Goldman Sachs MBS Settlement
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Welcome to the Goldman Sachs MBS Settlement Website

This website has been established to provide general information related to the Goldman Sachs MBS Settlement. The capitalized terms used on this website, and not defined herein, shall have the same meanings ascribed to them in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (the “Stipulation”) dated August 12, 2015.  The Court in charge of these cases is the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the cases are known as NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund v. Goldman, Sachs & Co., et al., Civil Action No. 1:08-cv-10783-LAP, and Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit v. Goldman, Sachs & Co. et al., Civil Action No. 10 Civ. 4429-LAP (the “Actions”). The people who are suing are called plaintiffs, and those who are being sued are called defendants. In these cases, the plaintiffs are NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund and Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit, and defendants are Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Goldman Sachs Mortgage Company; GS Mortgage Securities Corp.; Daniel L. Sparks; Michelle Gill; and Kevin Gasvoda.

These cases arise from the sale of certain residential mortgage-backed securities by Goldman Sachs entities during 2007 and 2008. Plaintiffs allege that the offering documents for the securities contained false and misleading statements about the underlying borrowers and collateral, thereby concealing the true nature, risk, and overall quality of the securities. Defendants deny that the offering documents contained misstatements and asserted factual and legal defenses. After extensive arm’s-length negotiations, the Settling Parties reached an agreement-in-principle to settle the Actions for $272 million, subject to the negotiation of a complete set of settlement terms. The negotiation of the Stipulation was subsequently completed and filed with the Court. By Order entered December 30, 2015, the Court preliminarily approved the Settlement, certified a Class for purposes of the Settlement only, authorized Notice to be sent to potential Settlement Class Members, and scheduled the Final Approval Hearing to consider whether to grant final approval to the Settlement.

The proposed Settlement, if approved by the Court, will apply to the following Settlement Class (the “Settlement Class”): all Persons who prior to December 11, 2008 purchased or otherwise acquired any of the Certificates in the Offerings and were damaged thereby.  The Settlement Fund consists of the $272 million Settlement Amount plus interest earned. Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class are being represented by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP (“Lead Counsel”), Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, LLP, Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C., and Cavanagh & O’Hara (collectively, “Plaintiffs’ Counsel”).

Although the information in this website is intended to assist you, it does not replace the information contained in the Notice of Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement and Final Approval Hearing (the "Notice"), Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, and other relevant case documents, all of which can be found and downloaded from this website. We recommend that you read the Notice and other relevant case documents carefully. 

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT

DO NOTHING Get no payment. Remain a Settlement Class Member. Give up your rights.
REMAIN A MEMBER OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS AND SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN MAY 13, 2016. This is the only way to be potentially eligible to receive a payment. If you wish to obtain a payment as a Member of the Settlement Class, you will need to file a Claim Form, which is available on this website, postmarked no later than May 13, 2016.
EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT CLASS (OPT OUT) BY SUBMITTING A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED NO LATER THAN MARCH 4, 2016. Receive no payment pursuant to this Settlement. This is the only option that allows you to ever potentially be part of any other lawsuit against any of the Defendants or the other Released Parties concerning the Released Claims. Should you elect to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you should understand that Defendants and the other Released Parties will have the right to assert any and all defenses they may have to any claims that you may seek to assert, including, without limitation, the defense that any such claims are untimely under applicable statutes of limitations and statutes of repose.
OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED NO LATER THAN MARCH 4, 2016. Write to the Court about your view on the Settlement, or why you don’t think the Settlement is fair to the Settlement Class. If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you may object to the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, or the request for attorneys’ fees and Litigation Expenses. You must still submit a Claim Form in order to be potentially eligible to receive any money from the Settlement Fund. 
GO TO THE HEARING ON APRIL 13, 2016, AT 10:00 A.M., AND FILE A NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPEAR SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED NO LATER THAN MARCH 4, 2016. Ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or the request for attorneys’ fees and Litigation Expenses.

DEADLINES

Request Exclusion from Class: March 4, 2016
File Objection to the Settlement: March 4, 2016
File Notice of Intention to Appear: March 4, 2016
Court Hearing on Fairness of Settlement: April 13, 2016 10:00 a.m.
Deadline to submit a Claim Form: May 13, 2016