Free Order on Motion for Disbursement of Funds - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:00-cv-00516-EWN-PAC

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Filed 03/24/2006

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Judge Edward W. Nottingham Civil Action No. 00­ 00516­ cv­ EWN­ PAC

STANLEY R. LAMB and ANTHONY VARTULI, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. KINDER-MORGAN, INC., (formerly KN Energy, Inc.), LARRY D. HALL, CLYDE E. McKENZIE and RICHARD KINDER, Defendants.

ORDER AUTHORIZING DISTRIBUTION OF THE SETTLEMENT FUND

Upon consideration of Lead Plaintiffs'Motion for an Order Authorizing the Distribution of the Settlement Fund, the Motion is allowed and shall be implemented in the manner set forth below. The relevant history in this case is as follows. On February 18, 2006, Lead Plaintiffs and Defendants entered into a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (" Stipulation"or " Settlement" On February 23, 2005, the court preliminarily approved the Settlement, and ). directed that notice be given to the Class. Following such notice by mail and publication, on May 20, 2005, the court held a hearing for the purpose of determining whether the Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate. On May 20, 2006, the court entered an Order and Final Judgment granting final approval of the Settlement, awarding attorneys' fees and expenses,

Case 1:00-cv-00516-EWN-PAC

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and dismissing the action with prejudice as to all defendants in the action and against the Class and all Class Members (as defined in the Stipulation). In connection with Lead Plaintiffs'Motion for an Order Authorizing the Distribution of the Settlement Fund, Lead Plaintiffs filed the Affidavit of Paul Mulholland (" Mulholland Aff." ), which describes the settlement procedures and the administration of the Settlement. Attached as Exhibit A to the Mulholland Aff. is the Report of the Settlement Administrator, which provides a summary of the number of claims filed, approved and rejected. Attached as Exhibit B to the Mulholland Aff. is a listing of the 2,773 properly documented claims with their corresponding approved losses. Attached as Exhibits C and D to the Mulholland Aff. are lists of rejected claims, which identify the basis for such rejections on one or more of the following grounds, among others: (1) insufficient documentation; (2) failure to reflect an actionable loss; (3) failure to reflect purchases during the Class Period (defined as the period from October 30, 1997 through June 21, 1999); and/or (4) duplications. Attached as Exhibit E to the Mulholland Aff. is a sample rejection letter. As Mr. Mulholland testifies, to date only one (1) claimant contested the settlement administrator' findings. See Mulholland Aff., at ¶ 10. The rejected claimant, Wilbur A. s Rodehorst, brought the matter of his rejection to the attention of the court by letter dated January 16, 2006. A copy of Mr. Rodehorst' letter to the court is attached at Exhibit A to Lead s Plaintiffs'Memorandum in Support of Motion for an Order Authorizing the Distribution of Settlement Fund. The court has determined that Mr. Rodehorst' claim was, in fact, properly s rejected. Therefore, the total rejected claims remains at 1,527. NOW, THEREFORE, upon consideration of the Lead Plaintiffs'Motion for an Order Authorizing the Distribution of the Settlement Fund, Lead Plaintiffs'Memorandum in Support of

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Motion for an Order Authorizing the Distribution of the Settlement Fund and the Affidavit of Paul Mulholland, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED as follows: 1. The Report of the Settlement Administrator (" Report" attached to the Mulholland )

Affidavit as Exhibit A and all decisions contained in the detailed list of valid, acceptable, invalid and unacceptable claims attached to the Mulholland Affidavit as Exhibits B, C, and D are approved. 2. No claims other than the 2,773 approved claims referenced in Exhibit B to the

Mulholland Affidavit shall be valid claims. 3. The settlement administrator is ordered to pay all income taxes due on the earnings

of the Settlement Fund. 4. The settlement administrator shall be paid for its fees and reimbursed for expenses

incurred in the amount of $189,999.43 from the Settlement Fund for printing and mailing the Notice/Claim Forms; administering the Settlement; reconciliation of settlement fund records; magnetic media filing; consulting services; distribution of the settlement fund to the class; preparation of tax returns; and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses. 5. The settlement administrator is directed to take all necessary steps to distribute the

Settlement Fund to all claimants whose claims have been properly filed and approved herein, as those claims are listed in Exhibit B to the Mulholland Affidavit. Distribution shall be in the manner authorized by the Stipulation and the Proof of Claim and Release forms previously disseminated to Class Members. 6. After one year following the initial distribution of the Settlement Fund to the

approved claimants and after appropriate efforts have been made to have those claimants cash

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their checks, the escrow agent and settlement administrator are directed to distribute any funds remaining in the Settlement Fund, net of re-distribution costs, to a non-sectarian, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization designated by Lead Plaintiffs' counsel. Dated this 24th day of March, 2006.

BY THE COURT:

s/ Edward W. Nottingham EDWARD W. NOTTINGHAM United States District Judge