The Court directed that the Notice be mailed to you because you or someone in your family or an investment account for which you serve as a custodian may have purchased or otherwise acquired Stericycle Common Stock or Stericycle Depositary Shares during the Class Period. The Court has directed us to send you the Notice because, as a potential Settlement Class Member, you have a right to know about your options before the Court rules on the proposed Settlement. Additionally, you have the right to understand how this class action lawsuit may generally affect your legal rights. If the Court approves the Settlement, and the Plan of Allocation (or some other plan of allocation), the Claims Administrator selected by Lead Plaintiffs and approved by the Court will make payments pursuant to the Settlement after any objections and appeals are resolved.

The purpose of the Notice is to inform you of the existence of this case, that it is a class action, how you might be affected, and how to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class if you wish to do so. It is also being sent to inform you of the terms of the proposed Settlement, and of a hearing to be held by the Court (the “Settlement Hearing”) to determine: (i) whether the proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (ii) whether, for purposes of the proposed Settlement only, the Action should be certified as a class action on behalf of the Settlement Class, Lead Plaintiffs should be certified as Class Representatives for the Settlement Class, and Lead Counsel should be appointed as Class Counsel for the Settlement Class; (iii) whether the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against Defendants, and the Releases specified and described in ¶ 34-40 of the Notice should be granted; (iv) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation should be approved as fair and reasonable; and (v) whether Lead Counsel’s application for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses should be approved. See ¶ 81-82 of the Notice for details about the Settlement Hearing, including the date and location of the hearing.

The issuance of the Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court concerning the merits of any claim in the Action. The Court still has approved the Settlement. The payments to Authorized Claimants will be made after any appeals are resolved and after the completion of all claims processing. Please be patient, as this process can take some time to complete.

This Action involves allegations that Stericycle, an international waste management and disposal company, made misrepresentations and omissions about the Company’s practices concerning its small quantity (“SQ”) customers and the reasons for the Company’s growth during the Class Period.

On July 11, 2016, a class action complaint was filed in the Court, styled St. Lucie County Fire District Firefighters’ Pension Trust Fund, et al., v. Stericycle, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-07145.  An amended class action complaint was filed in the Court on August 4, 2016, and a corrected amended class action complaint was filed in the Court on October 21, 2016.

On February 1, 2017, Lead Plaintiffs then filed a Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws (the “CAC”) asserting: (i) claims under § 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against Defendant Stericycle and the Officer Defendants; (ii) claims under § 20(a) of the Exchange Act against the Officer Defendants; (iii) claims under § 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) against Defendant Stericycle, the Director Defendants, the Underwriter Defendants, and Defendants Charles A. Alutto and Dan Ginnetti; (iv) claims under § 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act against the Underwriter Defendants; and (v) claims under § 15 of the Securities Act against the Director Defendants and Defendants Charles A. Alutto, Dan Ginnetti, and Brent Arnold.  The claims under §§ 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act related to Stericycle’s September 2015 offering of Depositary Shares.  Among other things, the CAC alleged that throughout the alleged class period (February 7, 2013 through September 18, 2016, inclusive), Stericycle made a series of materially false and misleading statements and omissions regarding its alleged practice of automatically and improperly raising the rates charged to Stericycle’s SQ customers without any advance notice to such customers.  The CAC also alleged that Stericycle made materially false and misleading statements about the reasons for the Company’s growth, while knowingly or recklessly disregarding that such growth was attributable to the allegedly improper automatic rate increases.  The CAC alleged that certain of the alleged materially false statements were also set forth in the offering materials for Stericycle’s September 2015 offering of Depositary Shares.  The CAC further alleged that the prices of Stericycle Common Stock and Stericycle Depositary Shares were artificially inflated as a result of Defendants’ allegedly false and misleading statements and declined when the truth was revealed.

On April 3, 2017, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the CAC and a supporting memorandum of law.  On May 19, 2017, Lead Plaintiffs filed their opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss and, on June 19, 2017, Defendants filed their reply memorandum of law in further support of their motion to dismiss.

On August 7, 2017, Lead Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Judicial Notice of Recent Development (“Motion for Judicial Notice”) in further support of their opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss the CAC, arguing that the Court should take judicial notice of the Company’s Form 8-K filed on August 2, 2017. The Form 8-K announced Stericycle’s preliminary settlement of a class action litigation that Stericycle’s customers had filed against the Company (the “Customer Case”) and made certain disclosures that Lead Plaintiffs claimed corroborated their allegations in the Action. On August 11, 2017, the Stericycle Defendants filed their response to the Motion for Judicial Notice, which was joined by the Underwriter Defendants on August 15, 2017, and, on August 17, 2017, Lead Plaintiffs served their reply memorandum of law in further support of the Motion for Judicial Notice.

