What is the Aurcana class action about?
Who is included in the settlement?
Who is a Class Member?
What is the Class Period?
Who is an Excluded Person?
Who are Class Counsel?
How did the settlement come about?
How can I find out more about the settlement agreement?
Has the court approved the settlement agreement?
How has the public been notified about the settlement?
Who should register a claim for compensation under the settlement?
Do I want to participate in this settlement?
If I want to opt-out how do I do it?
How do I take part in this settlement?
What is the claims bar deadline?
Do I have to pay to take part in this settlement?
Can I amend my claim after it has been submitted to the Administrator?
Who is the Administrator?
What does the Administrator do?
How was the Administrator appointed?
How do I contact the Administrator?
When will I find out about the Administrator’s evaluation of my claim?
If I disagree with the Administrator’s evaluation of my claim, what do I do?
Who is the Referee and what does the Referee do?
What is the cost of having a Referee review the Administrator’s decision of my claim?
When will Class Members receive compensation from the settlement fund?
What is the Aurcana class action about?
In 2013, a proposed class action was commenced against Aurcana Corporation (“Aurcana”) and certain others. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants knew, or ought to have known, that the stated resource levels of and the production at the Shafter Mine were false or misleading. The action was certified as a class action and leave was granted to commence an action pursuant to Ontario’s Securities Act as part of the settlement of the action.
Who is included in the settlement?
The settlement includes anyone, other than certain people who are associated with the defendants, who acquired Aurcana common shares and/or warrants during the Class Period.
The “Class” or “Class Members” means all persons, other than Excluded Person and an Opt-Out Party, who acquired common shares and/or warrants during the Class Period.
The Class Period commences on June 24, 2011 and ends on December 19, 2013.
“Excluded Person” means:
- the Individual Defendants;
- Aurcana’s past or present subsidiaries, affiliates, legal representatives, predecessors, successors and assigns;
- any person who was an officer or director of Aurcana during the Class Period;
- any immediate member of the Individual Defendants’ families; and
- any entity in which any of the above person has or had during the Class Period any legal or de facto controlling interest.
Class Counsel are the lawyers for the Class Members in the action. Class Counsel’s contact information is:
| Jay Strosberg Sutts, Strosberg LLP 600-251 Goyeau Street Windsor, ON N9A 6V1 Tel: 800.229.5323 ext 8296 Facsimile: 866.316.5308 aurcana@strosbergco.com |
Joseph GroiaGroia & Company LLPC 365 Bay Street, 11th Floor Toronto, ON M5H 2V1 Telephone: 416.203.4472 Facsimile: 416.203.9231 |
How did the settlement come about?
Through negotiation, a settlement was reached. The defendants do not admit any wrongdoing or liability on their part. The settlement is a compromise of disputed claims.
How can I find out more about the settlement agreement?
Copies of the settlement agreement, the plan of allocation, the approval order and the notice summarizing this settlement may be downloaded from the Documents page of this website.
Has the court approved the settlement agreement?
The settlement has been approved by the court.
How has the public been notified about the settlement?
Class Members were first notified of this settlement during a court approved notice program prior to the date of the hearing in which the approval of the settlement agreement was sought. Following the approval, a similar notice program was distributed. The settlement agreement, and the notice summarizing the settlement, can be downloaded from the Documents page of this website. In addition to these methods of notice, the notice will be electronically transmitted to broker/dealers for dissemination to their clients and mailed to Class Members identified by TMX Equity Transfer Service and Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. as having an interest in the Aurcana securities.
Who should register a claim for compensation under the settlement?
Persons, other than the Excluded Persons, who purchased Aurcana securities during the Class Period.
Do I want to participate in this settlement?
If you want to participate in the distribution of compensation as a result of the settlement you should file a claim.
If you do not want to participate in the settlement you must file an opt-out form, a copy of which form can be downloaded from the Documents page of this website.
If I want to opt-out how do I do it?
You must send by registered mail or certified mail a properly completed opt-out form on or before June 19, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) as follows:
Gregory D. Wrigglesworth
Kirwin Partners LLP
423 Pelissier Street, Windsor, ON N9A 4L2
Facsimile: 519.790.0106
Email: aurcana@kirwinpartners.com
Attention: Aurcana Class Action
How do I take part in this settlement?
To be eligible to take part in this settlement, Class Members must submit a claim form and all required supporting documents to the Administrator no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) on August 18, 2015. Click here to reach the claims system and begin the claims submission process.
If you do not have a computer with internet access, you can file a paper claim form. Paper claim forms are available from the Administrator.
What is the claims bar deadline?
The claims bar deadline is the final date to file a claim for compensation pursuant to this settlement.
In order to be eligible for compensation, a Class Member must submit a completed Claim and supporting documents (the “Claim Package”) to the Administrator, on or before 5:00 pm (Eastern) on August 18, 2015 in order to participate in the settlement. If you do not submit a completed Claim by August 18, 2015, you will not receive any part of the settlement funds.
Claims should be registered using the Claims System. Paper claim forms are available from the Administrator if a Class Member does not have access to a computer with Internet connectivity.
Do I have to pay to take part in this settlement?
There is no cost to Class Members to register a claim and receive compensation from the settlement funds as class counsel’s fees, disbursements and taxes, and the costs of the settlement administration have been approved and will be paid as a first charge on the settlement amount.
Can I amend my claim after it has been submitted to the Administrator?
The claim may be amended, at any time prior to the claims bar deadline, until it has been certified and submitted to the administrator for review. After that, only contact information may be amended.
Marsh Risk Consulting Canada has been appointed by the court to administer the settlement.
What does the Administrator do?
The Administrator is responsible for overall management of the administration of the settlement including: Class Member claim registration; document collection; communications; help desk management; reminders; form transmission; claim management; claim evaluation; analyses; notifications; reporting; appeal procedures; processing of materials to and from the Referee; distribution analyses; settlement amount and audit control; and Class Member payout.
How was the Administrator appointed?
The Administrator was appointed by the court.
How do I contact the Administrator?
The Administrator may be contacted using the claims system, and by email, phone, fax and mail. Click here for the Administrator’s contact information.
When will I find out about the Administrator’s evaluation of my claim?
The Administrator will complete the evaluation of all claims after the claims bar deadline. Each claimant will receive notice of the results of this evaluation.
If I disagree with the Administrator’s evaluation of my claim, what do I do?
The plan of allocation includes a procedure for Class Members to dispute decisions of the Administrator. Class Members may bring the dispute before a Referee appointed by the court for that purpose.
Who is the Referee and what does the Referee do?
Gregory Wrigglesworth of Kirwin Partners LLP has been appointed by the court to serve as Referee for this administration. It is the Referee’s job to review any disputes arising from a decision of the Administrator concerning eligibility or the amount of compensation.
What is the cost of having a Referee review the Administrator’s decision of my claim?
A review by the Referee may be requested by delivery of a written submission setting out the basis for the dispute including all relevant documents; this request must be made within 15 days of receipt of the Administrator’s decision. In order to initiate a Referee review, Class Members are required to pay a deposit of $150. If the Class Member is in any way successful on the Referee review, the $150 deposit shall be returned to the Class Member, but if totally unsuccessful, the $150 deposit shall become part of the net settlement amount. Payment for a Referee review can be made by certified cheque or money order, payable to the Administrator.
When will Class Members receive compensation from the settlement fund?
As soon as practicable after the completion of the claims and review processes, the Administrator will ask the court for authorization to distribute the net settlement funds to the Class Members. The distribution will occur following court approval of the distribution plan.