Class Counsel Announce Proposed Settlement in the Bank of America Corp. Securities Litigation

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP regarding the Bank of America Corp. Securities Litigation.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT    
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

IN RE BANK OF AMERICA CORP. SECURITIES, DERIVATIVE, AND EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT (ERISA) LITIGATION

THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: Consolidated Securities Action, Master File No. 09 MDL 2058 (PKC), ECF CASE

SUMMARY NOTICE OF (I) PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND PLAN OF ALLOCATION; (II) SETTLEMENT FAIRNESS HEARING; AND (III) MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND REIMBURSEMENT OF LITIGATION EXPENSES

To: All persons and entities who (1) held Bank of America Corporation ("BoA") common stock as of October 10, 2008, and were entitled to vote on the merger between BoA and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. ("Merrill") that was consummated on January 1, 2009; (2) purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of BoA during the period from September 18, 2008 through January 21, 2009, inclusive, excluding shares of BoA common stock acquired by exchanging Merrill common stock for BoA common stock through the merger between the two companies; (3) purchased or otherwise acquired January 2011 call options on BoA common stock during the period from September 18, 2008 through January 21, 2009, inclusive; or (4) purchased BoA common stock issued under the Registration Statement and Prospectus for the BoA common stock offering that occurred on or about October 7, 2008, and who were damaged thereby (the "Class"). (fn 1)

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY; YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION REGARDING THIS NOTICE.

ALL QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS NOTICE, THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT, OR YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO CO-LEAD COUNSEL OR THE CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR, WHOSE CONTACT INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BELOW, RATHER THAN TO BOA OR THE COURT.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, that Court-appointed Lead Plaintiffs, the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio; the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System; the Teacher Retirement System of Texas; Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn, represented by PGGM Vermogensbeheer B.V.; and Fjarde AP-Fonden, on behalf of themselves and the Court-certified Class, in the above-captioned securities class action (the "Action") have reached a proposed settlement of the Action with defendants BoA, Merrill, Kenneth D. Lewis, John A. Thain, Joe L. Price, Neil A. Cotty, Banc of America Securities LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, William Barnet III, Frank P. Bramble, Sr., John T. Collins, Gary L. Countryman, Tommy R. Franks, Charles K. Gifford, Monica C. Lozano, Walter E. Massey, Thomas J. May, Patricia E. Mitchell, Thomas M. Ryan, O. Temple Sloan, Jr., Meredith R. Spangler, Robert L. Tillman, and Jackie M. Ward (collectively, the "Defendants") for $2,425,000,000.00 and certain corporate governance enhancements to be implemented or continued by BoA, that, if approved, will resolve all claims in the Action.

A hearing will be held on April 5, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. before The Honorable P. Kevin Castel, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, Courtroom 12C, New York, NY 10007, to determine (i) whether the proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (ii) whether the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against Defendants, and the releases specified and described in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement dated November 30, 2012 should be granted; (iii) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation should be approved as fair and reasonable; and (iv) whether Co-Lead Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses should be approved.

If you are a member of the Class, your rights will be affected by the pending Action and the Settlement, and you may be entitled to share in the Settlement Fund.  If you have not yet received the full printed Notice of (I) Proposed Settlement and Plan of Allocation; (II) Settlement Fairness Hearing; and (III) Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Litigation Expenses (the "Settlement Notice") and the Proof of Claim Form, you may obtain copies of these documents by contacting the Claims Administrator at In re Bank of America Corp. Securities Litigation, c/o The Garden City Group, Inc., Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 9876, Dublin, Ohio 43017-5776, (855) 733-8308.  Copies of the Settlement Notice and Proof of Claim Form can also be downloaded from the website for the Action, www.boasecuritieslitigation.com, or from Co-Lead Counsel's respective websites. 

If you are a Class Member, in order to be eligible to receive a payment under the proposed Settlement, you must submit a Proof of Claim Form postmarked no later than April 25, 2013.  If you are a Class Member and do not submit a proper Proof of Claim Form, you will not be eligible to share in the distribution of the net proceeds of the Settlement but you will nevertheless be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Action. 

If you previously submitted a request for exclusion from the Class in connection with the Notice of Pendency of Class Action ("Class Notice") and you wish to remain excluded, no further action is required.  If you previously submitted a request for exclusion from the Class in connection with the Class Notice and you want to opt-back into the Class and be eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund, you must submit a request to opt-back into the Class in writing such that it is received no later than March 5, 2013, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Settlement Notice.  If you previously submitted a request for exclusion from the Class in connection with the Class Notice and do not opt-back into the Class in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Settlement Notice, you will not be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Action and you will not be eligible to share in the net proceeds of the Settlement. 

Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or Co-Lead Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses, must be filed with the Court and delivered to Co-Lead Counsel and representative counsel for Defendants such that they are received no later than March 5, 2013, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Settlement Notice.

Inquiries, other than requests for the Settlement Notice, may be made to:

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP    
Max W. Berger, Esq.    
Steven B. Singer, Esq.    
1285 Avenue of the Americas    
New York, NY 10019     

Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP    
Robert N. Kaplan, Esq.    
Frederic S. Fox, Esq.    
850 Third Avenue, 14th Floor    
New York, NY 10022    

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP    
David Kessler, Esq.    
Gregory M. Castaldo, Esq.    
280 King of Prussia Road    
Radnor, PA 19087    

Requests for the Settlement Notice should be made to:    

In re Bank of America Corp. Securities Litigation    
c/o The Garden City Group, Inc.    
P.O. Box 9876     
Dublin, Ohio 43017-5776    
(855) 733-8308    
www.boasecuritieslitigation.com

By Order of the Court

(fn 1) Certain persons and entities are excluded from the Class by definition and others are excluded pursuant to request.  A complete description of who is excluded from the Class is set forth in the full Settlement Notice referred to in this notice and available at www.boasecuritieslitigation.com.

Source:    
KAPLAN FOX & KILSHEIMER LLP, BERNSTEIN LITOWITZ BERGER & GROSSMANN LLP, KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK LLP

SOURCE Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP; Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP; Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP