Settlement Notice:
The deadline for applying to receive settlement benefits has passed and all settlement funds have been distributed.
On June 9, 2011, Siskinds LLP, representing a retail investor of Cathay Forest Products Corp (“Cathay”, former TSX-V symbol:CFZ; CUSIP Number: 14915N), filed a proposed class action in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“Court”) against Cathay and certain of its former directors and executive officers (“Action”).
The Action followed Cathay’s restatement of its financial statements for the third quarter of 2009, the 2009 fiscal year, and the first two quarters of 2010. It was alleged that, among other things, Cathay’s December 2009 prospectus and some of Cathay’s other disclosure documents were materially misleading.
On September 13, 2013, the Court certified the Action as a class proceeding solely for the purposes of a settlement. You may view a copy of the Certification Order, which includes the Settlement Agreement here: [Order and Settlement Agreement]. In granting certification, the Court appointed Siskinds LLP as Class Counsel and defined the “Class” or “Class Members” as follows:
All persons, wherever they may reside or be domiciled, other than Excluded Persons and Opt-Out Parties*, who purchased or otherwise acquired, sold or held Eligible Shares.**
*The terms Eligible Shares, Excluded Persons and Opt-Out Parties” are defined in the
Settlement Agreement linked above.
**In general terms, Eligible Shares means Cathay shares purchased or otherwise acquired during the Class Period (the Class Period is November 9, 2009 to and including August 21, 2013). Please refer to the Settlement Agreement for the defined terms.
The Opt-Out deadline (or the time by which a Class Member could exclude him, her or itself from the Action) was November 17, 2013 and has since passed. As such, Class Members cannot Opt-Out of the Action.
There has been a Settlement
The Settlement provides for the Settling Defendants’ insurer to pay an amount of CAD $1.9 million for the full and final release of all claims made and that could have been made in the action against (a) the Settling Defendants, and (b) Cathay’s former executive officer, Anthony Ng, who did not appear in the Action. The Settlement is a compromise of disputed claims and is not an admission of liability, wrongdoing or fault on the part of any of the Settling Defendants, all of whom have denied, and continue to deny, the allegations made against them in the action. The Settlement has been approved by the Court: [Order]
Participating in the Settlement
The Settlement Agreement and Plan of Allocation were approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by Order issued November 22, 2013. In addition, the Court has also approved a Notice which provides information on how Class Members may file a claim for compensation under the Settlement Agreement. It is important that Class Members review the notice carefully, as their rights may be affected. You can access the Notice here: [English] [French]
Class Members’ entitlements to compensation will be calculated pursuant to the Plan of allocation. You may view a copy of the Plan of Allocation here: [Plan of Allocation].
You may access the Claim Form here: [English] [French]. Claim Forms must be submitted to the Claims Administrator by March 31, 2014 and in the manner identified in the Notice and the General Instructions provided with the Claim Form.
The settlement has now concluded and all approved claims have been paid.