If You Are a Current Or Former Owner of One Or More Condominium Units in the Millennium Tower, You May Be Eligible for a Payment from a Class Action Settlement
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SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO If You are a Current or Former Owner of one or more condominium units in the Millennium Tower, You May Be Eligible for a Payment from a Class Action Settlement. The Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer. As part of consolidated litigation before the San Francisco Superior Court addressing The Millennium Tower, a condominium and commercial building, located at 301 Mission Street in San Francisco, a class action settlement has been reached addressing claims brought by certain past and present unit holders in the building. Commencing in May 2016, a number of lawsuits were filed addressing alleged settlement and tilt of The Millennium Tower. These separate lawsuits were brought on behalf of The Millennium Tower Association, individual unit owners, and a putative class of unit holders. The cases were consolidated for pretrial and trial purposes and involved many parties and cross-claims. Among others, Defendants and Cross-defendants across the cases included Mission Street Development, the developer of The Millennium Tower, many of the contractors on The Millennium Tower, parties alleged to have been involved in the sale of units, and the various developers, contractors, and owners of adjacent properties who were alleged to have caused, impacted, or exacerbated the alleged settlement and tilt. Through mediation with all the parties, a global settlement has been reached, including this class action. Liability is disputed by the Settling Parties, and no Court decision has been made on the merits. This Settlement is a part of the resolution of all of these lawsuits. The Settlement Class includes: The proposed Class Representatives and all individuals and entities who 1) own one or more condominium units in The Millennium Tower, that they purchased prior to May 10, 2016; 2) purchased one or more condominium units in The Millennium Tower prior to May 10, 2016 and sold such unit or units after May 10, 2016; or 3) as of May 15, 2020, own one or more condominium units in The Millennium Tower, that they purchased after May 10, 2016, who have not filed an individual action against one or more of the Defendants regarding The Millennium Tower and who do not exclude themselves from the Settlement Class in the manner and time prescribed by the Court in the Preliminary Approval Order. Your legal rights are affected whether you act or don’t act. Read this notice carefully. SUMMARY OF YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT If you are entitled under the Settlement to a payment, you must submit a claim postmarked by July 14, 2020. If the Court approves the SUBMIT A CLAIM Settlement and it becomes final and effective, you remain in the FORM Settlement Class, and you submit a Claim Form that is validated by the Settlement Administrator, you will receive a payment. Questions? Call 1-833-991-1519 or visit www.MillenniumTowerLitigationSettlement.com 1 Receive no benefit from the Settlement. This is the only option that allows you to retain your right to bring any other lawsuit against any EXCLUDE YOURSELF of the Released Parties, including the Defendants in this class action FROM THE and the Cross-Defendants in the consolidated actions, about the SETTLEMENT claims in this case. Submit your exclusion request postmarked by June 29, 2020. Questions 9-11 in this Notice describe the Exclusion process in more detail. Write to the Court to object to the terms of the Settlement postmarked by June 29, 2020. Questions 14-15 in this Notice describes the OBJECT Objection process in more detail. You may object to the terms of the Settlement even if you submit a claim. OBJECT AT THE If you object and give written notice to the Court, you may ask to FINAL APPROVAL speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement. HEARING If you do nothing, you will not receive any payment to which you are entitled, and you will give up your right to bring your own DO NOTHING lawsuit against any Released Parties with respect to The Millennium Tower. UPDATE CONTACT If your contact information has changed, you may provide updated INFORMATION contact information in the Claim Form. These rights and options — and the deadlines to exercise them — are explained in this Notice. The Court in charge of this case still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement. Payments will be provided if the Court approves the Settlement and, if there are any appeals, after those appeals are resolved. Please be patient. Questions? Call 1-833-991-1519 or visit www.MillenniumTowerLitigationSettlement.com 2 WHAT THIS NOTICE CONTAINS BASIC INFORMATION ............................................................................................................. PAGE 4 1. Why is there a notice? 2. What is this lawsuit about? 3. Why is this a class action? 4. Why is there a Settlement? WHO IS IN THE SETTLEMENT ........................................................................................... PAGE 5 5. Who is included in the Settlement? THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS ........................................................................................... PAGE 5 6. What does the Settlement provide? 7. How do I receive a payment? 8. What am I giving up to stay in the Settlement Class? EXCLUDING YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT ......................................................... PAGE 8 9. How do I get out of the Settlement? 10. If I do not exclude myself, can I sue for the same thing later? 11. If I exclude myself from the Settlement, can I still receive a payment? THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU ............................................................................... PAGE 9 12. Do I have a lawyer in this case? 13. How will the lawyers be paid? OBJECTING TO THE SETTLEMENT ................................................................................... PAGE 9 14. How do I tell the Court that I don’t like the Settlement? 15. What’s the difference between objecting and excluding? THE COURT’S FINAL APPROVAL HEARING ................................................................... PAGE 10 16. When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement? 17. Do I have to go to the hearing? 18. May I speak at the hearing? IF YOU DO NOTHING ....................................................................................................... PAGE 10 19. What happens if I do nothing at all? GETTING MORE INFORMATION ..................................................................................... PAGE 11 20. How do I get more information? Questions? Call 1-833-991-1519 or visit www.MillenniumTowerLitigationSettlement.com 3 BASIC INFORMATION 1. Why is there a notice? A Court authorized this Notice because you have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit, and about all of your options, before the Court decides whether to grant Final Approval to the Settlement. This Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement and your legal rights. The Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Francisco is overseeing this case. The case is known as Maui Peaks Corporation, et al. v. Mission Street Development LLC, et al., Case No. CGC-17-560322. The Maui Peaks case was consolidated under Lehman v. Transbay Joint Powers Authority, et al., CGC-16-553758 for the Phase One trial. The Defendants, Cross-Defendants, and Settling Parties in this class action settlement are described in greater detail in the Class Settlement Agreement available at www.MillenniumTowerLitigationSettlement.com, as well as in the pleadings on file in the Lehman and Maui Peaks lawsuits, but generally include the parties involved in the development, design, and construction of four property sites in San Francisco: The Millennium Tower, the Transbay Transit Center, the Salesforce Tower, and the building constructed at 350 Mission Street in San Francisco, California. 2. What is this lawsuit about? The lawsuit was brought by Plaintiffs Maui Peaks Corporation, Ian Kao and NGMII LLC on behalf of owners of residential units in The Millennium Tower alleging causes of action against Mission Street Development LLC (“MSD”), Mission Street Holding (“MSH”) and Transbay Joint Powers Authority (“TJPA”) relating to allegations concerning, inter alia, the movement and tilt of The Millennium Tower. The Plaintiffs own or owned residential units in The Millennium Tower. Plaintiffs alleged claims against MSD and MSH for failure to disclose and unfair business practices, and claims against TJPA for express indemnity, specific performance and declaratory relief. There are numerous Cross-Defendants across the consolidated and related cases. The Defendants, Cross- Defendants, and additional Settling Parties claim that other parties are responsible for the movement and tilt of The Millennium Tower and have sued those other parties. Many years of intense litigation with respect to those claims has occurred and significant discovery across the four properties has been completed. The Settling Parties have also been mediating the case in front of retired Judge Daniel Weinstein since 2018. 3. Why is this a class action? In a class action, one or more people called class representatives (in this case, Maui Peaks Corporation, Ian Kao and NGMII LLC) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. The people included in the class action are called the Settlement Class or Settlement Class Members. One court resolves the issues for all Settlement