united states district court central district of … re opus bank... · defendants who control or...

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THE WAGNER FIRM Avi N. Wagner 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100 Los Angeles, CA 90067 Telephone: (310) 491-7949 Facsimile: (310) 694-3967 Email: [email protected]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA MELVYN KLEIN, Derivatively on

Behalf of Nominal Defendant OPUS BANK,

Plaintiff,

v. STEPHEN H. GORDON, MARK CICIRELLI, MARK E. SCHAFFER, MICHAEL MEYER, ROBERT SHACKLETON, THOMAS M. BOWERS, CURTIS A. GLOVIER, and DAVID KING,

Defendants, And

OPUS BANK, a California Corporation,

Nominal Defendant.

Case No. 8:17-CV-00123(AB)(JPR) DECLARATION OF TIMOTHY W. BROWN IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR AWARD OF FEES AND EXPENSES Hearing Date: July 20, 2018

Judge: Hon. André Birotte, Jr.

Courtroom: 7B – First Street Action Filed: January 24, 2017

Case 8:17-cv-00123-AB-JPR Document 66 Filed 06/15/18 of 11 Page ID #:576

mailto:[email protected]

hkharadjian

Typewritten Text

(SBN #226688)

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DECLARATION OF TIMOTHY W. BROWN IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION

FOR A FEE AND EXPENSE AWARD

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I, Timothy W. Brown, declare as follows:

1. I am the Managing Attorney at The Brown Law Firm, P.C., counsel for

Plaintiff Andrew Dillard (“Plaintiff Dillard”) in the related derivative action pending in

the Superior Court of the State of California, Los Angeles County, Dillard v. Gordon,

et al., Case No. BC651522 (“Dillard Action”). I am a member of the Bar of the State

of New York. I submit this declaration in support of Plaintiff Melvyn Klein’s Motion

for an Award of Fees and Expenses, filed contemporaneously herewith. The testimony

herein is based on my personal knowledge and, if called upon, I could and would

competently testify hereto.

2. I am the attorney at my firm charged with primary responsibility for the

shareholder derivative claims asserted on behalf of nominal defendant Opus Bank

(“Opus”). I supervised my firm’s lawyers who worked on the litigation.

3. My firm performed the following professional services in connection with

this litigation and the Dillard Action: investigated and drafted the complaint filed in the

Dillard Action; negotiated favorable terms in exchange of staying the Dillard Action;

participated in court appearances in the Dillard Action; drafted and negotiated several

stipulations in the Dillard Action; communicated and coordinated efforts with counsel

of the instant action; reviewed internal documents produced by Opus, participated in

two in-person mediation sessions and extensive settlement discussions; drafted and

edited corporate governance proposals, an extensive settlement demand, the

Memorandum of Understanding, Stipulation of Settlement and related exhibits,

mediation statement, motion for preliminary approval of settlement, and motion for

final approval of settlement.

4. The total number of hours devoted to the litigation by my firm to date is

332. The total lodestar for attorney time generated from these hours is $222,945.


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Professional (position)* Hourly

Rate

Hours

Worked

Lodestar

Timothy W. Brown (MA) $775.00 224.8** $174,220

Matthew H. Lee (A) $450.00 37.4 $16,830

A. Robert Jackson (A) $450.00 64.0 $28,800

Steven Pollack (OC) $525.00 5.8 $3,045

TOTAL 332.0 $222,945

*(MA) – Managing Attorney, (A) – Associate, (OC) – Of Counsel

**Timothy W. Brown’s time includes an estimated 20 hours for travel, preparation and attendance at the final approval hearing and completion of relevant filings in advance of the hearing.

5. These hours are based on contemporaneous time records maintained by the

firm. I reviewed the entries to confirm the reasonableness of the time and expenses

committed to the litigation. I believe that the time reflected in my firm’s lodestar

calculation is reasonable in amount and was reasonably necessary for the effective

prosecution and resolution of the litigation.

6. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a resume describing my firm and the

background and experience of my firm’s lawyers.

7. My firm incurred a total of $4,183.30 in unreimbursed expenses in

connection with the prosecution of the litigation.


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Category Amount

Travel/Transportation/Meals* $2,911.82

Computer Research/Services Fees $156.00

Postage $0.98

Mediation Fees $1,000.00

Copies $114.50

TOTAL: $4,183.30

*This figure includes $1,500 for anticipated travel, lodging, and related

expenses for the final approval hearing scheduled for July 20, 2018 in

Los Angeles, California.

8. The expenses incurred are reflected in the books and records

contemporaneously prepared by my firm from expense vouchers, invoices, and other

billing records, and are an accurate record of expenses actually incurred. I have

reviewed the expenses for which reimbursement is sought and believe they are

reasonable in amount and were reasonably necessary for the effective prosecution and

settlement of the litigation. The expenses are all of a type that would normally be

charged to a fee-paying client in the private legal marketplace.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that

the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 15th day of June 2018, in Oyster Bay,

New York.

/s/ Timothy W. Brown Timothy W. Brown


EXHIBIT A


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THE BROWN LAW FIRM, P.C. BIOGRAPHY

The Brown Law Firm, P.C. is a complex business litigation firm located in Oyster Bay, in

Long Island, New York. The firm specializes in shareholder derivative litigation in courts

throughout the country.

