Exhibit 10.34
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF
ALABAMA
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IN RE HEALTHSOUTH CORP. ERISA LITIGATION
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CV-03-BE-1700
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CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
This CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT (“Settlement Agreement”) is entered
into by and among Settlement Class Representatives for
themselves and on behalf of the Settlement Class, the
Settling Defendants and the Underwriters. Italicized
and capitalized terms and phrases have the meanings provided in
Section 1 below.
RECITALS
WHEREAS, Settlement Class
Representatives have commenced actions comprising the ERISA
Action asserting various Claims for relief against the
Settling Defendants and others, all of which Claims
are disputed by the Settling Defendants;
WHEREAS, a dispute exists with
respect to the existence and/or extent of insurance coverage
available or exclusions or policy defenses applicable to certain
Defendants under the Insurance Policies;
WHEREAS, the parties have engaged in
mediation before Eric Green (the “Mediator”) to
explore settlement possibilities, and the Mediator has
conducted a series of mediation sessions in which the Settling
Parties have participated;
WHEREAS, the Settling Parties
are desirous of promptly and fully resolving and settling with
finality all of the Released Claims asserted by
Settlement Class Representatives, for themselves and on
behalf of the Settlement Class, against the Settling
Defendants, and the Settling Defendants and
Underwriters are desirous of promptly and fully resolving
and settling with finality any Claims against each other
relating to the Insurance Policies;
WHEREAS, to accomplish that goal,
the Settling Parties have reached a settlement by and
through their respective undersigned counsel on the terms and
conditions set forth in this Settlement
Agreement;
WHEREAS, on June 3, 2005, the
Settling Parties executed a term sheet setting forth their
settlement agreement in principle, and pursuant thereto, on
June 17, 2005, the Settling Defendants and the
Underwriters deposited the Settlement Amount into the
Settlement Fund;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Settling
Parties, in consideration of the promises, covenants and
agreements herein described and for other good and valuable
consideration acknowledged by each of them to be satisfactory and
adequate, and intending to be legally bound, do hereby mutually
agree as follows:
1. As used in this Settlement
Agreement, italicized and capitalized terms and phrases not
otherwise defined have the meanings provided below:
1.1 “Affiliate”
shall mean: any entity which owns or controls, is owned or
controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, a
Person. For purposes of this definition,
“control” shall mean the possession, directly or
indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the
management and policies of such Person, whether through the
ownership of voting securities or otherwise.
1.2 “Agreement Execution
Date” shall mean: the date on which this Settlement
Agreement is fully executed, as provided in Section 20.12
below.
1.3 “Approval
Order” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 2.2.
1.4 “Bar Order”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.2
below.
1.5 “ Bar Order Notice
” shall mean: the form of notice appended as Exhibit C to the
form of Preliminary Approval Order attached hereto as
Exhibit .
1.6 “Barred
Persons” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 9.1.
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1.7 “Claims”
shall mean: any and all claims of any nature whatsoever (including
claims for any and all losses, damages, unjust enrichment,
attorneys’ fees, disgorgement of fees, litigation costs,
injunction, declaration, contribution, indemnification or any other
type or nature of legal or equitable relief), whether accrued or
not, whether already acquired or acquired in the future, whether
known or unknown, in law or equity, brought by way of demand,
complaint, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim or
otherwise.
1.8 “Class Exemption
“ shall mean: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2003- 39,
“Release of Claims and Extensions of Credit in Connection
with Litigation” issued December 31, 2003, by the United
States Department of Labor, 68 Fed. Reg. 75,632.
1.9 “Class
Notice” shall mean: the form of notice appended as
Exhibit A to the form of Preliminary Approval Order attached
hereto as Exhibit 1.
1.10 “Class Period”
shall mean: the period from January 1, 1996 to the date of the
Fairness Hearing.
1.11 The
“Company” shall mean: HEALTHSOUTH Corporation, a
Delaware corporation, each of its Affiliates, as well as
each of its predecessors and
Successors-In-Interest.
1.12 The “Court”
shall mean: the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Alabama.
1.13 “Custodian” shall
mean: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as custodian of the Settlement
Fund.
1.14 “Derivative
Actions” shall mean all derivative actions filed by
shareholder plaintiffs in the name of the Company, including
but not limited to Tucker v. Scrushy, No. CV-02-5212
(Ala. Cir. Ct).
1.15 “DOL “ shall
mean: the United States Department of Labor.
1.16 “ERISA “
shall mean: the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended, including all regulations promulgated and case law
thereunder.
1.17 “ERISA
Action” shall mean: In re HealthSouth Corp. ERISA
Litigation, CV-03-BE-1700, a consolidated action pending in the
Court, and any and all cases now or hereafter consolidated
therewith.
