Free Reply Memorandum - District Court of California - California

Case 4:07-cv-05101-SBA

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KEITH E. EGGLETON, State Bar No.159842 RODNEY G. STRICKLAND, JR., State Bar No. 161934 JONI L. OSTLER, State Bar No. 230009 WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI Professional Corporation 650 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304-1050 Telephone: (650) 493-9300 Facsimile: (650) 565-5100 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendants BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN-ESKENAZI, FREDERICK A. BALL, RAN OZ, LLOYD CARNEY, DEAN GILBERT, KENNETH A. GOLDMAN, GAL ISRAELY, BRUCE I. SACHS, ROBERT J. SACHS and GEOFFREY Y. YANG UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

12 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 13 OAKLAND DIVISION 14 15 16 Plaintiff, 17 v. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
BIGBAND'S RESPONSE TO MOT. CONSOL. & APPOINT LEAD PLF. & LEAD COUNSEL CASE NO. 07-5101-SBA

BIKASH MOHAN MOHANTY, On Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated,

BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN-EZKENAZI, RAN OZ, FREDERICK BALL, GAL ISRAELY, DEAN GILBERT, KEN GOLDMAN, LLOYD CARNEY, BRUCE SACHS, ROBERT SACHS, GEOFFREY YANG, MORGAN STANLEY & CO., INC., MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC., JEFFERIES & CO., INC., COWEN AND CO., INC., AND THINKEQUITY PARTNERS LLC Defendants.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. 4:07-CV-05101-SBA

BIGBAND DEFENDANTS' RESPONSE TO MOTIONS FOR CONSOLIDATION, APPOINTMENT AS LEAD PLAINTIFF, AND APPROVAL OF SELECTION OF LEAD COUNSEL
Date: February 5, 2008 Time: 1:00 P.M. Dept: Courtroom 3, 3rd Floor Honorable Saundra B. Armstrong

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Case 4:07-cv-05101-SBA

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DENNIS KOESTERER, On Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiff,

3 v. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Plaintiff, 11 v. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
BIGBAND'S RESPONSE TO MOT. CONSOL. & APPOINT LEAD PLF. & LEAD COUNSEL CASE NO. 07-5101-SBA

BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN-EZKENAZI, FREDERICK A. BALL, RAN OZ, LLOYD CARNEY, DEAN GILBERT, KEN GOLDMAN, GAL ISRAELY, BRUCH SACHS, ROBERT SACHS, and GEOFFREY YANG Defendants. ABRENA WINSTON, Individually and On Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated,

BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN-EZKENAZI, RAN OZ, FREDERICK BALL, GAL ISRAELY, DEAN GILBERT, KEN GOLDMAN, LLOYD CARNEY, BRUCE SACHS, ROBERT SACHS, GEOFFREY YANG, MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC., MORGAN STANLEY & CO., INC., COWEN AND CO., JEFFERIES & CO., and THINKEQUITY PARTNERS LLC Defendants. DONALD SMITH, On Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiff, v. BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN-EZKENAZI, and FREDERICK A. BALL Defendants.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. 3:07-CV-05168-MMC

Case No. 3:07-CV-05327-JSW

Case No. 3:07-CV-05361-SI

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Case 4:07-cv-05101-SBA

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& APPOINT LEAD PLF. & LEAD COUNSEL CASE NO. 07-5101-SBA

WAYNE LUZON, On Behalf of Himself and All ) Others Similarly Situated, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN- ) EZKENAZI, RAN OZ, FREDERICK BALL, GAL) ISRAELY, DEAN GILBERT, KEN GOLDMAN, ) LLOYD CARNEY, BRUCE SACHS, ROBERT ) SACHS, GEOFFREY YANG, MORGAN ) STANLEY & CO., INC., MERRILL LYNCH, ) PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC., JEFFERIES ) & CO., INC., COWEN AND CO., INC., and ) THINKEQUITY PARTNERS LLC ) ) Defendants. ) ) DEBRA L. BERNSTEIN, Individually and On ) Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN- ) EZKENAZI, RAN OZ, FREDERICK A. BALL, ) GAL ISRAELY, DEAN GILBERT, KENNETH E.) GOLDMAN, LLOYD CARNEY, BRUCE I. ) SACHS, ROBERT J. SACHS, GEOFFREY Y. ) YANG, MORGAN STANLEY & CO. ) INCORPORATED, JEFFERIES & COMPANY, ) INC., MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & ) SMITH INCORPORATED, COWEN AND ) COMPANY LLC, and THINKEQUITY ) PARTNERS LLC, ) ) Defendants. ) ) EUGENE L. HAMMER, On Behalf of Himself ) and All Others Similarly Situated, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN- ) EZKENAZI, RAN OZ, FREDERICK A. BALL, ) RAN OZ, LLOYD CARNEY, DEAN GILBERT, ) KEN GOLDMAN, GAL ISRAELY, BRUCE I. ) SACHS, ROBERT J. SACHS and GEOFFREY Y. ) YANG, ) ) Defendants. ) ) BIGBAND'S RESPONSE TO MOT. CONSOL. -3-

