coughlin Stoia lawyers, including oral argument by Leonard B. Simon, Of Counsel to Coughlin Stoia. · In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merch. Disc. Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1720 (E.D.N.Y.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys are co-lead counsel in the world's largest antitrust action (in terms of dollar value of commerce). In this case, a class of merchants allege Visa, MasterCard and their member banks, including Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Wells Fargo and HSBC among others, have conspired to fix the price of the interchange rate on credit cards and signature debit cards. In addition, plaintiffs allege that the defendants have set and enforced rules against merchants that restrain competition in the payment card industry,
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including the no-surcharge rule and the no-minimum-purchase rule. The motions to dismiss are sub judice and discovery continues. Other cases include: · Hall v. NCAA (Restricted Earnings Coach Antitrust Litigation), Case No. 94-2392-KHV (D. Kan.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys served as lead counsel and lead trial counsel for one of three classes of coaches who alleged that the National Collegiate Athletic Association illegally fixed their compensation by instituting the "restricted earnings coach" rule. On May 4, 1998, the jury returned verdicts in favor of the three classes for more than $70 million. Thomas & Thomas Rodmakers, Inc. v. Newport Adhesives and Composites, Inc. (Carbon Fiber Antitrust Litigation), Case No. CV-99-7796 (C.D. Cal.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys were co-lead counsel (with one other firm) in this consolidated class action, in which a class of purchasers alleged that the major producers of carbon fiber fixed its price from 1993 to 1999. The case settled for $675 million. In re DRAM Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1486 (N.D. Cal.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys served on the executive committee in this multi-district class action, in which a class of purchasers of dynamic, random access memory chips, known as DRAM, alleged that the leading manufacturers of semiconductor products fixed the price of DRAM from the fall of 2001 through at least the end of June 2002. The case settled for more than $300 million. In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1030 (M.D. Fla.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys served as co-lead counsel for a class of contact lens wearers alleging that the principal manufacturers of disposable contact lenses conspired with the leadership of the American Optometric Association and other eye care practitioners to boycott alternative channels of contact lens distribution, including pharmacies and mail order suppliers. The case settled for $89 million five weeks into a jury trial. Microsoft I-V Cases, J.C.C.P. No. 4106 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco County). Coughlin Stoia attorneys served on the executive committee in these consolidated cases, in which California indirect purchasers challenged Microsoft's illegal exercise of monopoly power in the operating system, word processing and spreadsheet markets. In a settlement approved by the Court, class counsel obtained an unprecedented $1.1 billion worth of relief for the business and consumer class members who purchased the Microsoft products. In re Currency Conversion Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1409 (S.D.N.Y.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys have recovered $336 million for credit and debit cardholders in this multi-district litigation, in which Coughlin Stoia serves as co-lead counsel. Plaintiffs allege that VISA and MasterCard, and certain leading member banks of Visa and MasterCard, conspired to fix and maintain the foreign currency conversion fee charged to United States cardholders, and failed to disclose adequately the fee in violation of federal law. The trial court has preliminary approved a $336 million settlement. The proposed $336 million settlement awaits final approval.
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In re Carbon Black Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1543 (D. Mass.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys recovered $20 million for the class in this multi-district litigation price-fixing class action, in which Coughlin Stoia serves as co-lead counsel. Plaintiffs purchased carbon black from major producers that allegedly unlawfully conspired to fix the price of carbon black, which is used in the manufacture of tires, rubber and plastic products, inks and other products, from 1999 through the present. The proposed settlement $20 million awaits final approval.

Consumer Fraud Coughlin Stoia's attorneys represent plaintiffs nationwide in a variety of important, complex consumer class actions. Coughlin Stoia attorneys have taken a leading role in many of the largest federal and state consumer fraud, human rights, environmental, public health and tobacco-related cases throughout the United States. Coughlin Stoia is also actively involved in numerous cases relating to the financial services industry, pursuing claims on behalf of individuals victimized by abusive mortgage lending practices, including violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, market timing violations in connection with the sale of variable annuities and deceptive consumer credit lending practices in violation of the Truth-In-Lending Act. Current consumer cases include: · Florida Emergency Room Physicians HMO Litigation. Coughlin Stoia attorneys represent emergency care physicians suing four HMOs over improper payments. The cases, pending in state court in Florida, have been litigated all the way up to the Florida Supreme Court, which upheld a lower appellate court's ruling in favor of the physicians. Home Loan Lenders Overcharging Consumers. Coughlin Stoia attorneys represent customers of Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual and Countrywide, alleging that these banks have improperly overcharged home-loan customers hundreds of dollars for work that costs only a few dollars per loan. Cellphone Termination Fee Cases. Coughlin Stoia attorneys are co-lead counsel in a lawsuit against the six major wireless telephone service providers in California. The plaintiffs allege that the early termination fee provisions in defendants' contracts are illegal penalties under California law, designed to unfairly tether consumers to longterm contracts and prevent customers from changing their wireless service providers. Classes have been certified against Nextel, Sprint and Verizon.

