Freedman v. Weatherford International, Ltd.

On November 4, 2015, the court granted final approval of a settlement of $120 million with one of the largest global providers of products and services for the oil and gas industry, Weatherford International Ltd. (n/k/a Weatherford International plc.).

Represented by Labaton Sucharow partners Joel H. Bernstein, Ira A. Schochet, and Eric J. Belfi, the plaintiffs alleged that Weatherford knowingly or recklessly filed false financial statements during the class period between March 2, 2011 and July 24, 2012, touting illusory benefits of Weatherford's tax structure and hiding the company's inadequate tax accounting procedures. By the end of the class period, Weatherford had issued three restatements, and its failure to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) resulted in overstated earnings of more than $900 million.

"Sacramento City Employees' Retirement System is committed to prosecuting securities class actions in order to protect our members' assets, and we are very pleased with the successful result reached for investors," said Chief Investment Officer John P. Colville for the City of Sacramento, who was instrumental in the mediation process to achieve this recovery.

Achieving this settlement required over three years of intense litigation, including defeating defendants' motion to dismiss, obtaining class certification, completing fact discovery, filing four expert reports, and preparing for expert discovery and summary judgment.

"This was a very hard fought case," said Schochet, "and we are extremely gratified that in the end we were able to achieve this significant settlement for all class members who were injured."

The case is Freedman v. Weatherford International, Ltd., No. 1:12-cv-2121 (S.D.N.Y.). Labaton Sucharow represents SCERS. For more information, please read the Settlement Notice.

The final approval hearing was held on November 3, 2015 at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, Courtroom 21B, New York, NY. The deadline for objecting to the settlement, seeking exclusion from the class, or opting back into the class has passed.

Submit Proof of Claim
If you purchased or acquired the common stock of Weatherford in the United States between March 2, 2011 and July 24, 2012, inclusive, you may be eligible to recover from the settlement if you submit a proof of claim with supporting documentation no later than December 9, 2015. Relevant documents can be found under "Case Materials."

If you have questions about the settlement, please contact Labaton Sucharow at settlementquestions@labaton.com or 1-888-219-6877, or the Claims Administrator, GCG, at 1-888-382-6459.