Sjunde AP-Fonden and The Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, et al. v. General Electric Company, et al.
General Electric Securities Litigation
1:17-cv-8457-JMF (S.D.N.Y.)

Frequently Asked Questions

 

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  • You received the Postcard Notice because the Court has certified a class in this lawsuit and you were identified as a potential Class member whose rights may be affected by the lawsuit.

    The Opinion and Order dated April 11, 2022, the Court certified the Action as a class action on behalf of the Class defined in the FAQ below.

    A class action is a type of lawsuit in which one or several individuals or entities prosecute claims on behalf of all members of a group of similarly situated persons and entities (i..e.,a class) to obtain monetary or other relief for the entire group. The Court determined that this lawsuit can proceed as a class action because it meets the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class actions in federal district courts. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is titled Sjunde AP-Fonden and The Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, et al. v. General Electric Company, et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-8457-JMF. 

  • The Class, certified by the Court, consists of:

    All persons and entities that, purchased or acquired GE common stock between February 29, 2016 and January 23, 2018, inclusive and were damaged thereby.

    Excluded from the Class are: (a) Defendants; (b) GE's subsidiaries and affiliates; (c) any officer, director, or controlling person of GE, and members of the immediate families of such persons: (d) any entity in which any Defendants has a controlling interest; (e) Defendants’ directors’ and officers’ liability insurance carriers, and any affiliates or subsidiaries thereof; and (f) the legal representatives, heirs, successors, and assigns of any such excluded party.

    The Class definition is subject to change by Court order, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

  • If you are uncertain whether you are a member of the Class, please contact Class Counsel at the address or phone number provided on the Contact Us page of this website, or your own attorney.

    Please note that neither Class Counsel, GE, nor the  Administrator have information about your transactions in GE common stock. If you do not have information regarding your transactions in GE common stock, you should contact your broker or investment manager to obtain such information.

  • This is a securities class action against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws. It alleges that Defendants’ public disclosures concealed material facts concerning GE’s reliance on intercompany factoring transactions to offset weaknesses in GE Power’s cash flows from operations between February 29, 2016 and January 23, 2018 (“Class Period”) in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Defendants deny the allegations of wrongdoing asserted in the Action, and deny any liability whatsoever to any member of the Class. Please note that the Notice does not describe all claims and defenses asserted by the parties. The section of the Notice entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and the FAQ below “Where can I get more information?” describes the process by which you can obtain additional information about this Action, including the claims and defenses asserted.

     

  • On November 1, 2017, a class action complaint was filed against GE, and several then current and former executives asserting violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) and 78t(a) (“Exchange Act”), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5.

    On May 29, 2018, following consolidation and coordination with related cases, the Court appointed AP7 as Lead Plaintiff pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”) and appointed Lead Plaintiff’s selection of counsel, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP, as lead counsel.

    On August 23, 2018, Lead Plaintiff and additional plaintiff Cleveland Bakers (together, “Plaintiffs”) filed the Third Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws (“Third Amended Complaint”) against GE, Jeffrey Immelt, Jeffrey Bornstein, Jamie Miller, Keith Sherin, Jan Hauser, and Richard Laxer, alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. 2 The Third Amended Complaint alleged misrepresentations and omissions by Defendants regarding (1) the risk and quality of GE’s long-term care (“LTC”) insurance portfolio; (2) its accounting and revenue recognition for certain long-term service agreements (“LTSAs”) made by its power division between February 27, 2013 and January 23, 2018; and (3) GE Power’s factoring practices and their impact on GE’s disclosed cash flows from operations. Defendants moved to dismiss the Third Amended Complaint on September 12, 2018. Plaintiffs opposed the motion to dismiss on October 12, 2018. 

    By Stipulation and Order dated October 12, 2018, Plaintiffs were permitted to file a Fourth Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws (“Fourth Amended Complaint”) for the limited purpose of striking certain allegations in the Third Amended Complaint. On October 17, 2018, Plaintiffs filed the Fourth Amended Complaint. Defendants filed a reply in further support of their motion to dismiss on October 29, 2018. 

    By Opinion and Order dated August 29, 2019, the Court granted in part and and denied in part the motion to dismiss. The Court dismissed the entirety of Plaintiffs’ claims arising from GE’s LTC insurance portfolio and its accounting for its LTSAs, but sustained Plaintiffs’ claims arising from GE’s disclosures concerning its factoring practices. The Court also granted Plaintiffs leave to amend to address the deficiencies the Court identified in its Opinion and Order. 

    On October 25, 2019, Plaintiffs filed the Fifth Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws (“Fifth Amended Complaint”) against GE,Jeffrey Immelt, Jeffrey Bornstein, Jamie Miller, Keith Sherin, Jan Hauser, and Richard Laxer, alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The Fifth Amended Complaint re-pleaded certain of the dismissed claims arising from GE’s LTC insurance portfolio, from GE’s LTSA accounting practices and already-sustained claims concerning GE’s factoring practices. Defendants moved to dismiss the Fifth Amended Complaint on December 18, 2019. Plaintiffs opposed the motion to dismiss on January 31, 2020. Defendants filed a reply in further support of their motion to dismiss on February 28, 2020.