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Prior consumer cases include: · Tenet Healthcare Cases. Coughlin Stoia attorneys were co-lead counsel in a class action alleging a fraudulent scheme of corporate misconduct, resulting in the overcharging of uninsured patients by the Tenet chain of hospitals. The Firm's attorneys represented uninsured patients of Tenet hospitals nationwide who were overcharged by Tenet's admittedly "aggressive pricing strategy" which resulted in price gouging of the uninsured. The case was settled with Tenet changing its practices and making refunds to patients.
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Kehoe v. Fidelity Fed., Case No. 03-80593-CIV (S.D. Fla.). After years of litigation that included appeals to the United States Supreme Court, Coughlin Stoia attorneys successfully negotiated a $50 million all cash settlement in this cutting-edge case involving consumer privacy rights. The published decision in Kehoe, one of the first opinions construing the Federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, was a victory for Coughlin Stoia's clients and has been cited over 50 times by other courts since its publication in 2005. Schwartz v. Visa Int'l, Case No. 822404-4 (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda County). After years of litigation and a six month trial, Coughlin Stoia attorneys won one of the largest consumer-protection verdicts ever awarded in the United States. Coughlin Stoia attorneys represented California consumers in an action against Visa and MasterCard for intentionally imposing and concealing a fee from their cardholders. The Court ordered Visa and MasterCard to return $800,000,000 in cardholder losses, which represented 100% of the amount illegally taken, plus 2% interest. In addition, the Court ordered full disclosure of the hidden fee. In re Lifescan, Inc. Consumer Litig., Case No. CV-98-20321-JF (N.D. Cal.). Coughlin Stoia attorneys were responsible for achieving a $45 million all cash settlement with Johnson & Johnson and its wholly owned subsidiary, Lifescan, Inc., over claims that Lifescan deceptively marketed and sold a defective blood-glucose monitoring system for diabetics. The Lifescan settlement was noted by the District Court for the Northern District of California as providing "exceptional results" for members of the class.

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Human Rights, Labor Practices and Public Policy Coughlin Stoia attorneys have a long tradition of representing the victims of unfair labor practices and violations of human rights. These include: · Does I v. The Gap, Inc., Case No. 01 0031 (D. N. Mariana Islands). In this groundbreaking case, Coughlin Stoia attorneys represented a class of 30,000 garment workers who alleged that they had worked under sweatshop conditions in garment factories in Saipan that produced clothing for top United States retailers such as The Gap, Target and J.C. Penney. In the first action of its kind, Coughlin Stoia attorneys pursued claims against the factories and the retailers alleging violations of RICO, the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Law of Nations based on the alleged systemic labor and human rights abuses occurring in Saipan. This case was a companion to two other actions: Does I v. Advance Textile Corp., Case No. 99 0002 (D. N. Mariana Islands), which alleged overtime violations by the garment factories under the Fair Labor Standards Act and local labor law, and UNITE v. The Gap, Inc., Case No. 300474 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco County), which alleged violations of California's Unfair Practices Law by the United States retailers. These actions resulted in a settlement of approximately $20 million that included a comprehensive monitoring program to address past violations by the factories and prevent future ones. The members of the litigation team were honored as Trial Lawyers of the Year by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice in recognition of the team's efforts at bringing about the precedentsetting settlement of the actions.
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Kasky v. Nike, Inc., 27 Cal. 4th 939 (2002). The California Supreme Court upheld claims that an apparel manufacturer misled the public regarding its exploitative labor practices, thereby violating California statutes prohibiting unfair competition and false advertising. The Court rejected defense contentions that any misconduct was protected by the First Amendment, finding the heightened constitutional protection afforded to noncommercial speech inappropriate in such a circumstance. World War II-Era Slave Labor. Against steep odds, the Firm's lawyers took up the claims of people forced to work as slave labor for Japanese corporations during the Second World War. Their human rights case ran into trouble when the Ninth Circuit agreed with the Bush administration that any claims against Japanese corporations and their subsidiaries were preempted by the federal government's foreign-affairs power. See Deutsch v. Turner, 324 F.3d 692 (9th Cir. 2003). The case nonetheless demonstrates the lawyers' dedication to prosecuting human-rights violations against the challenge of formidable political opposition. The Cintas Litigation. Brought against one of the nation's largest commercial laundries for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act for misclassifying truck drivers as salesmen to avoid payment of overtime. Taco Bell workers. Coughlin Stoia attorneys represented over 2,300 Taco Bell workers who were denied thousands of hours of overtime pay because, among other reasons, they were improperly classified as overtime-exempt employees.

