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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKCOUNTY OF NEW YORK
Index No. 651023/2014
Hon. Melissa A. Crane
In re Gateway Plaza Residents Litigation
DECLARATION OF PETER SAFIRSTEIN IN SUPPORT OF (1)PLAINTIFFS'
MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF THE CLASS SETTLEMENT, AND (2)PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS'
FEES, COSTS, AND SERVICE AWARDS
Peter Safirstein hereby declares as follows, pursuant to penalty of perjury:
1. I am the managing partner of Safirstein Metcalf LLP, co-Counsel in this matter.
2. I have overseen my firm's involvement in this litigation and make this
Declaration in support ofPlaintiffs'
Motion for Final Approval of the Class Settlement and
Plaintiffs'Motion for
Attorneys'Fees, Costs, and Service Awards.
I. Co-Counsel's Background
3. Safirstein Metcalf is a boutique plaintiff class action law firm headed by Peter
Safirstein and Elizabeth Metcalf. Both were formerly at the class action powerhouses, Milberg
LLP (and predecessor entities), Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Morgan &
Morgan, where they prosecuted some of the largest and most important class actions recovering
millions of dollars for the classes they represented. Since forming Safirstein Metcalf LLP in
2016, the firm has served as lead or co-lead counsel in numerous class actions and has achieved
significant settlements.
4. Mr. Safirstein is a former Special Assistant United States Attorney (SDNY) and
former Assistant United States Attorney (SDFL) and has participated in complex trials on behalf
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of the United States of America. He has played a prominent role in important class actions
including the mammoth IPO Securities litigation that settled for more than $500 million. In
addition, he has successfully represented Nigerian children allegedly victimized by Pfizer's
improper medical experiments involving the drug Trovan. He serves on ABA Committees and
has lectured on class actions before various professional associations.
5. Ms. Metcalf focuses her practice on class action securities litigation, shareholder
derivative litigation, consumer fraud, and antitrust actions. She has litigated on behalf of
investors and consumers including investors in the shareholder derivative suit In re Massey
Energy Co. Derivative & Class Action Litig., No. 5430-VCS (Del. Ch.) which followed the 2010
mining disaster; and consumers who were damaged by the Suave® Professionals Keratin
Infusion 30 Day Smoothing Kit (Reid et. al. v. Unilever United States, Inc., No. 12-cv-6058,
NDIL). She serves as a member of the teams prosecuting: generic drug price fixing; derivative
actions including those against the Boards of Directors of McKesson Corporation and El Pollo
Loco Holdings, Inc; and an ongoing acquisition matter regarding the price paid for Saks Fifth
Avenue by Hudson's Bay Company.
6. Ms. Susnick has 35 years of legal experience. She began her career in the United
States Department of Justice Honors Law Graduate Program (Antitrust: New York field office).
After this, she served as in house counsel at MetLife for more than 25 years where she managed
and resolved a large caseload of lawsuits as well as requests for advice from internal business
clients. In addition to the present matter, Ms. Susnick has recently contributed to the litigation
teams in several Safirstein Metcalf antitrust matters.
7. Mr. Safirstein, Ms. Metcalf, and Ms. Susnick have been actively involved in
prosecuting numerous fraud cases, including: In re Namenda Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litig.,
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Nos. 15 Civ. 6549 (S.D.N.Y) (appointed co-lead counsel); In re Sprint Nextel Derivative Litig.,
No. 12-2242-JWB-KDD (D. Kan.) (appointed co-lead counsel); Torus Capital LLC v. Bank of
Nova Scotia, New York Agency et al., No. 1:16-cv-05437 (S.D.N.Y) (active antitrust matter
alleging a conspiracy to rig the market for securities sold by the U.S. Department of the
Treasury); In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig., No. 3:15-md-02626 (M.D. Fla.); In re
Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litig., No. 15-MD-2670 JLS (MDD) (S.D.Cal.); In re
Aggrenox Antitrust Litig., No. 14-md-2516 (D. Conn.); In re Lidoderm Antitrust Litig., No. 14-
md-2521(N.D. Cal.); In Re: Restasis (Cyclosporine Ophthalmic Emulsion) Antitrust Litig., No.
1:18-md-02819 (E.D.N.Y.); In Re: Zetia (Ezetimibe) Antitrust Litig., No 2:18-md-02836
(E.D.Va.); and several anti-trust matters alleging conspiracies to increase the prices of various
generic medications including (all currently pending in E.D. Pa.).
8. The attorneys at Safirstein Metcalf LLP have also litigated or are litigating several
other class and derivative matters, including: Diep v. Sather, C.A. No. 12760-VCL (Del. Ch.)
