Tulsa County judge to hear Lowrance Electronics shareholder case

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Aug 16, 2006 by Kirby Lee Davis

Tulsa County Court Judge Ronald L. Shaffer will consider whether to grant class-action status in the Lowrance Electronics shareholder lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Terence Kern returned the case to county court after attorneys for plaintiff Troy Siebels of Medford, Mass., reported on settlement negotiations with Lowrance. Shaffer has scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 21.

The case originated with a Feb. 3 Tulsa County Court filing assigned to Shaffer's court, only to be moved four days later to Kern's federal court, which has jurisdiction over securities law.

The attorneys for Siebels, Federman and Sherwood of Oklahoma City and Shiffrin and Barroway of Radnor, Pa., argued then that the case concerned state common law causes of action not pre-empted by federal law or subject to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.

They repeated that claim in a March 31 joint status report, even as the attorneys suggested they could complete the lawsuit's discovery and settlement negotiations in April. Kern was told an agreement would involve remanding the securities case back to state court - as would the plaintiff's request if negotiations fell through.

Kern had ordered the parties to present a new joint status report on the case against Lowrance, and several of its officers and directors, by Friday. The plaintiffs responded a week early.

Siebels claimed Lowrance failed to obtain a good enough sale price in its $215 million takeover by Simrad Yachting, which was completed March 13. The lawsuit also challenged the role of JPMorgan in the negotiations and said an agreed-upon (but never used) $7.5 million termination fee was illegal.

On Feb. 28, as Kern established a schedule for filings, Lowrance announced settlement negotiations had been agreed upon that would release it, Simrad, and others in the suit from all claims.

Lowrance made additional SEC disclosures addressing those complaints and agreed to not oppose a $325,000 fee application by Siebels' attorneys.