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Shareholder derivative litigation brought by Coughlin Stoia attorneys at times also involves stopping anti-union activities, including: · Southern Pacific/Overnite. A shareholder action stemming from several hundred million dollars in loss of value in the company due to systematic violations by Overnite of United States labor laws. Massey Energy. A shareholder action against an anti-union employer for flagrant violations of environmental laws resulting in multi-million dollar penalties. Crown Petroleum. A shareholder action against a Texas-based oil company for selfdealing and breach of fiduciary duty while also involved in a union lockout.

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Environment and Public Health Coughlin Stoia attorneys have also represented plaintiffs in class actions related to environmental law. The Firm's attorneys represented, on a pro bono basis, the Sierra Club and the National Economic Development and Law Center as amici curiae in a federal suit designed to uphold the federal and state use of project labor agreements ("PLAs"). The suit represented a legal challenge to President Bush's Executive Order 13202, which prohibits the use of project labor agreements on construction projects receiving federal funds. Our amici brief in the matter outlined and stressed the significant environmental and socio-economic benefits associated with the use of PLAs on large-scale construction projects.

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Attorneys with Coughlin Stoia have been involved in several other significant environmental cases, including: · Public Citizen v. U.S. D.O.T. Coughlin Stoia attorneys represented a coalition of labor, environmental, industry and public health organizations including Public Citizen, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, California AFL-CIO and California Trucking Industry in a challenge to a decision by the Bush Administration to lift a congressionally-imposed "moratorium" on cross-border trucking from Mexico on the basis that such trucks do not conform to emission controls under the Clean Air Act, and further, that the Administration did not first complete a comprehensive environmental impact analysis as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The suit was dismissed by the Supreme Court, the Court holding that because the D.O.T. lacked discretion to prevent cross-border trucking, an environmental assessment was not required. Sierra Club v. AK Steel. Brought on behalf of the Sierra Club for massive emissions of air and water pollution by a steel mill, including homes of workers living in the adjacent communities, in violation of the Federal Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act. MTBE Litigation. Brought on behalf of various water districts for befouling public drinking water with MTBE, a gasoline additive linked to cancer. Exxon Valdez. Brought on behalf of fisherman and Alaska residents for billions of dollars in damages resulting from the greatest oil spill in United States history. Avilla Beach. A citizens' suit against UNOCAL for leakage from the oil company pipeline so severe it literally destroyed the town of Avilla Beach, California.

