If you are a Settlement Class Member, then, whether or not you submit a Proof of Claim Form, you will remain a member of the Settlement Class unless you timely and validly exclude yourself. That means you will not be able to sue, continue to sue, or participate in any lawsuit or other legal proceeding against, Defendant and certain other persons and entities regarding the Claims that are being settled as part of this Settlement. Nor will you be able to receive any recovery in connection with any lawsuit or other legal proceeding against Defendant regarding Claims that are being settled as part of this Settlement. It also means that any judgment in the Action with respect to the Settlement (including any releases, injunctions, and assignments provided for therein) will apply to you and legally bind you, and that you will release your claims in this case and all other Settled Claims against Defendant and certain other persons and entities. More specifically:
As of the date of final approval of the Settlement, Plaintiffs and each of the Class Members will have, and will be deemed to have fully, finally and forever released, relinquished, waived, discharged and dismissed with prejudice all Plaintiffs’ Released Claims, including Unknown Claims, as to Defendant and Defendant’s Releasees.
The terms “Plaintiffs’ Released Claims” and “Defendant’s Releasees” mean the following:
“Plaintiffs’ Released Claims” means any and all Claims against the Defendant and Defendant’s Releasees that arise out of or relate to any of the facts, acts, omissions, transactions, or occurrences that have been alleged to form a basis of liability in the Actions or that could have been alleged to form a basis of liability against Wells Fargo in its capacities related to the Trusts in the Actions (including any facts, acts, omissions, or occurrences alleged to be, or that could be alleged to be, past, present, or continuations in the future of the alleged breaches of contract or other duties at issue in the Actions). Plaintiffs’ Released Claims include, but are not limited to, all Claims that arise out of or relate to facts, acts, omissions, transactions, or occurrences: (a) asserted in the Federal Action, (b) asserted in the NY State Court Action, (c) asserted in the Declaratory Relief Action, (d) asserted in the Third-Party Action, or (e) that could have been asserted in any forum that arise out of or are based upon the allegations, transactions, facts, matters or occurrences, involved, set forth, or referred to in the Federal Action, the NY State Court Action, the Declaratory Relief Action, or the Third-Party Action, including but not limited to Claims arising out of or relating to: (i) documents missing or allegedly missing from the loan files that were delivered to the Trusts and/or the custodians for the Trusts; (ii) breaches or alleged breaches of duty or of representations or warranties by the sellers of the mortgage loans to the Trusts; (iii) breaches or alleged breaches of duty (whatever the source of the duty) relating to servicers, master servicers, or custodians of the mortgage loans in the Trusts; (iv) alleged conflicts of interest or acting and/or failing to act as a result of alleged conflicts of interest; (v) the actions or omissions of Defendant and Defendant’s Releasees with regard to items (i) to (iv); and/or (vi) the use of funds from the Trusts by Defendant or Defendant’s Releasees for the defense or indemnification of any lawsuit or claims. The Settlement does not release any Claims relating to the enforcement of the Settlement or of any person or entity excluded from or not in the Settlement Class.
“Defendant’s Releasees” means the Defendant and each of the Defendant’s current or former employees, agents, representatives, directors, officers, attorneys, personal or legal representatives, predecessors, successors, parents, subsidiaries, divisions, joint ventures, agents, assigns, administrators, related or affiliated entities, in their capacities as such, and any entity in which Defendant has a controlling interest.
Additionally, upon approval of the Settlement, you will waive to the fullest extent permitted by law, any and all provisions, rights, and benefits conferred by Cal. Civ. Code § 1542, and any law of any jurisdiction that is similar to Cal. Civ. Code § 1542, which provides:
"A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor."
You shall be deemed to have acknowledged that you hereafter may discover facts in addition to or different from those that you now know or believe to be true with respect to the subject matter of the Claims and rights released. Nevertheless, you will be deemed to intend for the releases set forth in the Settlement to be extended to all Claims and rights encompassed therein, whether known, unknown, suspected, unsuspected, concealed, hidden, accrued, unaccrued, contingent, or non-contingent.
Upon the approval of the Settlement by the Court, you also will be permanently enjoined from (i) asserting any right you have to participate in any future derivative, indemnification, or other action brought on behalf of any of the Trusts against the Defendant or Defendant’s Releasees arising out of Plaintiffs’ Released Claims; and (ii) asserting, supporting, directing, encouraging, instigating, voting in favor of, joining or fomenting in any way the assertion of any Claim relating to any Settled Claim or Trust by any party for contribution, indemnification, or a similar cause of action against Defendant or Defendant’s Releasees. With these injunctions, you will be deemed to have agreed to assign any proceeds recovered from any such future action to Defendant.
The release of the Plaintiffs’ Released Claims against Defendant and any of Defendant’s Releasees applies to the Certificates and will bind and include any future purchasers or acquirers of securities, notes, or interests of any kind in the Trusts from Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs’ Releasees, and Settlement Class Members with respect to such securities, notes, or interests of any kind in the Trusts. Without waiver of any position or argument regarding the applicability of any particular statutory provision, the releases contained in this Settlement will also apply to and release any and all Settled Claims against Defendant or Defendant’s Releasees regardless of when such Claims accrued, including any and all Claims transferred to the Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs’ Releasees, and Settlement Class Members pursuant to any agreement or by operation of any applicable law, including but not limited to, N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 13-107.
Upon approval of the Settlement by the Court, the Parties, including Settlement Class Members, on behalf of themselves, their heirs, executors, administrators, predecessors, successors and assigns, as well as the Defendant’s Releasees and the Plaintiffs’ Releasees, shall be deemed to have released, relinquished, waived, discharged and dismissed each and every of the Settled Claims, and shall forever be enjoined from asserting, prosecuting, or pursuing, whether directly, indirectly, or derivatively, alone or in conjunction with others, any or all of the Settled Claims against the Released Parties.
The Court has approved the Settlement and the Plan of Allocation.