Legal Notice
READER
SHOPPING
"he
butterfly
bush
Enjoy a garden of
beautiful butterflies.
This new deer-resistant bush is
the first in an easy-care series of
m iniature butterfly bushes
developed at N orth Carolina
State University.
Lo and Behold™ ‘Blue Chip’
grows
2 - 3
feet tall and provides
continuous flowering. Its dw arf
size makes it an excellent choice
for small gardens and containers
or as a ground cover—it fits
anywhere!
This is a hardy plant. Besides
being deer resistant, it’s drought
and heat tolerant.
A PROVEN WINNERS®/COLOR
CHOICE® VARIETY. PLEASE ORDER
EARLY—QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED.
TO ORDER
BUDDLEIA
‘BLUE CHIP”,
item
MM060723
for
$22.95
plus
shipping, call White Flower Farm,
800/420-2852,
or visit
readershopping.com.
Ships in a
1-gallon pot from mid-April through
June. Sorry, we are unable to ship to
APO/FPO addresses, Oregon,
Washington, or addresses outside the
contiguous United States.
If You
Purchased
Certain
V
itam
in
Products
between
1 9 8 8
and
2 0 0 0
Y our R ig h ts M ay Be A ffe cte d By A C lass A ctio n S e ttle m e n t
There is a Proposed Settlement of a class
action
lawsuit
regarding
the
indirect
purchase of certain Vitamin Products. The
lawsuit is called
Richardson, et al. v. Akzo
Nobel Inc. et al.,
No. 99-197, pending in
the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia.
What Is the Class Action Lawsuit About?
The
lawsuit
claims
that
the
Settling
Defendants injured Class Members through
a price-fixing conspiracy that raised prices
for indirect purchases of certain Vitamin
Products, even if the indirect purchases
were of food products including Vitamin
Products as an ingredient or as a part of
animal feed. The settlement is on behalf of
“indirect” purchasers of Vitamin Products,
i.e., purchasers who purchased from persons
or entities other than Settling Defendants or
their co-conspirators.
Settling Defendants deny these claims.
A list of the Settling Defendants is in the
Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement
available below (“
Notice
”).
What Are Vitamin Products?
Vitamin
Products
are:
vitamin
A,
astaxanthin, vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin
B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin
B4 (choline chloride), vitamin B5 (calpan),
vitamin B6, vitamin B9 (folic acid), vitamin
B12
(cyanocobalamine
pharma),
beta-
carotene, vitamin C, canthaxanthin, vitamin
E, and vitamin H (biotin), as well as all
blends and forms of these vitamins. Also
included is Premix, which is a product that
contains one or more Vitamin Products in
combination with other substances.
Who Is A Class Member?
The Consumer Settlement Class includes:
All persons who a) reside in a Settling
State; and b) indirectly purchased Vitamin
Products for use or consumption and not
for resale from within one or more Settling
States at any time during the “Relevant
Period” defined in the
Notice
(for most
Vitamin Products, January 1, 1990 through
December 31, 1999).
The Commercial Settlement Class includes:
All persons or entities that made any
Qualifying Purchases at any time during
the Relevant Period. Qualifying Purchases,
the Relevant Period, and certain exclusions
are defined in the
Notice
.
The Settling States are Arizona, District of
Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Kansas,
Maine,
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont,
Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
What Does the Proposed
Settlement Provide?
The Settling Defendants have agreed to
pay $25.03 million.
Commercial Class
Members may file a claim against their
portion of the fund postmarked by April
19, 2010.
Due to the large size of the
Consumer Settlement Class, its portion of
the fund will be distributed to charitable
organizations and other eligible entities
approved by the Court.
Who Represents Me?
The Court has appointed Class Counsel.
Although not necessary, you may hire your
own attorney at your own expense. Class
Counsel will request, subject to Court
approval, a) fees to be paid by Defendants
over and above the Settlement Funds and
b) expenses to be paid from the Settlement
Funds. The Attorneys General of the Settling
States are also parties to the action on behalf
of indirect purchasers in their respective
jurisdictions.
What Are My Legal Rights?
• If you wish to stay in either of the Classes,
you do not need to take an action.
• If you do not want to be legally bound
by the Proposed Settlement, you must
exclude yourself in writing. Your letter
must be postmarked by April 19, 2010 as
outlined in the
Notice
.
• If you remain in either of the Classes, you
may object to any aspect of the Proposed
Settlement. Your written objection must
be postmarked by April 19, 2010, filed
and mailed as outlined in the
Notice
. You
also may request in writing to appear at
the Final Fairness Hearing.
W ill the Court Approve
the Proposed Settlement?
The Court will hold a Final Fairness Hearing
currently scheduled for June 18, 2010 to
consider whether the Proposed Settlement is
fair, reasonable, and adequate. If objections
have been received, the Court will consider
them at this time.
Further Information
For a
Notice o f Proposed Class Action S ettlem en t
and a claim form:
Call 1-866-324-0058
Visit: www.IndirectVitaminsSettlement.com,
Or Write: Vitamins Settlem ent Administrator, c/o The Garden City Group,
P.O. Box 9258 Dublin, Ohio, 43017-4658
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS MARCH 2010 119