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Federal laws such as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and state laws such as California Proposition 65 exist to protect the environment and the public from abuses by corporate and government organizations. Companies can be found liable for negligence, trespass or intentional environmental damage, be forced to pay for reparations and to come into compliance with existing laws. Prominent cases litigated by Coughlin Stoia attorneys include representing more than 4,000 individuals suing for personal injury and property damage related to the Stringfellow Dump Site in Southern California, participation in the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation and the toxic spill arising from a Southern Pacific train derailment near Dunsmuir, California. The Fight Against Big Tobacco Coughlin Stoia attorneys have led the fight against Big Tobacco since 1991. As an example, Coughlin Stoia attorneys filed the case that helped get rid of Joe Camel representing various public and private plaintiffs, including the State of Arkansas, the general public in California, the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Birmingham, 14 counties in California and the working men and women of this country in the Union Pension and Welfare Fund cases that have been filed in 40 states. In 1992, Coughlin Stoia attorneys filed the first case in the country that alleged a conspiracy by the Big Tobacco companies.
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Pro Bono Coughlin Stoia attorneys have been recognized for their long history of pro bono work and demonstrated commitment to providing services for the poor and disenfranchised. In 1999, for example, the Firm's lawyers were honored as finalists for the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program's 1999 Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award, based on a disability-rights case, Badua v. City of San Diego. Linda Kilb, of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, lauded the lawyers', "talent, effort, and commitment" in a case that the local ACLU described as one of the year's most important. In 2003, the Firm's lawyers earned a nomination for the California State Bar President's Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year award. The State Bar President commended them for "dedication to the provision of pro bono legal services to the poor" and for "extending legal services to underserved communities." Carl Poirot of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program praised the lawyers for "extraordinary efforts" representing people "who clearly do not have the financial resources or wherewithal to retain legal counsel." More recently, one of the Firm's lawyers undertook the representation of an impoverished Somali family seeking political asylum. A mother and her children belonged to an ethnic minority subject to systematic persecution and genocidal violence in Somalia. They sought desperately to escape that violence, and also to preserve the children from the genital mutilation forced on Somali girls. Christie Suriel took the case after an initial application for political asylum had been denied ­ and she vigorously represented the family, which was granted political asylum in May of 2006. The Firm's lawyers worked as cooperating attorneys with the ACLU in Sanchez v. County of San Diego, a class action filed on behalf of welfare applicants subject to the County's "Project 100%" program, under which investigators from the San Diego D.A.'s office, Public Assistance Fraud Division, lacking any suspicion of fraud or wrongdoing, enter and search the home of every person who applies for welfare benefits. The D.A.'s Fraud Division agents would arrive unannounced at applicants' homes and ask to walk through them, inspecting the contents of bedroom closets, dresser drawers and bathroom medicine cabinets. They also initiated "collateral contacts" with neighbors and employers, identifying themselves as Public Assistance Fraud Investigators and asking questions about the applicant ­ never explaining they had no reason to suspect wrongdoing. The Firm's lawyers obtained real relief. The County admitted that under controlling regulations it could not make food stamps hinge on the Project 100% "home visits." The district court ruled that the D.A.'s program of unconsented "collateral contacts" violated state regulations ­ putting an end to the practice of law-enforcement officers interviewing applicants' neighbors and employers without first obtaining the applicants' written consent. With respect to CalWORKs aid to needy families, however, the district court sustained the D.A.'s "home visits" and "walk throughs," rejecting arguments that it violates the Fourth Amendment for law-enforcement officers to inspect the contents of welfare applicants' bedroom closets and bathroom medicine cabinets absent any reason to suspect wrongdoing or ineligibility. A divided panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed that ruling over the vigorous dissent of Judge Raymond C. Fisher, who blasted the majority for "suggesting that welfare applicants may be treated the same as convicted criminals." Sanchez v. County of San Diego, 464 F.3d 916, 932 (9th Cir. 2006). A petition for en banc rehearing was denied with eight judges publicly dissenting from what Judge Harry Pregerson termed "an assault on our country's poor." Sanchez v. County of San Diego, 483 F.3d 965,
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966 (9th Cir. 2007). The decision was noted and sharply criticized in the pages of the Harvard Law Review and The New York Times, and the Firm now is working with a former acting Solicitor General of the United States to obtain review by the United States Supreme Court. Not all of the Firm's pro bono work has focused on rights of impoverished citizens. As noted above, the Firm's lawyers also have represented groups such as the Sierra Club and the National Economic Development and Law Center as amici curiae before the United States Supreme Court. And senior appellate partner Eric Alan Isaacson has filed amicus curiae briefs on behalf of religious organizations and clergy supporting civil rights, opposing government support for discrimination on the basis of personal religious viewpoint, and generally upholding the American traditions of religious freedom and church-state separation.

