American Tower Corporation - Securities Class Action

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Copyright (c) 2001
Stanford Law School

American Tower Corporation Summary: 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. According to the Company’s FORM 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2008, 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. 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.

On August 22, 2008, Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf issued the Memorandum denying the motion for attorney fees and denying the plaintiff’s motion to opt-out of the settlement class. On September 17, 2008, the plaintiff filed a Notice of Appeal as to the Order on Motion for Attorney Fees. On December 2, 2008, the Court entered the Mandate from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The appeal was voluntarily dismissed.

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: 05/26/2006	SOURCE: Notice of Filing
CLASS PERIOD START: 02/01/2006	CLASS PERIOD END: 05/24/2006
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 (former New York) 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: 03/26/2007	SOURCE: Docket
CLASS PERIOD START: 04/01/2002	CLASS PERIOD END: 05/22/2006
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Consolidated Complaint
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: 02/08/2008
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: 02/28/2008
[Proposed] Order Granting Lead Counsel's Petition For An Award Of Attorney's Fees And Reimbursement Of Expenses
Type: Order		Date on the document: 04/20/2008
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: 04/30/2008
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: 04/30/2008
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: 04/30/2008
Lead Counsel's Petition For An Award Of Attorney's Fees And Reimbursement Of Expense
Type: Other		Date on the document: 04/30/2008
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: 06/11/2008
Notice of Appeal
Type: Notice of Appeal		Date on the document: 07/08/2008
Memorandum and Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 08/22/2008
Notice of Appeal
Type: Notice		Date on the document: 09/17/2008
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 01/26/2009
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 11/09/2010

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
Judgment
Case Name and/or Number: In Re: American Tower Corporation Securities Litigation
Type: Other		Date on the document: 12/02/2008

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