Case Updates
BFA Obtains Final Approval of $129 Million Settlement for Granite Investors
On March 17, 2022, Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California granted final approval of a $129 million settlement that BFA secured for investors who purchased or acquired stock in Granite Construction Inc. between February 17, 2017 and October 24, 2019 and were damaged as a result.
The case involves allegations that Granite improperly reported revenue from several of Granite’s largest construction projects in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and primarily alleges violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act for fraud in connection with the purchase or sale of a security. BFA served as sole class counsel on behalf of the class and the class representative, the Police Retirement System of St. Louis.
At the time, the settlement was the third largest settlement approved in the Northern District of California in the last decade. The settlement promises to compensate investors for 20-30% of their estimated damages, which exceeds by nearly 400% the average rate of recovery in cases alleging claims under Section 10(b).
In approving the settlement, Judge Alsup noted that the “$129 million settlement flowed from the hard work of class counsel, the discovery they took, the investigations they did, and their victories in court.” He further observed that “the $129 million settlement is almost entirely the result of the hard work of class counsel,” that “[c]lass counsel investigated this case in great depth,” and that class counsel’s efforts “plausibly led to a restatement” whereby Granite admitted that its financial statements could no longer be relied upon.
The settlement fund, less expenses and fees, will now be administered by the Court-appointed claims administrator, Epiq Class Action and Claims Solutions Inc. Epiq is in the process of reviewing and processing all claims submitted by investors, after which it will make final determinations about how the fund will be distributed, on a pro rata basis, to investors. That process may take several months.
Judge Alsup’s Order granting final approval can be found under Downloads to the right.
For more information about the settlement, please visit the settlement website at www.GraniteSecuritiesLitigation.com.
The case involves allegations that Granite improperly reported revenue from several of Granite’s largest construction projects in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and primarily alleges violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act for fraud in connection with the purchase or sale of a security. BFA served as sole class counsel on behalf of the class and the class representative, the Police Retirement System of St. Louis.
At the time, the settlement was the third largest settlement approved in the Northern District of California in the last decade. The settlement promises to compensate investors for 20-30% of their estimated damages, which exceeds by nearly 400% the average rate of recovery in cases alleging claims under Section 10(b).
In approving the settlement, Judge Alsup noted that the “$129 million settlement flowed from the hard work of class counsel, the discovery they took, the investigations they did, and their victories in court.” He further observed that “the $129 million settlement is almost entirely the result of the hard work of class counsel,” that “[c]lass counsel investigated this case in great depth,” and that class counsel’s efforts “plausibly led to a restatement” whereby Granite admitted that its financial statements could no longer be relied upon.
The settlement fund, less expenses and fees, will now be administered by the Court-appointed claims administrator, Epiq Class Action and Claims Solutions Inc. Epiq is in the process of reviewing and processing all claims submitted by investors, after which it will make final determinations about how the fund will be distributed, on a pro rata basis, to investors. That process may take several months.
Judge Alsup’s Order granting final approval can be found under Downloads to the right.
For more information about the settlement, please visit the settlement website at www.GraniteSecuritiesLitigation.com.