On March 16, 2006, the Court entered an Order and Final Judgment approving the $39.9 million settlement in the case Levitan, et al. v. McCoy, et al., case number 00-CV-05096, concerning the Merger of First Commerce Corporation and Bank One in June of 1998. The litigation and claims are dismissed with prejudice.
According to a press release dated December 19, 2005, Stull, Stull & Brody and Weiss & Lurie, Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel announce the proposed settlement of the class action, Thomas Levitan, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. John B. McCoy, Richard D. Lehmann, Michael J. McMennamin and Bank One Corporation, No 00 C 5096 (the "Litigation"). This Litigation is a class action under the federal securities laws concerning the Merger of First Commerce Corporation and Bank One in June of 1998. A Hearing will be held on March 16, 2006 for the purposes of determining: (1) whether a proposed Settlement of the above Litigation for the principal amount of Thirty-Nine Million Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars ($39,900,000), plus accrued interest, should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate; (2) whether an Order of Final Judgment and Dismissal approving the Settlement and dismissing the Litigation on the merits and with prejudice should be entered; (3) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation is fair and reasonable; and (4) whether the motion for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses and costs and any motion for an award to Lead Plaintiffs are reasonable and should be approved.
On May 24, 2005, the Court entered the Order and Final Judgment signed by U.S. District Judge Wayne R. Andersen. The Court approved the $120 million settlement as set forth in the Stipulation of Settlement and dismissed the case, Civil Action No. 00-CV-767, concerning merger between Bank One and First Chicago. The Court further entered that day the Order approving the Plan of Allocation.
In a press release dated April 1, 2005, the Law Firm of Susman, Watkins & Wylie, LLP announces a proposed Class Action Settlement on behalf of certain persons and entities who acquired shares of Bank One Corporation common stock in exchange for First Chicago NBD Corporation common stock in connection with the merger between Bank One and First Chicago on October 2, 1998. A hearing will be held on May 19, 2005, for the purposes of determining: (1) whether a proposed Settlement of the above Litigation for the principal amount of One Hundred Twenty Million Dollars ($120,000,000), plus accrued interest, should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate; (2) whether an Order of Final Judgment and Dismissal approving the Settlement and dismissing the Litigation on the merits and with prejudice should be entered; (3) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation is fair and reasonable; and (4) whether the application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses is reasonable and should be approved.
In a press release dated May 28, 2004, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has upheld plaintiffs' claims filed pursuant to Sections 12 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 on behalf of Old Banc One (NYSE:ONE) Shareholders related to the merger of the Banc One Corporation with First Chicago NDB in 1998. The opinion of the Court was filed on April 29, 2004, in the action entitled In re Old Banc One Shareholders Securities Litigation, Civil Action No. 00 C 2100, which granted in part and denied in part defendants' motion for summary judgment. In its decision, the Court held that Old Banc One Shareholders who purchased their stock after the August 1998 Prospectus was disseminated would have been more likely to vote against the merger had information regarding problems plaintiffs allege at Banc One's credit card division, First USA Bank, N.A., been disclosed before the merger. The Court found, therefore, that the First USA information was "material" to investors who purchased Banc One stock during the period of August 6, 1998 through October 2, 1998.
The original class action complaint filed on February 7, 2000, alleges Bank One Corporation violated the federal securities laws concerning the Merger of First Chicago and Bank One in October of 1998. Plaintiffs allege that Bank One and the other Defendants made material misstatements and omissions in connection with that transaction, thereby artificially inflating Bank One's common stock price and artificially deflating the Exchange Ratio. Pursuant to the Merger, FCN stockholders received 1.62 shares of Bank One common stock in exchange for each share of their FCN common stock.
On August 18, 2000, a similar complaint was filed against Bank One Corporation and certain individual defendants, No 00 C 5096, on behalf of all persons and entities who acquired their shares of Bank One Corporation common stock in exchange for their First Commerce Corporation common stock pursuant to the Registration Statement and Merger Proxy/Prospectus, in connection with the Merger between Bank One and First Commerce on June 12, 1998. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the Registration Statement and the Prospectus issued in connection with the Merger violated Sections 11, 12(a)(2) and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”). The complaint alleges that the Registration Statement and Prospectus, and financial statements and other documents incorporated by reference therein, contained materially misleading statements and omissions.
These allegedly false and misleading statements and omissions related to, inter alia, the bank’s prospects for growth at its credit card operations, First USA Bank, NA (“First USA”), the operational and financial soundness of First USA prior to the Merger, and the alleged failure of financial statements incorporated into the
Registration Statement and Prospectus to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
