IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA CIVIL DIVISION BOUCHARD, Shane; DAVIS, Samuel & Candice; DePASS, Janet & Patrick, HIPPS, Kevin & Kelly; HOUDTZAGERS, Michael & Anh Nga; ISASI, Nicholas & Teasha; MARTINS, Gabriela DeCastro; MOORE-LeFAUVE, Mellisa & Kimberly; SALH, Navjot & Darshna; SASS, Elizabeth; SCOTT, Patrick & Carol; SMITH, Richard & Chieko; SOOST, Thomas & Julie; STEWART, Timothy & Kathryn; STRICKLAND, Richard & Allison; THEIN, Douglas S.; VILA, Carlos & Ana, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. The Ryland Group, Inc., a Maryland Corporation; and Larry NICHOLSON, an individual residing in Florida, Defendants. ________________________________________
CASE NO. 48-2005-CA-1930 DIV: 35
JOINT MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT The above-captioned plaintiffs, on their own behalf and as representatives of the Lawsuit Class Members of a Settlement Class, and defendants The Ryland Group, Inc. and Larry Nicholson (together, “Ryland”), by their undersigned counsel, hereby jointly move the Court, pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.220, to enter an order preliminarily approving the Class Action Settlement Agreement and setting a Fairness Hearing. More particularly, the parties seek an order:
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Granting preliminary approval of this Settlement Agreement insofar as it applies
to the Lawsuit Class Members as defined herein; 2. Certifying conditionally, for purposes of settling this lawsuit only, the Settlement
Class insofar as it incorporates a Lawsuit Class defined as follows: All persons who, as of March 1, 2005, owned a single family dwelling in the State of Florida constructed by Ryland and completed after December 31, 1999 whose construction includes: (a) a monolithic slab on grade foundation; (b) at least one story of concrete masonry units as exterior wall; (c) lacking either a weather resistant exterior wall envelope or a means of draining to the exterior any water that enters the wall assembly, and which persons did not enter into an arbitration agreement with Ryland; and All persons who previously owned a single family dwelling in the State of Florida constructed by Ryland and completed after December 31, 1999 whose construction included (a) a monolithic slab on grade foundation; (b) at least one story of concrete masonry units as exterior wall; (c) lacking either a weather resistant exterior wall envelope or a means of draining to the exterior any water that enters the wall assembly, and which persons did not enter into an arbitration agreement with Ryland; and [W]ho incurred any loss in value or any costs or expenses to inspect, repair or replace the exterior wall envelope or other property damaged by the lack of either a weather resistant exterior wall envelope or a means of draining to the exterior any water that enters the wall assembly, including insurance deductibles paid for repairs; except that such class shall not include (i) owners or previous owners of homes constructed by Ryland divisions other than its Orlando, Tampa or Ft. Myers divisions, or constructed with “stem wall,” or “tilt-up” construction, or that are multi-family units or townhouses; or (ii) individuals who are or were Ryland employees; 3. Appointing counsel for plaintiffs as class counsel;
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Appointing as Administrator of the Settlement Amount (the “Administrator”)
John Briggs of Upchurch Watson White & Max Mediation Group, an individual who the parties agree has the requisite qualifications (including a background in construction and being detail oriented) to serve as Administrator in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement; and in that regard directing Ryland contractually to retain the Administrator with the cost of such retention to be borne solely by it (and not included in the Settlement Amount); 5. Approving the form and method of Notice to be provided to the Settlement Class,
as set forth in the Settlement Agreement and attached thereto, including finding said Notice (which includes Notice to the Settlement Class by both mail and publication) to be fair, adequate, and reasonable and consistent with due process, insofar as it applies to the Lawsuit Class Members; 6. Setting a date and time for a hearing to be held to determine the reasonableness,
adequacy, and fairness of the proposed settlement and whether it should be approved by the Court (the “Fairness Hearing”); 7. Approving the procedures and requirements as set forth in the Settlement
Agreement with respect to providing any Settlement Class Member who objects to approval of this Settlement Agreement an opportunity to appear at the Fairness Hearing and show cause why all terms of the Settlement Agreement should not be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate and why a judgment should not be entered thereon, and the method by which any such objections or any petition to intervene shall be made failing which, unless the Settlement Class Member has opted out in accordance with the Settlement Agreement, he or she shall be deemed to have waived and to be forever foreclosed from raising any objections to this settlement or asserting any claims released under the Settlement Agreement.
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8.
Issuing a stay of all proceedings in the Lawsuit pending the Fairness Hearing.
Respectfully submitted this __ day of November, 2007.
______________________ Gary W. Jackson Jackson & McGee, LLP 521 East Boulevard Charlotte, North Carolina 28203 Class Counsel William Dixon Robertson III Post Office Box 11401 Columbia, South Carolina 29211-1401 Class Counsel
______________________ Robert L. Ciotti Corporate Center Three at Int’l Plaza 4221 W. Boy Scout Blvd., Suite 1000 Tampa, Florida 33607-5780
Charles J. Cacciabeve Keith J. Hesse Jason Perkins CNL Center at City Commons 450 S. Orange Ave., Suite 500 Orlando, Florida 32801-3336 For The Ryland Group, Inc., and Larry Nicholson
Francis X. Rapprich III Fisher, Rushmer, Werrenrath, Dickson, Talley & Dunlap, P.A. P.O. Box 712 Orlando, FL 32801-0712 Class Counsel
For Plaintiffs
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