Levi and Korsinsky, LLP Announce Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action for All Persons and Entities Who Purchased or Otherwise Acquired Public Shares in Proterra Inc., Traceable to the Proxy/Registration Statement Dated May 14, 2021; and/or Purchased or Otherwise Acquired Proterra Common Stock Between August 11, 2021, and August 7, 2023, Both Dates Inclusive

SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN JOSE DIVISION

NOTICE OF PENDENCY AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION

TO:  ALL PERSONS WHO (1) all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired public shares in Proterra Inc. ("Proterra") pursuant and/or traceable to the proxy/registration statement dated May 14, 2021 concerning Proterra's business combination with ArcLight Clean Transition Corp., as amended, the "Proxy/Registration Statement"; and/or (2) purchased or otherwise acquired Proterra common stock between August 11, 2021 and August 7, 2023, both dates inclusive.

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 Northern District of California, that a hearing will be held on August 20, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. before the Honorable Eumi K. Lee, United States District Court Judge, at the courthouse for the Northern District of California, either telephonically, on Zoom, and/or at 280 South First Street, San Jose, California 95113 for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed Settlement of the claims in the above-captioned Action for consideration in the amount of twenty-nine million dollars ($29,000,000.00) should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) whether the Plan of Allocation is fair and reasonable, and should be approved; (3) whether Lead Counsel's application for an award of attorneys' fees of up to twenty-five percent (25%) and any interest accrued thereon, and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses of not more than $275,000 and any interest accrued thereon, and compensatory awards for Plaintiffs of not more than $10,000 for Lead Plaintiff and $5,000 for each other Plaintiff named in the Complaint, all to be paid from the Settlement Fund, should be approved; and (4) whether this Action should be dismissed with prejudice against the Defendants as set forth in the Stipulation of Settlement dated January 3, 2025 (the "Stipulation") filed with the Court.

You are receiving this Notice because the Court has certified a class of investors for settlement purposes only ("Class"), and you may be a member of the Class ("Class Member"). The proposed Class will consist of all persons or entities who (1) purchased or otherwise acquired public shares in Proterra Inc. (including by exchange of publicly-listed ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. shares) pursuant and/or traceable to the Proxy/Registration Statement that Defendants filed with the SEC on Form S-4 on February 2, 2021, and thereafter amended on Form S-4/A and filed on April 7, 2021, and May 7, 2021, and the body of which was incorporated into the final prospectus on Form 424(b)(3) filed on May 14, 2021; and/or (2) purchased or otherwise acquired Proterra common stock between August 11, 2021 and August 7, 2023, both dates inclusive, and were damaged thereby. Excluded from the Class are: (a) Defendants and their immediate families; (b) current and former directors or officers of Proterra or ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. and their immediate families; (c) any entity that has entered into a stockholder agreement or co-venture agreement with Proterra, or was a Private Investment in Public Equities ("PIPE") investor in Proterra; and (d) and each of the foregoing persons' legal representatives, heirs, successors or assigns, and any entity controlled, majority-owned or wholly owned, or affiliated with any of the above all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired Proterra common stock during the 10(b) Class Period.

If you purchased or acquired Proterra common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Proxy/Registration Statement or between August 11, 2021 and August 7, 2023, both dates inclusive, your rights may be affected by this Action and the Settlement thereof, including the release and extinguishment of claims you may possess relating to your ownership interest in Proterra common stock. If you have not received a more-detailed, long-form Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action ("Notice") and the Proof of Claim and Release Form, you may obtain copies of these documents and the Stipulation by downloading them at the Settlement website at: www.ProterraSecuritiesSettlement.com. If you are unable to do so, you may contact the Settlement Administrator to obtain copies: 

Villanueva v. Gareth T. Joyce, et al.,
c/o A.B. Data, Ltd.
P.O. Box 173013
Milwaukee, WI 53217

The case has been litigated since July 2023. According to the operative complaint, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants made false and misleading statements in the Proxy/Registration Statement used to merge with ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. and go public, including by: (a) misrepresenting Proterra's supply chain as "reputable and reliable" when Proterra was already facing supply chain issues; (b) misrepresenting Proterra's advantages to scale its business when Proterra's bus design processes did not lend themselves to scaled manufacturing; (c) misrepresenting the benefits of Proterra's designs, which in reality were expensive to produce and virtually impossible to sell at a profit; (d) omitting information about known delays in Proterra's manufacturing process and design defects that resulted in significant financial strain for Proterra; and (e) omitting information about known labor cost issues caused by operational problems within the company's City of Industry factory in California. Plaintiffs further allege that after Proterra went public, Defendants continued to make false and misleading statements about Proterra's business, including by: (a) misrepresenting Proterra's focus of business and hiding the fact that Proterra had diverted resources away from its profitable sector to prop up its new battery business; (b) misrepresenting the success of Proterra's new battery business by consolidating it with Proterra's more profitable charging business; (c) misrepresenting Proterra's financial health and its liquidity; (d) misrepresenting Proterra's operations by concealing known weaknesses and obstacles in monetizing its backlog of bus orders; (e) misrepresenting the likelihood of success of Proterra's battery business and omitting that, under the company's pricing model, Proterra batteries would be unable to generate a profit; and (f) misrepresenting the known production issues at its Greer and City of Industry factories. Plaintiffs allege that the inaccuracies in the Proxy/Registration Statement violated Sections 11 and 15(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. Plaintiffs also allege that Defendants made subsequent misrepresentations with fraudulent intent between August 11, 2021 and August 7, 2023, in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.

Defendants have denied and continue to deny these allegations and that they committed any act or omission giving rise to any liability or violation of the law. The Settlement will resolve the lawsuit and the Released Claims as to the Defendants and other Released Parties. Plaintiffs and the Class are represented by Lead Counsel, who may be reached by contacting: Adam M. Apton, Levi & Korsinsky, LLP, 1160 Battery Street East, Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94111, (415) 373-1671.

If you are a Class Member, in order to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, you must submit a Proof of Claim and Release Form received no later than August 29, 2025, establishing that you are entitled to recovery. Unless you submit a written exclusion request, you will be bound by any Judgment rendered in the Action whether or not you make a claim.

If you want to be excluded from the Class, you must submit to the Settlement Administrator a request for exclusion, in accordance with the procedures set forth in the long-form Notice, so that it is received no later than July 1, 2025. If you decide to exclude yourself from the Class and wish to file your own individual lawsuit based on the Released Plaintiffs' Claims, Defendants may argue that you face a time bar under applicable statutes of limitation or repose, risks that you should discuss with an appropriate legal advisor. All members of the Class who have not requested exclusion from the Settlement Class will be bound by any Judgment entered in the Action pursuant to the Settlement Stipulation.

If you are a Class Member and do not exclude yourself, you can object to the Settlement, Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel's request for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses and compensatory award to Plaintiffs in the manner and form explained in the detailed Notice and received no later than August 29, 2025.

Any questions regarding the Settlement should be directed to Lead Counsel for the Class.

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

SOURCE Levi and Korsinsky, LLP