City of St. Clair Shores Police and Fire Retirement System v. Unilever PLC

Opinion

USONUITTEHDE RSTNA DTIESST RDIICSTT ROIFC TN ECWOU YROTR K --------------------------------------------------------------X : CITY OF ST. CLAIR SHORES POLICE AND : FIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM, : Plaintiff, : 22 Civ. 5011 (LGS) : -against- : ORDER : UNILEVER PLC, et al., : Defendants. : : ------------------------------------------------------------- X LORNA G. SCHOFIELD, District Judge: WHEREAS, on June 15, 2022, Plaintiff City of St. Clair Shores Police and Fire Retirement System filed the Complaint in this action, and that same day Plaintiff’s counsel from Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP (“Robbins Geller”) caused to be published notice of the action in compliance with 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(a)(3)(A); WHEREAS, on August 15, 2022, Westchester Teamsters Pension Fund and Teamsters Local 456 Annuity Fund (the “Teamsters Funds”) filed a timely Motion for Appointment as Lead Plaintiff and Approval of Lead Plaintiff’s Selection of Lead Counsel (the “Motion”), and no other motions nor any opposition thereto was filed; WHEREAS, the Teamsters Funds are entitled to a rebuttable presumption that they are the “most adequate plaintiff” because they are the only potential lead plaintiff that filed a motion and have filed the certifications required by 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(a)(2); they have a substantial financial interest in the relief sought, and to their counsel’s knowledge there is no potential plaintiff with a larger interest; and for substantially the reasons stated in their memorandum of law they otherwise satisfy the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, since they assert the same securities fraud claims as those alleged in the Complaint and have no conflict with the class, have selected qualified and experienced counsel and, as mentioned above, have a substantial financial interest in the outcome of the case, see Cabrera v. Tahoe Res. Inc., No. 17 Civ. 5155, 2017 WL 11569560, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2017); WHEREAS, no other class member has offered rebuttal evidence. It is hereby ORDERED that the Motion is GRANTED. The Teamsters Funds are appointed Lead Plaintiff pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(a)(3)(B), and the Teamsters Funds’ chosen counsel from Robbins Geller is appointed Lead Counsel for the class. Dated: August 31, 2022 New York, New York / / ( .

LORNA G. SCHOFIEL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE