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08/16/01 | Class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Montana Power Company shareholders |
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02/15/02 | The
former Montana Power Company is merged into Montana Power LLC, renamed
NorthWestern Energy, LLC and sold to NorthWestern Corporation |
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02/15/02 | Montana Power Company purchases "run off" insurance coverage for claims filed after February 15, 2002 |
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06/07/02 | Securities claims brought against Touch America and former Montana Power Company constituting claims under run off coverage |
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08/01/02 | District Court grants class certification to class of former MPC shareholders |
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08/01/02 | District
Court denies defendants' motions to dismiss and specifically concludes
that a corporation and its officers and directors may not avoid the
duty to secure shareholder approval by two-thirds vote of a sale of
substantially all of a corporation's assets by simply breaking the
disposition of such assets into several transactions with several buyers |
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08/01/02 | District
Court denies motion to dismiss of defendant Goldman Sachs and
specifically rules that third party professionals may be liable for
breach of care, breach of fiduciary duty, or aiding and abetting a
breach of duty owed to shareholders of a corporation |
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10/23/02 | NorthWestern
Energy, LLC joined as defendant in lawsuit as successor to liabilities
of the former Montana Power Company and NorthWestern Energy, LLC is
enjoined to further dispose of assets of the former Montana Power
Company |
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11/15/02 | NorthWestern
Corporation joins the litigation by stipulation and agrees to pay any
judgment against the former Montana Power Company and/or NorthWestern
Energy, LLC. Upon such stipulation, NorthWestern Energy, LLC is
permitted to upstream the assets of the former Montana Power Company to
the parent NorthWestern Corporation. NorthWestern Corporation and
NorthWestern Energy, LLC stipulate that MPC shareholder plaintiff class
reserves the right to challenge this upstreaming as a fraudulent
transfer |
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01/09/03 | Defendant
Milbank, Tweed removes case to U.S. District Court for Montana, Hon.
Sam Haddon presiding judge. All proceedings are stayed pending the
Court's ruling on the motion to remand to state court |
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04/11/03 | Montana
Legislature passes a bail-out law purporting to require dismissal of
NorthWestern Corporation and NorthWestern Energy, LLC from the
shareholder litigation (counsel for the class has challenged this law
by compelling demonstration that the law is patently unconstitutional,
brief filed 05/14/03) |
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05/23/03 | Federal District Court orders the case remanded to state court |
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06/20/03 | Defendants move to disqualify Hon. Thomas M. McKittrick as presiding judge |
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06/19/03 | Touch America Holdings, Inc. files for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Delaware |
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07/18/03 | Case is removed to U.S. District Court for Montana, Butte Division, Hon. Sam Haddon presiding |
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09/14/03 | NorthWestern
Corporation files for relief under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for Delaware, Case No. 03-12872. Plaintiffs stipulate that
federal district court has related-to jurisdiction by reason of the
NorthWestern bankruptcy |
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11/06/03 | Upon
stipulation of parties, MPC shareholder litigation is temporarily
stayed for 180 days (i.e. to approximate 05/06/04) by order of the
Bankruptcy Court in the NorthWestern Corporation proceeding |
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12/09/03 | Stipulation
reached on behalf of shareholder class and Touch America to an order
staying the MPC shareholder litigation for 120 days, beginning 12/13/03
(i.e. until approximately 04/10/04) |
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01/14/04 | Claims
filed in NorthWestern bankruptcy on behalf of MPC shareholder class,
including claim for NorthWestern Corporation's responsibility for the
liabilities of Montana Power Company pursuant to stipulation and court
order, together with MPC shareholder claim challenging the upstreaming
of a net $600 million in former MPC assets from NorthWestern Energy to
NorthWestern Corporation as a fraudulent transfer |
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03/11/04 | NorthWestern
Corporation files Plan of Reorganization proposing to classify MPC
shareholder claim as "insider" claim and limiting all recoveries on
such lawsuit to NOR's interest in officers' and directors' liability
policies of the former Montana Power Company
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07/12/04
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$67 million Partial Settlement is Achieved with
the insurers of the Officers and Directors of Montana Power Company
and other insureds.