TIMOTHY W. BROWN – MANAGING ATTORNEY

In January 2014, Tim founded the Brown Law Firm, which specializes in shareholder

derivative litigation. Since the Brown Law Firm’s inception, the number of shareholder

derivative actions that the firm prosecutes has grown exponentially.

Since shortly after Tim graduated from law school, through 2013, Tim was a litigator at a

major national law firm, at which he served as a supervisory attorney. Tim’s prior firm

specializes in representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder derivative actions

in courts throughout the country. There, Tim had a leadership role in achieving numerous multi-

million dollar settlements of class action suits.

In 2004, Tim graduated from the University of Chicago Law School at which he was a

recipient of a merit scholarship awarded to the top two percent of all applicants. Tim received

his B.A. in Business Economics, magna cum laude, from Brown University in 2001.

Tim is admitted to the bar of the State of New York and admitted to practice in the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States District

Court for the Eastern District of New York.

STEVEN POLLACK – OF COUNSEL

Steve’s experience includes representing shareholders of publicly traded companies,

ranging from blue chip to small cap companies. Steve has experience holding individual


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defendants who control or manage public companies accountable for their misconduct, which

includes issuing false and misleading statements to the public, engaging in corrupt stock

promotion or ponzi schemes, engaging in self-dealing or insider trading, usurping corporate

opportunities, wasting corporate assets, and other unethical or unlawful conduct. Steve zealously

stands by shareholders who have been harmed by corrupt company officers or directors who

breached their duties to shareholders and companies.

Before joining the Brown Law Firm, Steve was an associate in the litigation department

for two and a half years at Paul Hastings LLP. At Paul Hastings, Steve focused his practice on

complex patent litigation primarily in the pharmaceutical companies in high-stakes patent

litigations and appeals involving a broad range of technologies, including anti-hypertensive

agents, anti-inflammatory agents, anti-emetics, modified release formulations and protein-based

therapeutics.

Steve received a B.S. in Biology with a specialization in neurobiology from SUNY Stony

Brook in 2008, and a J.D. from Touro Law School, where he graduated as the 2012 Class

Valedictorian.

While in law school, Steve focused his studies in Patent Law, graduating with a

concentration in Intellectual Property. He also took numerous courses in Corporations and Trial

Practice. Steve received numerous CALI Awards for Academic Excellence. Steve is admitted to

practice law in New York and New Jersey state and federal courts.

MATTHEW H. LEE – ASSOCIATE

Matthew received his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in May 2016.

Matthew was a member of Boston University’s Review of Banking and Financial Law. He

received his B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society, cum laude, from the University of

California, Irvine.


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Matthew is admitted to the Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Bar of

the State of New York.

A. ROBERT JACKSON – ASSOCIATE

Prior to joining the Brown Law Firm, Tony clerked for the Honorable Chief Judge Wilma

A. Lewis in the United States District Court of the Virgin Islands, Division of St. Croix.

Tony graduated from Vanderbilt Law School in 2016, where he served as Technology

Editor for the VANDERBILT JOURNAL OF ENTERTAINMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

LAW, and Articles Editor for the ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY REVIEW. Tony

earned his B.S. in Environmental Policy from Rutgers University, magna cum laude.

Tony is admitted to the bar of the State of New York.

ROBERT C. MOEST – OF COUNSEL

Robin’s office is in Santa Monica, California. Until 1999, and for more than two decades,

Robin was a partner at Fleishman, Fisher & Moest, a litigation firm in Los Angeles. Robin’s

partner Stanley Fleishman was revered for being a pioneer in the field of constitutional rights and

for winning countless 1st Amendment and civil rights lawsuits, including about a dozen victories

before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Robin maintains a civil trial, writ and appellate litigation practice, emphasizing First

Amendment, constitutional and other civil rights, shareholder actions, commercial and real estate

litigation, health care, administrative law and licensing, and land use. His practice is divided

between federal and state practice. Robin has been counsel in more than 100 appeals, leading to

more than forty reported decisions. He has jury and court trial experience in courts throughout

the United States.

Robin was a founding member of the California Academy of Attorneys for Health Care


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Professionals, Co-counsel on Los Angeles County Jail Over-detention Team (successful class

action suits seeking injunctive relief and damages against systematic over-detention of inmates in

Los Angeles County Jail); and was a member of the Board of Directors, Higher Education

Research Institute (since incorporated into UCLA School of Higher Education).

Robin graduated from the UCLA School of Law in 1974, in the top ten-percent of his

class. He earned his undergraduate degree from Amherst College.

Robin is a member of the California bar, and the bars for the Central, Southern, Northern

and Eastern federal districts in California, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second,

Third, Ninth, and Tenth Federal Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.


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PROOF OF SERVICE BY ELECTRONIC POSTING

I, the undersigned say:

I am not a party to the above case, and am over eighteen years old. On June 15,

2018, I served true and correct copies of the foregoing document, by posting the

document electronically to the ECF website of the United States District Court for the

Central District of California, for receipt electronically by the parties listed on the

Court’s Service List.

I affirm under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America

that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on June 15, 2018, at Los Angeles,

California.

s/ Avi Wagner Avi Wagner


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