JUDICIAL COMMENDATIONS
Coughlin Stoia attorneys have been commended by countless judges all over the country for the quality of their representation in class-action lawsuits. When Judge Harmon appointed Coughlin Stoia attorneys as lead counsel for Enron securities purchasers, she commented, "In reviewing the extensive briefing submitted regarding the Lead Plaintiff/Lead Counsel selection, the Court has found that the submissions of [Coughlin Stoia attorneys] stand out in the breadth and depth of its research and insight." See In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig., 206 F.R.D. 427, 458 (S.D. Tex. 2002). Later, in a preliminary class certification order discussing the issues of Enron, Judge Harmon had this to say about the Firm: The firm is comprised of probably the most prominent securities class action attorneys in the country. It is not surprising that Defendants have not argued that counsel is not adequate. Counsel's conduct in zealously and efficiently prosecuting this litigation with commitment of substantial resources to that goal evidences those qualities. . . . Since the beginning they have propelled the Newby litigation forward. They have established the website by which attorneys serve and communicate with each other, established the central depository for discovery materials, negotiated an agreed, organized, nonduplicative, and pared-down discovery schedule, and negotiated complex settlements with a number of defendants. In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig., Case No. H-01-3624, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43146 (S.D. Tex. June 5, 2006). In Stanley v. Safeskin Corp., Case No. 99 CV 454-BTM (S.D. Cal. May 25, 2004), where Coughlin Stoia attorneys obtained $55 million for the class of investors, Judge Moskowitz stated: I said this once before, and I'll say it again. I thought the way that your firm handled this case was outstanding. This was not an easy case. It was a complicated case, and every step of the way, I thought they did a very professional job. In April 2005, in granting final approval of a $100 million settlement obtained after two weeks of trial in In re AT&T Corp. Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1399 (D.N.J.), Judge Garret E. Brown, Jr. stated the following about the Coughlin Stoia attorneys prosecuting the case:
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Lead Counsel are highly skilled attorneys with great experience in prosecuting complex securities action[s], and their professionalism and diligence displayed during litigation substantiates this characterization. The Court notes that Lead Counsel displayed excellent lawyering skills through their consistent preparedness during court proceedings, arguments and the trial, and their well-written and thoroughly researched submissions to the Court. Undoubtedly, the attentive and persistent effort of Lead Counsel was integral in achieving the excellent result for the Class. In a December 2006 hearing on the $50 million consumer privacy class action settlement in Kehoe v. Fidelity Fed., Case No. 03-80593-CIV (S.D. Fla.), United States District Court Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley said the following: First, I thank counsel. As I said repeatedly on both sides we have been very, very fortunate. We have had fine lawyers on both sides. The issues in the case are significant issues. We are talking about issues dealing with consumer protection and privacy -- something that is increasingly important today in our society. [I] want you to know I thought long and hard about this. I am absolutely satisfied that the settlement is a fair and reasonable settlement. [I] thank the lawyers on both sides for the extraordinary effort that has been brought to bear here. In July 2007, the Honorable Richard Owen of the Southern District of New York approved the $129 million settlement of the In re Doral Fin. Corp. Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1706 (S.D.N.Y.) finding in his Order that: The services provided by Lead Counsel [Coughlin Stoia] were efficient and highly successful, resulting in an outstanding recovery for the Class without the substantial expense, risk and delay of continued litigation. Such efficiency and effectiveness supports the requested fee percentage. [] Cases brought under the federal securities laws are notably difficult and notoriously uncertain. . . . Despite the novelty and difficulty of the issues raised, Lead Plaintiffs' counsel secured an excellent result for the Class. . . . Based upon Lead Plaintiff's counsel's diligent efforts on behalf of the Class, as well as their skill and reputations, Lead Plaintiff's counsel were able to negotiate a very favorable result for the Class. . . . The ability of [Coughlin Stoia] to obtain such a favorable partial settlement for the Class in the face of such formidable opposition confirms the superior quality of their representation.

NOTABLE CLIENTS
Public Fund Clients
· · · Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Alaska State Pension Investment Board. California Public Employees' Retirement System.
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· · · · · · · · · · · ·

California State Teachers' Retirement System. Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Illinois State Board of Investment. Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association. Maine State Retirement System. The Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission Employees' Retirement System. Milwaukee Employees' Retirement System. Minnesota State Board of Investment. New Hampshire Retirement System. New Mexico Public Funds (New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association, and New Mexico State Investment Council). Ohio Public Funds (Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, Ohio State Highway Patrol Retirement System, and Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation). The Regents of the University of California. State Universities Retirement System of Illinois