1.18 “Fairness Hearing
“ shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 2.2.
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1.19 “ Final ”
shall mean: with respect to the Approval Order, that such
order shall have been entered by the Court and the time for
appeal or writ of certiorari shall have expired without the
initiation of an appeal or petition for writ of certiorari, or, if
an appeal or petition for writ of certiorari has been timely
initiated, that there has occurred a full and final disposition of
any such appeal or writ of certiorari without a reversal or
modification, including the exhaustion of proceedings in any remand
and/or subsequent appeal after remand. Notwithstanding any other
provision hereof, the Approval Order shall be deemed
Final regardless of whether the Court has entered an
order regarding the Plan of Allocation or the award of legal
fees and expenses and regardless of whether any such order, if
entered, has become Final.
1.20 “ Independent
Fiduciary ” shall mean: a Plan fiduciary retained
at the Company’s expense that has no
“relationship to” or “interest in” (as
those terms are used in the Class Exemption) any of the
Settling Parties.
1.21 “Insurance
Policies” shall mean: (a) Federal Insurance Company
Excess Policies Nos. 5152-84-82 and 8152-84-82A-BHM; and
(b) Travelers Casualty & Surety Company of America
Policy No. 076 FF 103027063 BCM.
1.22 “Judgment Reduction
Amount” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 10.
1.23 “ Lead Counsel
” shall mean: Keller Rohrback, L.L.P., as lead counsel for
the Settlement Class Representatives in the ERISA
Action.
1.24 “Mediator”
shall mean: Eric Green.
1.25 “Named Settling
Defendants” shall mean: the Company, Brandon Hale,
Dennis Wade, Kimberly McCracken, Marca Pearson, Barbara Roper,
Philip Watkins, James P. Bennett, P. Daryl Brown, John S.
Chamberlin, Larry D. Striplin, Jr., Charles W. Newhall, III, George
H. Strong, Richard F. Celeste, C. Sage Givens, Joel C. Gordon,
Larry R. House, Anthony J. Tanner, Raymond J. Dunn, III, Allan R.
Goldstein, Robert P. May, Jan L. Jones, Jon F. Hanson and Lee S.
Hillman.
1.26 “Net Settlement
Amount” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 5.
1.27 “Non-Settling
Defendants” shall mean: Richard Scrushy, Aaron Beam, Jr.,
Michael D. Martin, and William T. Owens.
1.28 “Person”
shall mean: an individual, partnership, corporation, governmental
entity or any other form of entity or organization.
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1.29 “Plan” shall
mean: the HealthSouth Corporation Employee Stock Benefit Plan,
including all amendments thereto in effect at any point between
January 1, 1991 and the present.
1.30 “Plan of
Allocation” shall mean: the plan of allocation approved
by the Court as contemplated by Section 13.
1.31 “Preliminary Approval
Order” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 2.
1.32 “Preliminary
Motion” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 2.
1.33 “Released
Claims” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 7.
1.34 “ Releasees
” shall mean: the Settling Defendants, the
Plan, the Underwriters, and the present and former
Representatives of each of them; provided, however, that
Releasees shall not include the Non-Settling
Defendants.
1.35
“Representatives” shall mean: representatives,
attorneys, agents, directors, officers, employees, insurers and
reinsurers.
1.36 “RICO” shall
mean: the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of
1970, as amended, including all regulations promulgated and case
law thereunder.
1.37 “Securities
Actions” shall mean: all securities actions pertaining to
the Company, including but not limited to the action
proceeding as a consolidated class action captioned In re
HealthSouth Corp. Securities Litig., No. CV-03-BE-1500-S (N.D.
Ala.), and all actions that are or will be consolidated
therein.
1.38 “ Settlement
” shall mean: the settlement to be consummated under this
Settlement Agreement pursuant to the Approval
Order.
1.39 “Settlement
Agreement” means this Class Action Settlement
Agreement.
1.40 “Settlement
Amount” shall mean: $25,000,000.
1.41 “Settlement
Class” shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 12.
1.42 “Settlement Class
Representatives” shall mean: the following
Persons, as plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and on behalf
of all members of the Settlement Class: Kim Coggins, Kim
French, and Robert J. Lancaster and each of their
Successors-In-Interest. Settlement Class Representatives
intend that all rights and obligations that are binding on
Settlement Class Representatives under this
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Settlement Agreement , including each and every covenant, agreement,
and warranty, also shall be binding on all members of the
Settlement Class.
1.43 “Settlement
Fund” shall mean: an account established by Lead
Counsel at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., denominated Healthsouth
ERISA Litigation Settlement Fund.