On March 6, 2018, Lead Plaintiffs filed a Notice of Recent Development and Intent to Amend the Complaint (“Notice of Recent Development”), in order to further inform the Court that: (i) on February 21, 2018, Stericycle made several announcements about the Company’s financial condition that were directly relevant to Lead Plaintiffs’ allegations in this litigation (including a $25 million expense to combat customer “churn” due to customer price increases), which caused the price of Stericycle stock to fall by 19%; and (ii) Lead Plaintiffs’ intention to amend the CAC in order to incorporate this information into the complaint.

On March 20, 2018, Lead Plaintiffs filed an Unopposed Motion to Amend the Class Action Complaint (“Motion to Amend the Complaint”), which attached a copy of their proposed Amended Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws (the “Amended CAC” or “Complaint”). By Order dated March 30, 2018, the Court: (i) granted Lead Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend the Complaint; and (ii) denied as moot Defendants’ motion to dismiss the CAC and Lead Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judicial Notice.

On March 30, 2018, the Clerk entered the Amended CAC on the Court docket.  The Amended CAC identifies the same allegedly false and misleading statements as in the CAC, but incorporates Lead Plaintiffs’ additional allegations that Defendants misrepresented the Company’s integration of its acquisitions into its operations and allegations arising out of the Company’s February 21, 2018 disclosures, and asserts an expanded class period of February 7, 2013 through February 21, 2018, inclusive.

On May 25, 2018, Defendants filed a renewed motion to dismiss the Amended CAC and a supporting memorandum of law. On June 22, 2018, Lead Plaintiffs filed their opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss and, on July 13, 2018, Defendants filed their reply in further support of their motion to dismiss.

In an attempt to resolve the Action, on April 16, 2018, Lead Counsel and counsel for Stericycle participated in a full-day mediation session before Gregory P. Lindstrom, Esq. of Phillips ADR as mediator (the “Mediator”) in Chicago, Illinois. In advance of that session, the Lead Plaintiffs and Stericycle exchanged detailed mediation statements, which addressed the issues of liability and damages.

Following the mediation, the Parties engaged in additional negotiations under the supervision and guidance of the Mediator. The Parties then reached an agreement in principle to settle the Action that was pursuant to a Mediator’s recommendation and memorialized in a term sheet executed on December 6, 2018 (the “Term Sheet”). The Term Sheet sets forth, among other things, the Parties’ agreement to settle and release all claims against Defendants in return for a cash payment by Stericycle of $45,000,000 for the benefit of the Settlement Class, subject to certain terms and conditions and the execution of a formal stipulation and agreement of settlement and related papers. The agreement to settle was further conditioned on Lead Plaintiffs confirming the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of the proposed Settlement based on due diligence discovery to be provided by the Company.

Pursuant to the Term Sheet, Lead Counsel conducted due diligence discovery regarding the strengths and weaknesses of Lead Plaintiffs’ claims to assure the reasonableness of the proposed Settlement. In connection with due diligence discovery, the Company produced 25 confidential deposition transcripts of Stericycle executives (and exhibits) from the related Customer Case, and additional internal Stericycle documents, which Lead Counsel reviewed. The due diligence discovery has confirmed Lead Plaintiffs’ and Lead Counsel’s belief that the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

On February 14, 2019, the Parties entered into the Settlement Stipulation, which sets forth the terms and conditions of the Settlement. The Settlement Stipulation is available on the website.

On March 12, 2019, the Court preliminary approved the Settlement, authorized the Notice to be disseminated to potential Settlement Class Members, and scheduled the Settlement Hearing to consider whether to grant final approval to the Settlement.

