Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Announce Proposed Settlement in the First Solar Securities Litigation

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following statement is being issued by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP regarding the First Solar Securities Litigation:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Mark Smilovits, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiff, vs. First Solar, Inc., Michael J. Ahearn, Robert J. Gillette, Mark R.Widmar, Jens Meyerhoff, James Zhu, Bruce Sohn and David Eaglesham, Defendants.

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No. 2:12-cv-00555-DGC CLASS ACTION

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION

TO: ALL PERSONS AND ENTITIES THAT PURCHASED OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRED THE PUBLICLY-TRADED SECURITIES OF FIRST SOLAR, INC. (“FIRST SOLAR”) DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN APRIL 30, 2008 AND FEBRUARY 28, 2012, INCLUSIVE (THE “CLASS PERIOD”)

THIS NOTICE WAS AUTHORIZED BY THE COURT. IT IS NOT A LAWYER SOLICITATION. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that a hearing will be held on June 30, 2020, at 1:30 p.m., before the Honorable David G. Campbell at the Sandra Day O’Connor United States Courthouse, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003-2156, in Courtroom 603, to determine whether: (1) the proposed settlement (the “Settlement”) of the above-captioned action as set forth in the Stipulation of Settlement (“Stipulation”)1 for $350,000,000.00 in cash should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate; (2) the Judgment as provided under the Stipulation should be entered dismissing the Litigation with prejudice; (3) to award Lead Counsel attorneys’ fees and costs, charges and expenses out of the Settlement Fund (as defined in the Notice of Proposed Settlement of Class Action (“Notice”), which is discussed below) and, if so, in what amount; (4) to pay Lead Plaintiffs for their costs and expenses in representing the Class out of the Settlement Fund and, if so, in what amount; and (5) the Plan of Allocation should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate.

IF YOU PURCHASED OR ACQUIRED FIRST SOLAR PUBLICLY-TRADED SECURITIES BETWEEN APRIL 30, 2008 AND FEBRUARY 28, 2012, INCLUSIVE, YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF THIS LITIGATION.

To share in the distribution of the Settlement Fund, you must establish your rights by submitting a Proof of Claim and Release form by mail (postmarked no later than July 1, 2020) or electronically (no later than July 1, 2020). Your failure to submit your Proof of Claim and Release by July 1, 2020, will subject your claim to rejection and preclude your receiving any of the recovery in connection with the Settlement of this Litigation. If you are a Member of the Class and did not timely and validly request exclusion therefrom in accordance with the requirements set forth by the Court in connection with the Notice of Pendency of Class Action, you will be bound by the Settlement and any judgment and release entered in the Litigation, including, but not limited to, the Judgment, whether or not you submit a Proof of Claim and Release.

If you have not received a copy of the Notice, which more completely describes the Settlement and your rights thereunder (including your right to object to the Settlement), and a Proof of Claim and Release, you may obtain these documents, as well as a copy of the Stipulation and other settlement documents, online at www.FSLRSecuritiesLitigation.com, or by writing to:

First Solar Securities Litigation
c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC
P.O. Box 43336
Providence, RI 02940-3336

Inquiries should NOT be directed to Defendants, the Court, or the Clerk of the Court.

Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice or for a Proof of Claim, may be made to a representative of Lead Counsel:

ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP
Rick Nelson
655 West Broadway, Suite 1900
San Diego, CA 92101
Telephone: [phone]

IF YOU ARE A CLASS MEMBER, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT, THE PLAN OF ALLOCATION, THE REQUEST BY LEAD COUNSEL FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND EXPENSES AND/OR THE AWARDS TO LEAD PLAINTIFFS PURSUANT TO 15 U.S.C. §78u-4(a)(4) IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR REPRESENTATION OF THE CLASS. ANY OBJECTIONS MUST BE FILED WITH THE COURT AND SENT TO LEAD COUNSEL AND DEFENDANTS’ COUNSEL BY JUNE 9, 2020, IN THE MANNER AND FORM EXPLAINED IN THE NOTICE.

DATED: March 2, 2020

BY ORDER OF THE COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

 ¹ The Stipulation can be viewed and/or obtained at www.FSLRSecuritiesLitigation.com. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein have the meaning given to them in the Stipulation.