1.44 “ Settling
Defendants ” shall mean: the Named Settling
Defendants, each of their respective Affiliates,
predecessors, and Successors-in-Interest, and, except for
the individuals identified as Non-Settling Defendants, any
directors, officers or employees of the Company.
1.45 “Settling
Defendant’s Counsel” or
“Underwriter’s Counsel” shall mean, for
each Settling Defendant or Underwriter, as the case
may be, the counsel identified as such Settling
Defendant’s or Underwriter’s counsel in
Section 20.9.
1.46 “ Settling Parties
” shall mean: the Settlement Class Representatives,
the Settling Defendants, and the
Underwriters.
1.47
“Successor-In-Interest” shall mean: a
Person’s estate, legal representatives, heirs,
successors or assigns.
1.47
“Underwriters” shall mean: Travelers
Casualty & Surety Company of America and Federal Insurance
Company and each of their respective Affiliates,
predecessors, and Successors-ln-Interest.
2. As soon as practicable following
the complete execution of this Settlement Agreement by all
Settling Parties, Settlement Class Representatives will file
a motion (“Preliminary Motion”) with the
Court for an order substantially in the form annexed hereto
as Exhibit 1, including the exhibits thereto (the
“Preliminary Approval Order”). The Settlement
Class Representatives and the Settling Defendants shall
request that a preliminary hearing to consider the compromise and
settlement before the Court be held as soon as practicable
thereafter.
2.1 On the date and in the manner
set by the Court in its Preliminary Approval Order,
the Settlement Class Representatives shall cause the
Class Notice and the Bar Order Notice to be
(a) transmitted in the form and manner approved by the
Court to the Persons as directed by the Court
in the Preliminary Approval Order, and (b) published as
directed by the Court in the Preliminary Approval
Order. Costs associated with the publication and service of
notice, establishment of the Settlement Fund, and tax
payments relating to the Settlement Fund shall be paid from
the
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Settlement Amount. Lead
Counsel agrees to be
responsible for arranging publication and distribution of the
Class Notice and Bar Order Notice to the proposed
Settlement Class and other Persons as required by the
Preliminary Approval Order. The Settling Defendants
and the Underwriters shall have no responsibility for
providing publication or distribution of the Settlement or
the notice of the Settlement to the Settlement Class,
but Settling Defendants reserve the right to approve the
contents of the Class Notice and the Bar Order
Notice. The Settlement Class Representatives and the
Settling Defendants shall request that a hearing before the
Court to consider final approval of the Settlement be
held as soon as possible following preliminary approval and due and
proper notice being served or published.
2.2 On or after the date set by the
Court for the hearing to consider final approval of the
Settlement (the “ Fairness Hearing
”) the Settlement Class Representatives and the
Settling Defendants shall request that the Court
determine: (i) whether to enter judgment finally approving the
Settlement and entering a bar order satisfying all of the
terms of Section 9 below (the “ Bar Order
”), all substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit
2 (which judgment is referred to herein as the “ Approval
Order ”); (ii) whether the distribution of the
Settlement Amount as provided in the Plan of
Allocation should be approved; and (iii) what legal fees,
compensation and further expenses should be awarded or reserved for
award to Lead Counsel and other counsel for Settlement
Class Representatives as contemplated by Section 4 of this
Settlement Agreement.
3. Settlement Class
Representatives, on behalf of the Settlement Class and
the Plan, agree to settle and fully resolve the
Claims asserted in the ERISA Action against the
Settling Defendants for the Settlement
Amount.
3.1 In consideration of all the
promises and agreements set forth in this Settlement
Agreement, the Underwriters and the Company have
caused the Settlement Amount to be deposited into the
Settlement Fund. Interest earned on the Settlement
Amount shall be applied to the expenses of settlement
administration, if any, or otherwise shall accrue for the benefit
of the Settlement Class. The Settlement Fund shall be
invested only in United States Treasury securities, and/or
securities issued by government entities backed by the full faith
and credit of the United States Treasury, and/or securities of
United States Government Sponsored Enterprises that carry
a
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rating of Aaa, and money market
mutual funds that invest exclusively in the foregoing
securities.
3.2 The Settlement Fund shall
be structured and managed to qualify as a Qualified Settlement Fund
under Section 468B of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury
regulations promulgated thereunder and shall make tax filings and
provide reports to Lead Counsel for tax purposes. The
Settling Parties shall not take a position in any filing or
before any tax authority inconsistent with such
treatment.
3.3 The Settlement Amount
shall be the full and sole monetary payments made by or on behalf
of the Settling Defendants and the Underwriters to
the Settlement Class in connection with the
Settlement. Nothing herein or in the Settlement
Agreement shall bar, or otherwise affect, any claims between or
among the Named Settling Defendants.
