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NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION
TO: ALL CLASS MEMBERS
This notice is sent pursuant to the order of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii to inform you of the proposed settlement with the Estate of
Ferdinand E. Marcos and his heirs in the amount of $150 million.
Background
This processing was commenced in April 1986 against Ferdinand E. Marcos on behalf of a Class of 9,539 Philippine citizens (or their heirs) who had been tortured,
summarily executed or disappeared during the Marcos rule between September 1972 and February 1986. The Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos was substituted as defendant upon his
death in 1989. Following trials in 1992, 1994 and 1995, the Court entered Final Judgment on February 3, 1995 in favor of the Class in the amount of US$1,964,000,000.
Your claim is one of the 9,539. The Judgment was affirmed by the US Appeals Court, and is now final.
Proposed settlement
Following years of arms-length negotiations, Class Counsel have reached agreement with the Estate, the Marcos family and the Republic of the Philippines for the Class
to be paid US$150 million in satisfaction of the Judgment pursuant to the terms of a written agreement dated as of December 19, 1998. The money will be transferred to the
registry of the United States District Court in Hawaii, pending final approval of the settlement by the Court. In return for the payment, injunction and contempt
citation and related fines, dissolve the judicial assignment and agree to release the Estate, the Marcos family and the Republic of the Philippines from any civil
claims for human rights abuses occurring between 1972 and 1986. Should the Court refuse final approval of the settlement, the money will be returned and the Judgment
and their relief left intact. Settlement of the judgment in the separate lawsuit known as Trajano v. Imee Marcos Manotoc, No. 86-207, is also provided for in the
agreement.
Opinion of Class Counsel
In the opinion of Class Counsel, the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. Class Counsel have pursued the litigation with unrelenting vigor for almost 13
years, including four years of collection efforts. Collection of the Judgment, or any significant fraction thereof, through judicial execution proceedings is
unlikely and would take years of continued litigation in various countries at substantial cost. Class Counsel believe that virtually all class members would welcome
a distribution at the present time in an amount which would make a difference in the quality of their lives.
The negotiations that led to the proposed settlement extended over five years. At various stages the Special Master appointed by the Court participated in the negotiation.
Distribution of the settlement
Under the proposed settlement, the US$150 million, less a pro rata share of attorney's fees and expenses, will be distributed to class members. As the Court has not yet
approved the distribution approach, you should not assume you will receive any specific amount. Should the Court give its final approval to the settlement, any party
to the settlement may object to specific claims which will then be reviewed by the Special Master first. Except for the 135 claims already reviewed by the federal
jury, the Special Master shall review all claims utilizing the criteria adopted by the Court at the trial on compensatory damages for establishing a human rights
violation. The Special Master will also recommend to the Court an allocation of the settlement proceeds to each class member and a procedure for appealing disallowed
claims. Final decisions on distribution remain with the Court.
At the hearing on final approval of the settlement, the Court will also consider whether there should be an initial distribution to each class member prior to the Special
Master's recommendation. The Court will make distribution to individual class members directly, not through intermediaries. Consistent with its prior Orders, the
Court will not recognize the validity of special powers of attorney solicited by certain persons and groups.
Application for an award of attorney's fees and expenses
Should the Court approve the proposed settlement, Class Counsel will request the Court to award them attorney's fees and expenses to be paid from the settlement fund based
upon the total recovery in the litigation. Class Counsel will request no more than payment of a reasonable attorney's fee consistent with the benchmark percentage
for fee awards in common benefit fund cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition, Class Counsel will request the Court to set aside an amount
sufficient to cover fees and expenses that may be incurred in administration and distribution of the settlement. The application for attorney's fees and expenses
will be filed with the Clerk of the Court, United States Courthouse, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850 on or before March 17, 1999 and will be available
for inspection there and at the offices of Class Counsel listed below.
Hearing
The Court will hold a hearing on April 29, 1999 at 10:00 a.m. At that hearing the Court will consider the reasonableness, fairness and adequacy of the proposed settlement,
the satisfaction of the Judgment and whether to approve Class Counsel's application for attorney's fees and expenses. The hearing will be held in the Courtroom of
the Honorable Manuel L. Real, United States Courthouse, Honolulu, Hawaii.
YOU NEED NOT APPEAR AT THE HEARING OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IF YOU APPROVE OF, OR DO NOT OBJECT TO, THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND THE APPLICATION OF CLASS COUNSEL FOR
ATTORNEY'S FEES AND EXPENSES.
Any member of the Class may appear at the hearing and show cause, if any, why the settlement should not be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate; why the Judgment
should not be marked satisfied; why the injunction, judicial assignment and contempt citation should not be vacated and/or dissolved; and why the application of
Class Counsel for attorney's fees and expenses should not be approved by the Court.
No person will be heard at the hearing unless a written notice of intention to appear, stating all grounds for the objection or other statement of position, together
with all supporting papers and briefs, are sent to the Clerk of Court by first-class mail and received no later than March 30, 1999 at the following address:
Clerk of the Court
United States Courthouse
300 Ala Moana Boulevard
Honolulu, Hawaii 96850
The envelopes and objections must bear the caption "Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos Human Rights Litigation, MDL No. 841 (D.HI)." A copy of such papers must be
served by first class mail upon Lead Counsel for the Class and received no later than April 6, 1999 at the following address:
Robert A. Swift, Esquire
Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C.
1101 Market Street, Suite 2400
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Additional Information
If you have changed your address, if you change your address at any time in the future, if this Notice reached you at a place other than the one to which it was directed,
or if you have additional questions concerning this Notice, you should immediately notify Robert A. Swift at the address above, or:
Rodrigo C. Domingo, Jr.
Filipino Co-counsel
LPL Center Unit 15-B
130 Alfaro Street, Salcedo Village
Makati City
Tel. Nos. 814-3497 813-3458
Fax No. 812-7997
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE CLERK OF THE COURT OR JUDGE MANUEL L. REAL.
BY ORDER OF THE COURT:
(Sgd.) Walter A.Y.H. Chinn, Clerk
United States District Court
District of Hawaii
Dated: February 1999
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