Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP—S.D.N.Y.: Lead plaintiffs in Waste Management securities litigation get preliminary approval of settlement, (Aug 28, 2025)

By R. Jason Howard, J.D.

The court will likely be able to approve the settlement as being fair, reasonable and adequate.

The Southern District of New York has issued an order preliminarily approving a settlement between Waste Management (WM) and lead plaintiffs, Seafarers Officers & Employees Pension Plan, Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan, and United Industrial Workers Pension Plan, after determining that it will likely be able to approve the settlement as being fair, reasonable, and adequate to the Class subject to further consideration at a Settlement Hearing set for December 16, 2025 (In re Waste Management Securities Litigation, No. 1:22-cv-04838-LGS (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 25, 2025)).

Class. The preliminary approval explains that the “Class” is defined as all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired any of the following WM redeemable senior notes between February 13, 2020 and June 23, 2020, inclusive, in one or more domestic transactions, and were damaged thereby: (i) 2.95 percent Senior Notes due 2024 (CUSIP 94106LBF5); (ii) 3.20 percent Senior Notes due 2026 (CUSIP 94106LBH1); (iii) 3.45 percent Senior Notes due 2029 (CUSIP 94106LBG3); or (iv) 4.00 percent Senior Notes due 2039 (CUSIP 94106LBJ7).

Excluded from the Class are defendants, the officers and directors of the company, at all relevant times, members of their immediate families and their legal representatives, heirs, successors, or assigns, and any entity in which defendants have or had a controlling interest. Also excluded from the Class are any persons who exclude themselves by submitting a valid and timely request for exclusion which is accepted by the Court.

Approval. The court approved, as to form and content, the Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action and the Postcard Notice. The preliminary approval sets a date of not later than September 16, 2025 for the claims administrator to email or mail the Postcard Notice to all potential Class members who can be identified with reasonable effort, mail a copy of the Postcard Notice to nominees, and post the Stipulation, Notice, and Proof of Claim on the website established for the litigation.

Class members who wish to participate in the settlement shall complete and submit a Proof of Claim. Unless the court orders otherwise, all Proofs of Claim must be mailed or submitted electronically no later than November 21, 2025.

Settlement Hearing. The Settlement Hearing will be held before the court on December 16, 2025. At or after the Settlement Hearing, the court will “determine whether the Plan of Allocation proposed by Lead Counsel, and any application for attorneys’ fees or payment of expenses shall be approved.”

The case is No. 1:22-cv-04838-LGS.

Judge: Schofield, L.

Companies: Waste Management

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