Declaration Of Helen J. Hodges In Support Of Lead Counsel's ...

egarding the policies and he moved for summary judgment in the interpleader action, in addition to
filing a formal objection to the settlement. Consequently, while the BofA and Lehman settlements
were soon approved by the Court, the Outside Director settlement was not approved until after the
Court denied his motion for arbitration and he appealed that denial. Eventually, after negotiations
overseen by Professor Green, we reached an agreement with Hannon, his objection was withdrawn,
and the Court approved the Outside Director settlement. But that required more of our time and
attention through March 2006.
251. In May 2005 the ongoing settlement discussions between our lawyers and Citigroup’s
lawyers intensified. We closely evaluated the Class’ claims against Citigroup. After working
through a number of issues, by early June we were exchanging term sheets. Both The Regents and
Citigroup are extremely sophisticated and experienced litigants. In these negotiations both sides
were represented by top lawyers who had the utmost respect for each other. As directed by The
Regents, we pushed to maximize the investors’ recovery. Of course, Citigroup’s counsel at Paul
Weiss was charged by their client with minimizing the payment. After months of tough
negotiations, the result was one of the largest payments ever by a single defendant in a securities
class action. On June 9, the parties and counsel signed a term sheet calling for a settlement for
investors of $2 billion; Lead Counsel also insisted that the funds begin earning interest for the
benefit of the Class from the day the term sheet was signed. This was not only a tremendous
recovery for the Class in itself, but it also was a catalyst – and a benchmark – for settlements with
more bank defendants.
252. On June 10, 2005, the day the Citigroup agreement was announced, we had a
previously-scheduled meeting with lawyers for JPMorgan Chase in New York. We met with
lawyers from Simpson Thacher. JPMorgan Chase, too, is a sophisticated litigant represented by
excellent counsel. The Regents insisted that JPMorgan Chase pay more than Citigroup did so as to
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