In re Eaton Vance Corporation Securities Litigation

In In re Eaton Vance Corporation Securities Litigation, No. 01 CV 10911 EFH (D. Mass.), Labaton Sucharow, as co-lead counsel, brought innovative claims under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 involving the EV Classic Senior Floating-Rate Fund, an Eaton Vance mutual fund which invests its assets in senior bank loans. Plaintiffs alleged in essence that Eaton Vance overpriced certain of their loan interests for which market quotations were readily available, in violation of rules of the SEC. Labaton Sucharow defeated Defendants' motions for summary judgment after thorough discovery and, after four years of litigation to the brink of trial, achieved a settlement of $10.5 million plus $200,000 to defray certain settlement administration costs. This settlement represents more than half of the class's damages under certain scenarios. The Court complimented Labaton Sucharow on achieving this result for the benefit of the class, and awarded the Firm's clients a significant award in reimbursement of lost wages pursuant to the PSLRA.

The Court approved the settlement and entered final judgment on April 26, 2006. Settlement checks have been mailed to authorized claimants.