    By Opinion and Order dated January 29, 2021, the Court granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss the Fifth Amended Complaint, once again dismissing the claims arising from GE’s LTC insurance portfolio and GE’s LTSA accounting practices and allowing claims arising from GE’s factoring practices. The factoring claims were permitted to proceed against GE and Jeffrey Bornstein, and all other defendants were dismissed.

    February 12, 2021, Defendants filed their Answer to the Fifth Amended Complaint, denying all claims and wrongdoing asserted, as well as any liability arising out of the conduct alleged in the Fifth Amended Complaint. Defendants also asserted several affirmative defenses to the claims made in the Fifth Amended Complaint. Thereafter, the parties pursued discovery concerning their respective claims and defenses.

    On May 21, 2021, Plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification (“Motion to Certify”). Plaintiffs sought to certify a Class consisting of all persons and entities that purchased or acquired GE common stock between March 2, 2015 and January 23, 2018, inclusive and were damaged thereby. Defendants opposed Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify on August 30, 2021. Also on August 30, 2021, plaintiffs in a class action pending against GE in New York State court (“Intervenors”) brought on behalf of GE shareholders who purchased GE common stock between July 20, 2015 and July 19, 2018 through GE’s Stock Direct Plan—filed a motion to intervene and modify Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify. On September 3, 2021, the Intervenors were granted leave to intervene for the limited purpose of partially opposing Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify. Intervenors sought an opinion from the Court that any claims that were alleged in the State court action would not be impacted by any settlement or adjudication of claims in this Action. Thereafter, on October 29, 2021, Plaintiffs filed a reply in further support of their motion.

    While Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify was pending, on January 19, 2022, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Leave to File a Sixth Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint (“Motion to Amend”) for the limited purpose of repleading a previously dismissed statement that Defendant Bornstein made during GE’s January 20, 2017 4Q16 earnings call, relating to GE’s factoring practices in 2016. Defendants opposed Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend on February 3, 2022, and Plaintiffs filed a reply in further support of their motion on February 10, 2022.

    By Opinion and Order dated April 11, 2022 (“April 2022 Order”), the Court granted Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify and Motion to Amend but shortened the proposed class period to begin on February 29, 2016 instead of March 2, 2015, as proposed. Specifically, by its April 2022 Order, the Court certified a Class consisting of all persons and entities that purchased or acquired GE common stock between February 29, 2016 and January 23, 2018, inclusive and were damaged thereby.3 In addition, the April 2022 Order appointed Plaintiffs AP7 and Cleveland Bakers as Class Representatives, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP as Class Counsel and Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. as Liaison Counsel for the Class. Also by its April 2022 Order, and with respect to Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ request to file their Sixth Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint. The April 2022 Order also denied the Intervenors’ request for the relief sought in their motion, finding the relief sought premature.

    The Action is ongoing. The parties completed fact discovery on February 1, 2022, and expert discovery is ongoing. A trial date has not yet been set.

    No court has made a ruling on the merits of Class Representatives’ allegations or on Defendants’ denials and defenses.

    Copies of the Court’s Orders referenced herein are available on the Important Documents page of this website.

  • The Court has not decided who is right and there has been no monetary recovery. By certifying the Class and authorizing notice to the Class, the Court is not suggesting that the Class Representatives will win or lose this case. 

  • No money or any other benefits are available now because the Court has not yet decided whether Defendants committed any wrongdoing or are liable to any member of the Class and the parties have not settled the case. There is no guarantee that any money or any other benefit will ever be obtained. If there is a recovery, you will be notified about how to ask for your share.

  • If you are a Class member and you do nothing, you will stay in the Class. This means you will be legally bound by all of the Court’s orders and judgments in this Action, whether favorable or unfavorable, unless the Court issues an order de-certifying the Class or excluding you from the Class at a later date. If you stay in the Class and money is paid to the Class, either through a settlement with Defendants or a judgment of the Court, you may be eligible to receive a share of that recovery. If you choose to remain a member of the Class, you do not have to do anything at this time (other than retain your records of your purchases, acquisitions and sales of GE common stock and any other documents relating to GE). If there is a recovery in the future, members of the Class will be required to support their requests for payment by demonstrating their membership in the Class and documenting their purchases, acquisitions and sales of GE common stock and their resulting damages. Neither Class Counsel, GE, nor the Administrator  have information about your transactions in GE common stock. For these reasons, please be sure to keep all records of your transactions in GE common stock.