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| 7/31/04 |
Touch America Creditors’
Committee files adversary complaint in Touch
America Holdings Bankruptcy case (Adv. No.
04-54840). The action seeks a declaration that
the McGreevey Class damage claims against the
directors and officers are property of the Touch
America estate. |
| 10/19/04 |
Northwestern Bankruptcy Court
enters order confirming Northwestern’s Plan of
Reorganization. Section 5.13(b) of the Plan of
Reorganization provides that Northwestern “shall
not be released from...claims in the nature of
fraudulent transfer” |
| 10/25/04 |
Plan Trust of Touch America
Holdings, Inc. files complaint against Goldman
Sachs and Milbank Tweed alleging that Touch
America is the successor to the Montana Power
Company and therefore owns the causes of action
the company has against Goldman and Milbank for
the transformation from a power to telecom
company (U.S. District Court for Montana, Cause
No. 04-87).
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1/6/05
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Motion for Class
Certification and Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement,
Allocation, Attorney Fees and Providing for Notice of Settlement
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| 1/14/05 |
Goldman Sachs moves to dismiss
the Plan Trust action on the grounds that Touch
America and the Plan Trust are not the
successors to Montana Power (U.S. District Court
for Montana Cause, No. 04-87) |
| 4/29/05 |
Touch America Bankruptcy Court
issues order enjoining McGreevey Class from
litigating in Judge Haddon’s Court the question
of whether Touch America is the successor to the
Montana Power Company and owns the claims
alleged in the McGreevey Lawsuit (Adversary
Proceeding No. 04-54840) |
| 5/2/05 |
Judge
Haddon issues order denying approval of Class
Action Settlement. At April 29, 2005
hearing Court directed parties to return to
litigation if the settlement could not be put
back together within 60 days (U.S. District
Court for Montana Cause No. 03-01). May 2005 Judge
Haddon Order |
| 8/05 |
Counsel for McGreevey Class resumes litigation efforts
while continuing to negotiate for settlement. |
| 8/9/05 |
McGreevey Class initiates new action to void the transfer
of assets to Northwestern from Clark Fork & Blackfoot LLC (formerly
Montana Power LLC successor to the Montana Power Company) in state
district court (Montana District Court for Butte Silverbow, Cause No.
05-199). |
| 8/15/05 |
McGreevey Class files motions to dismiss Touch America
Adversary Action, No. 04-54840 and to certify questions of law,
including the successorship issue, to the Montana Supreme Court.
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| 9/7/05 |
Northwestern responds to McGreevey litigation by removing
action to U.S. District Court in Montana (Cause CV-05-62) and by
initiating adversary complaint in Northwestern Bankruptcy Court (Adv.
No. 05-52525) |
| 10/25/05 |
Northwestern Bankruptcy Court (Judge Peterson) issues
order enjoining McGreevey Class prosecution of fraudulent transfer
action (Adversary Proceeding No. 05-52525, enjoining 05-199 and 05-62)
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| 10/28/05 |
Status Conference with Judge Haddon. Judge Haddon seeks a
litigation plan whereby the issues of successorship to the Montana Power
Company and related issues can submitted for decision without conflict
with bankruptcy court judgments and rulings. |
| 11/25/05 |
McGreevey Class appeals October 25 Order of Northwestern
Bankruptcy Court enjoining the fraudulent transfer action. |
| 12/6/05 |
McGreevey Class motions (a) to dismiss Touch America Plan
Trust adversary complaint and (b) to certify legal issues (including
successorship to Montana Power) to Montana Supreme Court, are submitted
for decision.
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| 9/18/2006 |
Notice of stipulated judgment in
Northwestern Bankruptcy Court filed (copy via link below).
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