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Stanford Law School


American Tower Corporation
Summary: According to the Company’s FORM 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2008, in May 2008, the original plaintiff, Mr. Greenebaum, filed an objection to the settlement. Following a hearing in June 2008, the Court dismissed Mr. Greenebaum’s objection and approved the settlement. In July 2008, Mr. Greenebaum filed an untimely request to opt-out of the settlement class certified by the Court in its orders, which the Company opposed. Additionally, Mr. Greenebaum filed a notice of appeal of the Court’s final order approving the settlement agreement. The members of the plaintiff class will not be entitled to draw the funds until Mr. Greenebaum’s appeal is finally resolved.

As summarized by the same SEC filing, in December 2006, the court appointed the Steamship Trade Association-International Longshoreman’s Association Pension Fund as the lead plaintiff. In March 2007, plaintiffs filed an amended consolidated complaint, which included additional current and former officers and directors of the Company as defendants. In December 2007, the Company announced that it had reached a settlement in principle regarding the securities class action. The settlement, which was preliminarily approved by the court in February 2008, provided for a payment by the Company of $14.0 million and would lead to a dismissal of all claims against all defendants in the litigation. The Company paid $250,000 of the settlement amount to an escrow account controlled by the plaintiffs during the quarter ended March 31, 2008. In April 2008, the Company paid the remaining settlement amount of $13.8 million into escrow and received $12.5 million in insurance proceeds.

The original securities class action was filed against American Tower Corporation and certain of its officers. This action alleges violations of the federal securities laws in connection with public statements by the Company relating to its stock option practices and related accounting. The Company announced on May 19, 2006 that it was conducting an internal review of its historic stock option granting practices.

Further, a shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed in state court in Massachusetts by an individual identifying himself as a shareholder of the Company, purporting to act on behalf of the corporation, against certain current and former officers and directors for alleged breaches of fiduciary duties with respect to the Company's historic stock option granting practices.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 4899
Sector: Services
Industry: Communications Services


COMPANY/ISSUER NAME: American Tower Corporation
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER: AMT
COMPANY WEBSITE: http://www.americantower.com

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE
John S. Greenebaum, et al. v. American Tower Corporation, et al.
 COURT: D. Massachusetts  DOCKET NUMBER: 06-CV-10933
 JUDGE NAME: Hon. Mark L. Wolf
 DATE FILED: 5/26/2006  SOURCE: Notice of Filing
 CLASS PERIOD START: 2/1/2006  CLASS PERIOD END: 5/24/2006
 TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Complaint (Unamended and Unconsolidated)
 PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
  • Adkins, Kelston and Zavez, PC
      90 Canal Street, 5th Floor, Boston, MA, 02114
       (voice) 617.367.1040, (fax) 617.742.8280, info@akzlaw.com
  • James F. Bishop & Associates
      550 Woodstock Street, Crystal Lake, IL, 60014
       (voice) .815.455.1414, (fax) , info@jbishoplaw.com
  • Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP
      100 Park Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY, 10017
       (voice) 212.907.0700 , (fax) 212.818.0477 , info@labaton.com
  • Lovell Stewart Halebian LLP
      500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10110
       (voice) 212.608.1900, (fax) 212.719.4677, info@lshllp.com
  • Thornton & Naumes, LLP
      100 Summer Street, 30th Floor, Boston, MA, 02110
       (voice) 617.720.1333, (fax) 617.720.2445, info@tenlaw.com
    _____________________________________________
     TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS:  5

  •  DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT
    Class Action Complaint
    Type: Complaint Date on the document: 05/26/2006
    First Amended Class Action Complaint
    Type: Complaint Date on the document: 06/07/2006
    U.S. District Court Civil Docket
    Type: Docket Date on the document: 11/01/2006
    Order
    Type: Order Date on the document: 12/27/2006

    REFERENCE COMPLAINT
    In Re: American Tower Corporation Securities Litigation
     COURT: D. Massachusetts  DOCKET NUMBER: 06-CV-10933
     JUDGE NAME: Hon. Mark L. Wolf
     DATE FILED: 3/26/2007  SOURCE: Docket
     CLASS PERIOD START: 4/1/2002  CLASS PERIOD END: 5/22/2006
     TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Consolidated and/or Amended
     PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
  • Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP
      100 Park Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY, 10017
       (voice) 212.907.0700 , (fax) 212.818.0477 , info@labaton.com
    _____________________________________________
     TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS:  1

  •  DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
    Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws
    Type: Complaint Date on the document: 03/26/2007
    Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement
    Type: Settlement Date on the document: 2/8/2008
    Notice Of Pendency And Proposed Settlement Of Class Action And Fairness Hearing
    Type: Notice Date on the document: 02/28/2008
    Order Preliminarily Approving Settlement And Providing For Notice To The Class
    Type: Order Date on the document: 2/28/2008
    [Proposed] Order Granting Lead Counsel's Petition For An Award Of Attorney's Fees And Reimbursement Of Expenses
    Type: Order Date on the document: 4/20/2008
    Declaration Of David J. Goldsmith In Support Of Lead Counsel's Petition For An Award Of Attorney's Fees And Reimbursement Of Expenses
    Type: Declaration Date on the document: 4/30/2008
    Declaration Of David J. Goldsmith In Support Of Lead Counsel's Petition For An Award Of Attorney's Fees And Reimbursement Of Expenses - Exhibits
    Type: Other Date on the document: 4/30/2008
    Lead Counsel For Lead Plaintiff's Memorandum Of Law In Support Of Petition For An Award Of Attorney's Fees And Reimbursement Of Expenses
    Type: Memorandum Date on the document: 4/30/2008
    Lead Counsel's Petition For An Award Of Attorney's Fees And Reimbursement Of Expense
    Type: Other Date on the document: 4/30/2008
    Order Granting Lead Counsel's Petition For An Award Of Attorney's Fees And Reimbursement Of Expenses
    Type: Order Approving AF&E Date on the document: 6/11/2008
    Notice of Appeal
    Type: Notice of Appeal Date on the document: 7/8/2008
    U.S. District Court Civil Docket
    Type: Docket Date on the document: 7/17/2008

     OTHER DOCUMENTS
    Verified Derivative Complaint
    Case Name and/or Number: Leslie Cramer, et al. v. Steven B. Dodge
    Type: Complaint Date on the document: 08/23/2006

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