Case No. 3:07-CV-05637-WHA

Case No. 3:07-CV-05819 CRB

Case No. 3:07-CV-5825-MHP

Case 4:07-cv-05101-SBA

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JAMES WILTJER, On Behalf of Himself and All ) Others Similarly Situated, ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) ) BIGBAND NETWORKS, INC., AMIR BASSAN-ESKENAZI, FREDERICK A. BALL, ) RAN OZ, LLOYD CARNEY, DEAN GILBERT, ) ) KENNETH A. GOLDMAN, GAL ISRAELY, ) BRUCE I. SACHS, ROBERT J. SACHS, GEOFFREY Y. YANG, MORGAN STANLEY ) & CO. INCORPORATED, MERRILL LYNCH, ) ) PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED, JEFFERIES & COMPANY, ) ) INC., COWEN AND COMPANY, LLC, THINKEQUITY PARTNERS LLC and DOES 1- ) ) 25, inclusive, ) ) Defendants. ) )

Case No. 3:08-CV-22-CRB

The BigBand Defendants respond as follows to the (1) motion filed by Gwyn Jones for an order consolidating the above-captioned matters, appointing her as lead plaintiff, and approving her selection of co-lead counsel, and (2) the motion filed by the Sphera Fund for an order consolidating the above-captioned matters, appointing the Sphera Fund as lead plaintiff, and approving its selection of co-lead counsel.1 I. INTRODUCTION The above-captioned matters are putative securities fraud class action lawsuits alleging that the defendants made misrepresentations and/or omissions in connection with and following BigBand's initial public offering. The first action, Mohanty v. Bassan-Eskenazi et al., No. C 075101-SBA (the "Mohanty Action"), was filed on October 3, 2007, and the other actions followed over the subsequent weeks. On November 21, 2007, the parties to each of the then-pending lawsuits submitted a Stipulation and [Proposed] Order Regarding Consolidation and Scheduling in the first-filed
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The BigBand Defendants are BigBand Networks, Inc. ("BigBand"), Amir BassanEskenazi, Ran Oz, Frederick Ball, Gal Israely, Dean Gilbert, Ken Goldman, Lloyd Carney, Bruce Sachs, Robert Sachs, and Geoffrey Yang.
BIGBAND'S RESPONSE TO MOT. CONSOL. & APPOINT LEAD PLF. & LEAD COUNSEL CASE NO. 07-5101-SBA

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Mohanty Action, in which they agreed that the cases should be deemed related and consolidated. See Mohanty Action, Docket No. 11.2 The [Proposed] Order also provides that defendants need not respond to any complaint until the court-appointed lead plaintiff files a consolidated amended complaint. On December 3, 2007, two alleged class members filed motions for appointment as lead plaintiff. Gwyn Jones filed a motion seeking consolidation of the actions, appointment as lead plaintiff, and approval of her selection of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Kahn Gauthier Swick, LLC as co-lead counsel. Separately, the Sphera Fund filed a motion seeking consolidation of the actions, appointment of the Sphera Fund as lead plaintiff, and approval of the Sphera Fund's selection of Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP and The Law Office of Jacob Sabo as co-lead counsel. The motions are scheduled for hearing on February 5, 2008. Also on December 3, 2007, the Wiltjer Action was filed in the Superior Court for the County of San Francisco. On January 2, 2008, all defendants jointly removed the Wiltjer Action to this Court and, the next day, the BigBand Defendants filed a Motion for Administrative Relief in the Mohanty action to consider whether the Wiltjer Action should be related to the Mohanty Action and the other earlier-filed actions. Mohanty Action, Docket No. 24.3 As explained below, the BigBand Defendants agree that these matters (including the Wiltjer Action) should be consolidated into the first-filed Mohanty Action pending before the Hon. Saundra B. Armstrong. The BigBand Defendants take no position, however, on the appropriateness of the moving parties or their counsel for the positions of lead plaintiff and lead counsel, respectively.