(asserting insider trading claims against certain El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. insiders); Kocen et
al. v. Deepak Chopra et al., C.A. No. 11291-VCL (Del. Ch.)/In re OSI Sys., Inc. Deriv. Litig.
No. 2:14-cv-02910-MWF (C.D. Cal.) (settled derivative matter which asserted breach of
fiduciary claims regarding the hiding of problems with the company's body and baggage
scanners and the failure to create a federal regulations compliance program); City of Monroe
Employees'Retirement System v. Rupert Murdoch, et al. C.A. No. 0833-AGB (Del. Ch. Nov. 20,
2017) (asserting breach of fiduciary duty claims regarding the systematic, decades-long culture
of sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and retaliation that led to a hostile work environment
at FOX News Channel - settled for $90 million and significant corporate governance changes);
In re McKesson Corp. Shareholder Derivative Litig., No. 4:17-cv-1850-CW (N.D. Cal.)
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(ongoing derivative matter regarding breaches by McKesson Corp.'s board of directors and
senior officers in abdicating their fiduciary duty of oversight with respect to the company's sale
of opioid drugs and controlled substances -preliminarily settled $175 million); Reynolds v. Dow
Chemical Co., C.A. No. 2017-0203-JRS (Del. Ch.) (settled derivative matter alleging the
improper reporting of payment for significant amounts of personal expenses incurred by the
company's CEO); Reid et al v. Unilever United States, Inc. 1:12-cv-06058 (N.D. Ill.) (settled
consumer action on behalf of purchasers and users of a Suave brand hair treatment that allegedly
causes unwanted, significant hair loss); In re Saks Inc. Shareholder Litig., No. 652724/2013 (Sup
Ct, New York County) (active case regarding the sale of Saks to Hudson's Bay Company); and
Iowa PublicEmployees'
Retirement System et al v. Bank of America Corp. et al., No. 1:17-cv-
06221 (S.D.N.Y.) (active class action alleging five banks colluded to prevent modernization of
the $1.7 trillion stock loan market to prevent losing out on massive fees). More information can
be found on the firm website: www.safirsteinmetcalf.com/attorneys-and-professionals and in the
firm resume attached as Exhibit A.
II. Counsel's Attorneys' Fees and Costs
9. As of January, 2020, Safirstein Metcalf (and predecessor firms working on this
matter) has expended more than 1,786 hours on this litigation and incurred $41,846.96 in out-of-
pocket costs. The total lodestar equals $1,386,540.00 to date. We expect the lodestar to increase
in connection with final approval and administration of the settlement.
10. To date, Safirstein Metcalf (and predecessor firms working on this matter) has
incurred $41,846.96 in litigation costs, for which it seeks reimbursement. These amounts
include expert fees, e-discovery vendor costs, and various other out-of-pocket expenditures.
These costs were reasonably incurred in prosecuting this action on behalf of the Class and should
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be approved by the Court. A breakdown of the litigation costs for which Safirstein Metcalf seeks
reimbursement is listed below.
11. The vast bulk of these expenses is attributable to experts and consultants-namely
liability expert James Cicalo of FSI Architecture, who performed a structural analysis of the
Gateway buildings and completed two expert reports, and damages expert Cynthia L. Jones, who
assessed damages. Their services were essential to litigating liability and class certification, and
to reaching the settlement and determining the optimal allocation of settlement funds.
12. Another significant category of expenses are vendor and consultant costs incurred
for data hosting and ESI discovery. Nearly all of these expenses are"hard"
costs advanced for
necessary third-party services.
DESCRIPTION COST
Deposition Expenses $11,336.69
Experts, Consultants, and Document$30,020.32
Retention
PACER $13.70
photocopying $476.25
TOTAL: $41,846.96
13. Collectively, Class Counsel has spent several thousand hours investigating,
prosecuting, and settling this class action, all on a contingency basis. Thefirms'
work in this
matter included, inter alia: investigating legal and factual allegations of warranty of habitability
violations; drafting multiple complaints; briefing various motions, including a motion for class
certification; engaging in comprehensive discovery including extensive meet-and-confer sessions
with opposing counsel; working withPlaintiffs'
experts to analyze the claims and prepare
damages models; exchanging and reviewing thousands of pages of documents and data; taking
and defending the depositions of multiple witnesses negotiating and drafting the Class Action
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Settlement Agreement; obtaining preliminary approval of the settlement; and seeking final
approval.
14. Between February 2014 and January, 2020, Safirstein Metcalf LLP (and
predecessor firms working on this matter) expended over 1,786 hours on this matter, resulting in
a total lodestar of $1,386,540.00. These numbers do not include the substantial hours that
Counsel expects to devote in connection with final approval and settlement administration-
including filing any additional papers that may be necessary, attending the final fairness hearing,
communicating with class members, and coordinating with the settlement administrator and
opposing counsel. Counsel believes that the total hours and lodestar are reasonable in a litigation
of this magnitude, duration, and complexity. Counsel properly delegated work between the firms
and between partners, junior attorneys, and support staff.