  • If you want to pursue your own lawsuit or claims against Defendants about the alleged conduct in this case, do not want to be bound by what the Court does in this case, or if you simply do not want to be part of the Class pursuing claims against Defendants, you must ask to be excluded. If you exclude yourself from the Class—which means to remove yourself from the Class and is sometimes called “opting-out” of the Class—you will not be legally bound by any past, present, or future Court orders or judgments in this Action, and will keep any right you may have to individually sue Defendants in the future. However, if you exclude yourself, you also will not get any money or any other benefits from this Action, if there is a future settlement or judgment in the Class's favor.

    If you start your own lawsuit against Defendants after you exclude yourself, you will have to hire and pay your own lawyer for that lawsuit, and you will have to prove your claims. Please note that if you decide to exclude yourself from the Class, you should consult with an attorney prior to doing so and discuss whether your individual claim would be time-barred by the applicable statutes of limitations or repose or face any other impediments to recovery.

  • If you wish to be excluded from the Class (“opt-out”), you must submit a letter stating that you “request exclusion from the Class in Sjunde AP-Fonden and The Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, et al. v. General Electric Company, et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-8457-JMF (S.D. NY.).” Your request must state your full name, address, telephone number, and you must sign it. If you are signing on behalf of a Class member (such as an estate, corporation, or partnership), please indicate your full name and the basis of your authority to act on behalf of the Class member. Your request for exclusion must also state the amount of GE common stock purchased, acquired and/or sold during the Class Period, as well as the dates and prices of each such purchase, acquisition and/or sale. You must mail your exclusion request, postmarked no later than August 15, 2022, to:

    General Electric Securities Litigation
    c/o JND Legal Administration
    EXCLUSIONS
    P.O. Box 91449
    Seattle, WA 98111

    You cannot exclude yourself from the Class by telephone or by email, and a request for exclusion will not be effective unless it contains all the information called for by this section and is postmarked by the date stated above, unless the Court makes an exception. Only request exclusion for the Class if you do not wish to participate in the Action and do not wish to share in any potential recovery that the Class may obtain.

  • As a member of the Class, you will be represented by Class Counsel who are:

    KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER
    & CHECK, LLP
    Sharan Nirmul, Esq.
    Richard A. Russo, Jr., Esq.
    280 King of Prussia Road
    Radnor, PA 19087
    (610) 667-7706

    Unless you hire your own personal lawyer, as a Class member you will not have any direct obligations to pay the costs of this lawsuit. In the event there is a recovery by the Class, all costs and expenses, including Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees, will be paid from that recovery in an amount that is approved by the Court. If there is no recovery, Class Counsel will not receive any attorneys’ fees or expenses.

  • You do not need to hire your own lawyer, because Class Counsel are already working on your behalf. However, you have the right to retain your own personal lawyer at your own expense. If you retain separate counsel to represent you in this case, your counsel must enter an appearance on your behalf by filing a Notice of Appearance with the Court. If you wish, you may also consult with your own counsel concerning your rights in this Action.

  • For more detailed information regarding the Action, you may contact Class Counsel or visit this website, where you will find case-related documents and detailed information regarding the Action. You may also call JND Legal Administration (the “ Administrator”) at 1-(844) 202-9485. Please do not call or write the Court or the Defendants.

    In addition, complete copies of the pleadings, orders, and other documents filed in this Action are available at http://www.pacer.gov or at the office of the Clerk of the Court, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, located at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, New York, NY 10007, under Case No. 1:17-cv-08457-JMF.

  • If you received a Postcard Notice with information about the Action at an old address, or if you move, please advise the Administrator of your current address so that you can receive any future notices in the Action. Any change to your address should be mailed to:

    General Electric Securities Litigation
    c/o JND Legal Administration
    P.O. Box 91449
    Seattle, WA 98111

  • If, for the beneficial interest of any person or entity other than yourself, you purchased or acquired GE common stock, between February 29, 2016 and January 23, 2018 inclusive, you MUST EITHER, (i) WITHIN SEVEN (7) CALENDAR DAYS of receipt of the Notice, request from the Administrator sufficient copies of the Postcard Notice to forward to all such beneficial owners and mail those Postcard Notices yourself WITHIN SEVEN (7) CALENDAR DAYS after receiving them: or; (ii) WITHIN SEVEN (7) CALENDAR DAYS of receipt of the Postcard Notice, provide a list of the names, addresses, and email addresses (if available) of all such beneficial owners to the Administrator at GEESecurities@JNDLA.com. If you choose the first option, YOU MUST send a statement to the Administrator confirming that the mailings were made and YOU MUST retain your mailing records for use in connection with any further notice that may be provided in the Action. If you choose the second option, the Administrator will send a copy of the Postcard Notice to the beneficial owners. Upon FULL AND TIMELY compliance with these directions, such nominees may see reimbursement of their reasonable expenses actually incurred by providing the Administrator with proper documentation supporting the expenses for which reimbursement is sought.

For More Information

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Mail
General Electric Securities Litigation
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91449
Seattle, WA 98111