As explained below, Wiltjer v. BigBand Networks, Inc., et al., Case No. 08-22-CRB (the "Wiltjer Action"), was not filed until December 3, 2007 ­ the same day on which Ms. Jones and the Sphera Fund filed their competing motions for appointment as lead plaintiff. Defendants Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Jefferies & Company, Inc., Cowen and Company, LLC, and Thinkequity Partners joined in the BigBand Defendants' motion on January 3, 2008. Mohanty Action, Docket No. 25.
BIGBAND'S RESPONSE TO MOT. CONSOL. & APPOINT LEAD PLF. & LEAD COUNSEL CASE NO. 07-5101-SBA
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II.

THE BIGBAND DEFENDANTS' RESPONSE TO THE JONES AND SPHERA FUND MOTIONS A. Consolidation

The BigBand Defendants agree that the above-captioned matters should be consolidated into a single action before Judge Armstrong. The consolidation order should specifically include the Wiltjer action, which was filed (and removed to this Court) after Ms. Jones and the Sphera fund filed their competing motions for appointment as lead plaintiff, and any other substantially similar actions that may be filed later. See, e.g., Mohanty Action, Docket No. 11 at 1 (joint request among all parties that consolidation include subsequently-filed actions). The BigBand Defendants understand that the plaintiff in the Wiltjer Action intends to file a motion to remand the Wiltjer Action to state court. B. Lead Plaintiff

The BigBand Defendants take no position regarding the appointment of either Gwyn Jones or the Sphera Fund as lead plaintiff for the consolidated action. However, in taking no position, the BigBand Defendants do not concede that these actions may properly be maintained as a class action, and do not waive their right to challenge the standing of the appointed lead plaintiff or the appointed lead plaintiff's ability to adequately represent the class. The BigBand Defendants can take discovery at the appropriate time regarding the appointed lead plaintiff's ability to adequately represent the Class. See In re Chiron Corp. Sec. Litig., No. C-04-4293 VRW, 2007 WL 4249902, at *13 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 30, 2007) ("The appointment of lead plaintiffs occurring as it does in advance of class discovery, is not a final ruling on their appropriateness as Class Representatives") (citation omitted); In re Oxford Health Plans, Inc., Sec. Litig., 191 F.R.D. 369, 373 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) (same); Tanne v. Autobytel, Inc., 226 F.R.D. 659, 666 (C.D. Cal. 2005) ("Evidence regarding the requirements of Rule 23 will, of course, be heard in full at the class certification hearing. There is no need to require anything more than a preliminary showing at this stage") (quoting Gluck v. CellStar Corp., 976 F. Supp. 542, 546 (N.D. Tex. 1997)).

BIGBAND'S RESPONSE TO MOT. CONSOL. & APPOINT LEAD PLF. & LEAD COUNSEL CASE NO. 07-5101-SBA

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C.

Lead Counsel

The BigBand Defendants take no position regarding the approval of either Gwyn Jones' or the Sphera Fund's selection of co-lead counsel. Dated: January 15, 2008 WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI Professional Corporation /s/ Rodney G. Strickland, Jr. Rodney G. Strickland, Jr. Keith Eggleton Joni Ostler 650 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304 Tel.: (650) 493-9300 Fax: (650) 493-6811 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Counsel for Defendants BigBand Networks, Inc., Amir Bassan-Eskenazi, Ran Oz, Frederick Ball, Gal Israely, Dean Gilbert, Ken Goldman, Lloyd Carney, Bruce Sachs, Robert Sachs and Geoffrey Yang By:

BIGBAND'S RESPONSE TO MOT. CONSOL. & APPOINT LEAD PLF. & LEAD COUNSEL CASE NO. 07-5101-SBA

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