DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
January 24, 2008 3:46 a.m.
LONDON (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) has agreed to pay a lead counsel, Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz LLP, in a U.S. case related to its 2004 reserves restatements a fee of $27 million for its role in achieving compensation for the non-U.S. purchasers of its stock.
The agreement decision, part of a U.S. court mediation and dated Jan. 14, was obtained by Royaldutchshellplc.com, a Web site critical of Shell.
In April 2007, Shell agreed to pay $352.6 million to settle a similar case involving European investors as well as $47 million in fees to U.S. trial lawyers in an action filed in the Amsterdam Court of Appeals in the Netherlands.
Both the U.S. and European cases alleged the shareholders had lost money due to the oil and gas reserves restatements.
Grant & Eisenhofer P.A., the lead law firm representing the European investors, Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler LLP and Diaz, Reus, Rolff & Targ LLP split the record $47 million fee.
But the 2007 settlement did not include the U.S. case involving U.S. shareholders in which European shareholders initially participated before they opted for a separate case.
The plaintiffs in this original U.S. lawsuit were represented by lead counsel Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz. The latter didn’t return a request for comment.
The Jan. 14 mediation, agreed by Shell, says Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz’s efforts “in vigorously pursuing through litigation the Non-U.S. Purchasers’ claims for more than three years…were a substantial factor in Shell’s decision to enter into a settlement agreement to resolve (their) claims,” according to a copy of the mediation seen by Dow Jones Newswires.
It is unclear if this additional lawyers’ fee closes the U.S. case or if a further sum would have to be paid as part of the U.S. settlement.
The agreement was made before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
A Shell spokesman could not immediately comment.
-By Benoit Faucon, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9266;
WSJ article ends…
URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT_CO_20080124_703208.html
http://www.tellshell.net/blog/_archives/2008/1/25/3486734.html
THE COURT DOCUMENT (added by royaldutchshellplc.com)
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