15. The following chart reflects the lodestar by time-keeper:
NAME & TITLE FIRM HOURS RATE LODESTAR
Peter Safirstein Safirstein'784.8 $950/hr $745,560.00
Managing Partner Metcalf
Elizabeth Metcalf Safirstein'472.5 $750/hr $354,375.00
Partner Metcalf
Ruth Susnick Safirstein'228.9 $550/hr $128,895.00
Of Counsel Metcalf
SafirsteinSheila Feerick, Analyst 300.4 $525/hr $157,710.00
Metcalf __
TOTALS: 1786.6 1,386,540.00
16. The preceding summary was prepared from detailed time records which are
available at the request of the Court.
III. Counsel's Support of the Settlement
17. Based on our experience in this type of litigation and class actions in general, as
well as thorough familiarity with the factual and legal issues in this case, the risks of litigation
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and potential recoverable damages, the significant recovery obtained for Class Members, and the
overwhelmingly positive response by the Class Members, we are confident that that the
Settlement is an excellent result for the Class and is in ClassMembers'
best interest. We
strongly support the final approval of the Settlement.
Dated: New York, NY
January 13, 2020 By: /s/ Peter Safirstein
Peter Safirstein
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EXHIBIT A
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SAFIRSTEIN METCALF LLP
Antitrust · Securities Fraud · Consumer Fraud
Class Action Litigation
Attorney & Professional Staff Résumé
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SAFIRSTEIN METCALF LLP
...
SAFIRSTEIN METCALF LLP'S LITIGATION PRACTICE
Safirstein Metcalf LLP's attorneys have extensive experience representing
plaintiffs in antitrust, securities, commodities, and consumer class actions. Our
specialized team has been intensively involved in legal actions related to various
antitrust, securities, and corporate wrongdoing, as well as in the development of
individualized legal strategies to offset ourclients'
losses. Our lawyers have played
prominent roles in important class actions including the mammoth IPO Securities
litigation that settled for more than $500 million.
Ourclients'
cases have involved antitrust violations, financial fraud, challenges
to unfair mergers and tender offers, failed corporate governance, and
customer/brokerage firm arbitration proceedings. We have successfully challenged
drug price-fixing, won compensation for consumers injured by debilitating products,
and achieved significant, long term corporate governance changes at public
companies.
Firm Co-Founders, Mr. Peter Safirstein and Ms. Elizabeth Metcalf, have been
actively involved in prosecuting numerous antitrust cases, including:
• Torus Capital LLC v. Bank of Nova Scotia, New York Agency et al., No. 1:16-
cv-05437 (S.D.N.Y) (active antitrust matter alleging a conspiracy to rig the
market for securities sold by the U.S. Department of the Treasury);
• In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation, No. 3:15-md-02626 (M.D.
Fla.);
• In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litig., No. 15-MD-2670 JLS
(MDD) (S.D.Cal.);
• In re Aggrenox Antitrust Litig., No. 14-md-2516 (D. Conn.);
• In re Lidoderm Antitrust Litig., No. 14-md-2521(N.D. Cal.);
SAFIRSTEIN METCALF LLP
The Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Ave, 59th Floor New York, NY 10118 ph:1-800-221-0015 · 212-201-2855
www.safirsteinmetcalf.com
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SAFIRSTEIN METCALF LLP
...
• In Re: Restasis (Cyclosporine Ophthalmic Emulsion) Antitrust Litig., No. 1:18-
md-02819 (E.D.N.Y.);
• In Re: Zetia (Ezetimibe) Antitrust Litig., No 2:18-md-02836 (E.D.Va.); and
• several anti-trust matters alleging conspiracies to increase the prices of
various generic medications including (all currently pending in E.D. Pa.):
SBA v. Endo Int'l. plc et al., No. 2:17-cv-01986) (amitriptyline); SBA v. Taro
Pharm. Industries, Ltd. et al., No 2:17-cv-01759) (lidex); SBA v. Fougera
Pharm., Inc. et al., No. 2:17-cv-01755 (desonide); SBA v. Actavis Elizabeth,
LLC et al., 2:17-cv-01771) (propranolol); and SBA v. Fougera Pharm. Inc. et
al., No. 2:17-cv-01753) (clobetasol).
