On September 16, 2016, the Court approved a $41.5 million settlement with NII Holdings, Inc. (NII). Labaton Keller Sucharow served as co-lead counsel and was the first firm to file the securities class action complaint against NII.
The company's future rested on its ability to successfully transition its wireless services from the outdated walkie-talkie like push-to-talk (PTT) function to a modern network. The complaint generally alleges that NII issued false and misleading statements regarding its transition from an outdated cellular network to a more modern third generation (3G) network during the class period (February 25, 2010, and February 27, 2014). It further alleges that NII misreported several key metrics to support and reinforce NII's false claims.
The plaintiffs also alleged that a series of disclosures concerning delays in the network transition, subscriber losses, and disappointing financial results revealed the truth about NII's network transition, credit and customer retention policies, and company prospects. These disclosures caused significant declines in the value of the company's stock and NII Capital's bonds. On September 15, 2014, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, resulting in an automatic stay of plaintiffs' claims in the current action against NII.
On October 6, 2014, the Court held a hearing on the individual defendants' motion to dismiss. During the course of that hearing, the court found that the motion to dismiss should be denied, noting that "the complaint struck this court as extremely well written, very detailed, and I, frankly, think even with the heightened pleading standards required in a securities fraud case, that the plaintiffs have met it." The victory is important to our clients and the class, as the court denied the motion to dismiss in its entirety as against the individual defendants.
Following the motion to dismiss decision, on October 23, 2014, NII filed a motion in its bankruptcy proceeding seeking to extend the bankruptcy automatic stay to plaintiffs' claims in the current action against the individual defendants. In order to resolve the motion, the parties negotiated a stipulation, which was ordered by the bankruptcy court on December 23, 2014. The agreement between the parties provides that the securities class action will be temporarily stayed. As part of the agreement, NII agreed to withdraw its motion in the bankruptcy proceeding and in return, NII produced targeted discovery to plaintiffs until the temporary stay terminated. In July 2015, the court dismissed NII as a defendant in the litigation and lifted the temporary stay with respect to the individual defendants.
On November 17, 2015, the court certified the class.
The case is In re NII Holdings, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 14-cv-217 (E.D. Va.). Lead plaintiffs are Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers Pension, Danica Pension, Livsforsikringsaktieselskab, Industriens Pensionsforsikring A/S, the IBEW Local No. 58 / SMC NECA Funds, and Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund. Labaton Keller Sucharow represents Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers Pension and the IBEW Local No. 58 / SMC NECA Funds. The defendants are NII Holdings, Inc. and certain of its executive officers.
Background
NII is a telecommunications company that, through its subsidiaries, operates wireless voice and data networks in Latin America under the NextelTM brand. Prior to and during the class period, NII's wireless service featured a unique walkie-talkie like PTT communication capability. NII was compelled to transition its wireless services, including its signature PTT service, to a more modern, 3G network due to the decline of PTT in the United States and increased customer demand for higher speed data availability that was unavailable on NII's outdated network, among other factors. While NII was transitioning to the more modern 3G network, NII raised $1.45 billion in funding through the issuance of publicly traded debt securities by NII Capital.
Settlement Hearing
A Settlement Hearing was held on September 16, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 600 at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314.
If you have questions about the settlement, please contact Labaton Keller Sucharow at settlementquestions@labaton.com or 1-888-219-6877, or contact the Claims Administrator, A.B. Data, Ltd. at (866) 905-8128.