4. Upon the entry by the
Court of the Approval Order and an order granting
Lead Counsel ’s request for attorneys’ fees and
costs as contemplated by Section 2.2(iii), Lead Counsel
shall be entitled to withdraw from the Settlement Fund
attorneys’ fees and costs as approved by the Court
based on the common fund doctrine. Settling Defendants shall
take no position with respect to the amount of the costs or
attorneys’ fees sought by Lead Counsel in this matter,
and shall leave the amount to the sound discretion of the
Court. Upon the entry by the Court of the Approval
Order, the three Settlement Class Representatives may
apply to the Court for compensation in an amount not to
exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each of the three
Settlement Class Representatives, payable solely from the
Settlement Fund to the extent awarded by the Court.
The Court ’s consideration of Lead Counsel
’s request for attorneys’ fees and costs and the
Settlement Class Representatives’ application for
compensation are matters separate and apart from the
Settlement between the Settling Parties , and no
decision by the Court concerning the Lead Counsel
’s attorneys’ fees and costs or the Settlement Class
Representatives’ compensation shall affect the validity
of the Settlement Agreement or finality of the
Settlement in any manner.
5. The Settlement Amount plus
interest earned, less costs of administration pursuant to
Section 2.1, Lead Counsel ’s reasonable expenses,
costs, and attorneys’ fees, and Settlement Class
Representatives’ compensation as approved by the
Court (“ Net Settlement Amount ”), shall
be released from escrow and paid to the Plan, subject to the
procedures set forth in Section 6, upon written notification
to the Custodian that the Approval Order is
Final. The Net Settlement Amount will be
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paid to the Plan in order to preserve to
the fullest extent possible its tax protected status under
ERISA.
5.1 Within 180 days after the
Approval Order becomes Final, the Company
shall take any action that it deems necessary or appropriate, as
determined in its sole discretion, including but not limited to
amending, terminating, or in any way changing the Plan, with
the intent that the Net Settlement Amount is not invested or
paid from the Plan as benefits in the form of the
Company’s common stock, and is not invested in cash
except as necessary to administer the Plan. Such amendments
or changes may include, but are not limited to, any amendments or
changes to the Plan that permit all or a portion of the Net
Settlement Amount allocated to Class members who are
then current participants in the HealthSouth Retirement Investment
Plan to be invested by them in the same or similar investment
options available under the HealthSouth Retirement Investment Plan
or successors thereto.
6. In the event the Approval
Order is not approved by the Court or does not become
Final, the Settling Parties shall negotiate in good
faith in order to modify the terms of the Settlement
Agreement in order to revive the Settlement. In the
event that such efforts are not successful:
(i) the Settlement Amount,
plus any interest at the rate of the escrow account, minus the
amount already reasonably applied to costs of Settlement as
permitted in Section 2.1, shall be immediately returned to the
Company and the Underwriters in proportion to the
parties’ contributions thereto, less a reserve sufficient to
meet the income tax liability of the Settlement Fund with
respect to its earnings, with Lead Counsel being jointly and
severally liable for any failure to return this amount;
(ii) the Settling Defendants
will not be deemed to have consented to the certification of any
class, and the agreements and stipulations in this Settlement
Agreement concerning class definition or class certification
shall not be used as evidence or argument to support class
certification or class definition, and the Settling
Defendants will retain all rights to oppose class
certification, including certification of a class identical to that
provided for in this Settlement Agreement for any other
purpose; and
(iii) the Settlement and this
Settlement Agreement, including but not limited to the
releases and orders therein, shall become null and void and of no
further force and effect, the parties shall be deemed to have
reverted to
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their respective status and
positions as of the date immediately before the date of the
execution hereof, and the parties shall proceed in all respects as
if this Settlement Agreement had not been
executed.
7. Upon the entry of the Approval
Order by the Court, Settlement Class Representatives, on
behalf of the Settlement Class and the Plan, will
absolutely and unconditionally release and discharge the
Releases from:
(i) any and all ERISA -based
and RICO -based Claims related to the acquisition,
disposition, or retention of stock by the Plan and/or its
fiduciaries during the Class Period ;
(ii) any and all Claims
related to the appointment, removal, or monitoring of any fiduciary
for the Plan ;
(iii) any and all Claims
related to the preparation or dissemination, directly or
indirectly, to Plan participants and beneficiaries of
information relating to Company stock;
(iv) any and all Claims
related to the Insurance Policies ;
(v) any and all ERISA -based
Claims asserted, or that could have been asserted, in the
ERISA Action and ERISA -based Claims , known
or unknown, arising from or related to the acts, omissions, facts
or events alleged in the ERISA Action ;
(vi) any and all Claims in
connection with, based upon, arising out of, or r