The attorneys at Safirstein Metcalf LLP have also litigated or are litigating
several other class and derivative matters, including: Diep v. Sather, C.A. No. 12760-
VCL (Del. Ch.) (asserting insider trading claims against certain El Pollo Loco
Holdings, Inc. insiders); Kocen et al. v. Deepak Chopra et al., C.A. No. 11291-VCL (Del.
Ch.)/In re OSI Sys., Inc. Deriv. Litig. No. 2:14-cv-02910-MWF (C.D.Cal.) (settled
derivative matter which asserted breach of fiduciary claims regarding the hiding of
problems with the company's body and baggage scanners and the failure to create a
federal regulations compliance program); City of MonroeEmployees'
Retirement System
v. Rupert Murdoch, et al. C.A. No. 0833-AGB (Del. Ch. Nov. 20, 2017) (asserting breach
of fiduciary duty claims regarding the systematic, decades-long culture of sexual
harassment, racial discrimination, and retaliation that led to a hostile work
environment at FOX News Channel - settled for $90 million and significant corporate
governance changes); Steinberg v. Andy Bryant, et al., C.A. No. 2017-0736-SG (Del. Ch.)
(ongoing derivative matter regarding breaches by McKesson Corp.'s board of
directors and senior officers in abdicating their fiduciary duty of oversight with
SAFIRSTEIN METCALF LLP
The Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Ave, 59th Floor New York, NY 10118 ph:1-800-221-0015 · 212-201-2855
www.safirsteinmetcalf.com
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SAFIRSTEIN METCALF LLP
...
respect to the company's sale of opioid drugs and controlled substances); Reynolds v.
Dow Chemical Co., C.A. No. 2017-0203-JRS (Del. Ch.) (settled derivative matter
alleging the improper reporting of payment for significant amounts of personal
expenses incurred by the company's CEO); In re Gateway PlazaResidents'
Litig., No.
651023/2014 (Sup Ct, New York County) (ongoing class action alleging uninhabitable
conditions at Gateway Plaza in New York's Battery Park City); Reid et al v. Unilever
United States, Inc. 1:12-cv-06058 (N.D. Ill.) (settled consumer action on behalf of
purchasers and users of a Suave brand hair treatment that allegedly causes
unwanted, significant hair loss), Kayce v. Patriot National, Inc. et al., 1:17-cv-07164-ER
(active class action under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for securities fraud and
stock manipulation); and Iowa PublicEmployees'
Retirement System et al v. Bank of
America Corp. et al., No. 1:17-cv-06221 (S.D.N.Y.) (class action alleging five banks
colluded to prevent modernization of the $1.7 trillion stock loan market to prevent
losing out on massive fees).
SAFIRSTEIN METCALF LLP
The Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Ave, 59th Floor New York, NY 10118 ph:1-800-221-0015 · 212-201-2855
www.safirsteinmetcalf.com
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Peter Safirstein
Peter primarily represents plaintiffs in securities,
antitrust, commodities and consumer class actions
and also represents whistleblowers before the SEC.
Prior to entering private practice, Peter served in the
Enforcement Division of the Securities Exchange
Commission and in the United StatesAttorneys'
Offices for the Southern District of New York and the
Southern District of Florida where he concentrated on
prosecuting white collar crime.
He has played a prominent role in important class
er e co- e ou s B e sin r u
st case that sett ed for $180 m 11i n, se ve
in prominent roles in such other antitrust matters as
3 1 m 0 626 ( Fla ) an I r or n r L
Co., Ltd Antitrust Litigation, No. 07-cv-05107 (C.D. B IB E
R1 s Litigati n nd Pe er s cessf 1 e r s n e
prop r medical e ri en s lvmg th
epresented co sum rs in antitrus case ga
Sirius XM Radio which was resolved for $180 million.
Peter serves on ABA Committees. He has lectured
on class actions before various professional
associations.
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n e t o ev ral t t a t on
Bank f A ri C et al. o 1:17-cv-06221
(S.D.N.Y.), a class action alleging five banks colluded
loan ar et o pre n os ng ou on assi e f es.
under the Financial Industry and Regulatory Authority.
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Sheila Feerick
Financial Analyst Director of Client Communications
Sheila has fifteen years of law firm experience. She
performs extensive investigative financial analysis for
potential class action lawsuits, identifying and analyzing
potential cases for antitrust and securities class action
litigation. Once those cases are filed, Sheila provides
detailed financial analysis assisting in the prosecution of
those matters.
In addition, Sheilais responsible for communicating with
individuals, health and welfare funds and institutional
investors about antitrust and securities class actions. [email protected]
Prior to joining Safirstein Metcalf LLP, she managed the (212) 201-2856 (direct)
Shareholder Services Department at a large New York-
based securities litigation firm.
Sheila earned a BA in English from Villanova University
and an MBA in Finance from Stern School of Business at
NYU (2000).
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