Class Action Settlement Reached in Lawsuit on behalf of Former Spansion Employees

The Spansion WARN Act Class Action Lawsuit

On February 26, 2009, Girard Gibbs LLP and Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of former employees of Spansion who were terminated by the company on or around February 23, 2009. The lawsuit charged Spansion with failing to provide the terminated employees with advanced notice of the layoff, as required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN” Act). The lawsuit sought a recovery of up to 60 days worth of back-pay and benefits on behalf of each employee that was laid off. After Spansion filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2009, the WARN Act class action was refilled in bankruptcy court and the Court certified the case as a class action on July 22, 2009.

Settlement and Preliminary Approval

On October 6, 2009, the parties in the lawsuit met with a neutral mediator to discuss a potential resolution to the case, and ultimately came to a settlement of $8.568 million, to be distributed to more than 750 former Spansion employees, including more than 600 terminated employees from the Sunnyvale, California location and more than 150 employees that were let go in Austin, Texas. Pending the bankruptcy court’s approval, each employee will receive a direct cash settlement payment, and some class members will have the option of receiving a portion of their settlement benefits in stock or a liquidated stock distribution.

The parties have notified the Court of the settlement, and will formally present the terms of the settlement for “preliminary approval” at a hearing in Delaware on March 23, 2010. If the Court grants “preliminary approval,” a formal, detailed notice describing the terms of the settlement will be distributed by mail to each class member. Class members will then have the opportunity to send comments to the Court about the settlement. Following the distribution of settlement notice to class members, the Court will hold a “final approval” hearing to determine whether the terms of the settlement are fair and reasonable and, if so, the Court will order Spansion to make the individual payments to each former employee included in the settlement.

Am I included in the Spansion WARN Act Class Action Lawsuit?

If you were laid off from Spansion in Sunnyvale, California or Austin, Texas on or about February 23, 2009, you may be a member of the proposed class. To ensure receipt of all settlement-related communications, please fill out the form to the right, and include your current mailing address in the comments section. If you have any other questions, including whether or not you will be included as a class member in this settlement, please fill out the form or call us at (866) 981-4800.

Why Girard Gibbs LLP?

Girard Gibbs is a national litigation firm specializing in securities litigation, consumer class actions and complex business litigation. Girard Gibbs' managing partner Daniel Girard was voted one of Northern California's Super Lawyers in 2007, 2008, and 2009 by Law & Politics, recognizing him as one of the top 5-percent of attorneys practicing in Northern California.