If you are a member of the Settlement Class, you are subject to the Settlement, unless you timely request to be excluded. The Settlement Class consists of:

all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly-traded Stericycle common stock (“Stericycle Common Stock”) or publicly-traded Stericycle depositary shares (“Stericycle Depositary Shares”) (collectively, “Stericycle Securities”) in the open market during the period from February 7, 2013 through February 21, 2018, inclusive (the “Class Period”), including Stericycle Depositary Shares purchased in or traceable to the public offering of Stericycle Depositary Shares conducted on or around September 15, 2015, and were damaged thereby.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (i) Defendants; (ii) members of the Immediate Family of any Individual Defendant; (iii) any person who was an Officer or director of Stericycle during the Class Period and any members of their Immediate Family; (iv) any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of Stericycle; (v) any firm, trust, corporation, or other entity in which any Defendant or any other excluded person or entity has, or had during the Class Period, a controlling interest, provided, however, that any Investment Vehicle(as defined in the Stipulation) shall not be excluded from the Settlement Class; and (vi) the legal representatives, agents, heirs, successors-in-interest, or assigns of any such excluded persons or entities.  Also excluded from the Settlement Class are any persons or entities who or which exclude themselves by submitting a request for exclusion in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Notice.  See “What If I Do Not Want To Be A Member Of The Settlement Class?  How Do I Exclude Myself,” below.

PLEASE NOTE: RECEIPT OF THE NOTICE DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE A SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER OR THAT YOU WILL BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE PROCEEDS FROM THE SETTLEMENT. IF YOU ARE A SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER AND YOU WISH TO BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF PROCEEDS FROM THE SETTLEMENT, YOU WERE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THE CLAIM FORM THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED WITH THE NOTICE AND THE REQUIRED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION AS SET FORTH THEREIN WAS TO BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN AUGUST 7, 2019.

Lead Plaintiffs and Lead Counsel believe that the claims asserted against Defendants have merit. They recognize, however, the expense and length of continued proceedings necessary to pursue their claims against Defendants through trial and appeals, as well as the very substantial risks they would face in establishing liability and damages.  For example, Defendants have raised a number of arguments and defenses including that Lead Plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the statute of limitations because a government settlement and the filing of the Customer Case purportedly revealed to the market the existence of the price increase scheme more than two years before the present securities Action was filed.  Defendants also argued that they did not make materially false and misleading statements in violation of the federal securities laws because their SQ customer contracts purportedly allowed for price increases in certain situations, and that Lead Plaintiffs would not be able to establish that Defendants acted with the requisite intent with respect to the claims brought under the Exchange Act.  Defendants have also argued that Lead Plaintiffs have not shown loss causation, including arguing that the specific alleged corrective disclosures did not reveal new material information to investors about the alleged price increase fraud, but instead simply disclosed disappointing financial results tied to unrelated market events and developments.  Even assuming Lead Plaintiffs could establish liability and loss causation, the amount of damages that could be attributed to the allegedly false statements would be hotly contested.

At the time that the Parties agreed in principle to settle the Action, the Court had not yet decided Defendants’ motion to dismiss the Complaint, and while Lead Plaintiffs believe that they had compelling arguments in response to it, Lead Plaintiffs acknowledge that a serious risk exists that Defendants’ arguments would persuade the Court to reduce dramatically, or even eliminate altogether, the damages that they could recover from Defendants.  What is more, even if Lead Plaintiffs successfully defeated Defendants’ motion to dismiss, which was far from certain, Defendants would in all likelihood make the same arguments to a jury should this case proceed to trial.  Thus, there were very significant risks attendant to the continued prosecution of the Action.

In light of these risks, the amount of the Settlement, and the immediacy of recovery to the Settlement Class, Lead Plaintiffs and Lead Counsel believe that the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class.  Lead Plaintiffs and Lead Counsel believe that the Settlement provides a substantial benefit to the Settlement Class, namely $45,000,000 in cash (less the various deductions described in the Notice), as compared to the risk that the claims in the Action would produce a smaller, or no, recovery after summary judgment, trial, and appeals, possibly years in the future.

Defendants have denied the claims asserted against them in the Action and deny having engaged in any wrongdoing or violation of law of any kind whatsoever.  Defendants have agreed to the Settlement solely to eliminate the burden and expense of continued litigation.  Accordingly, the Settlement may not be construed as an admission of any wrongdoing by Defendants.

If there were no Settlement and Lead Plaintiffs failed to establish any essential legal or factual element of their claims against Defendants, neither Lead Plaintiffs nor the other members of the Settlement Class would recover anything from Defendants.  Also, if Defendants were successful in proving any of their defenses, either at summary judgment, at trial, or on appeal, the Settlement Class could recover substantially less than the amount provided in the Settlement, or nothing at all.

As a Settlement Class Member, you are represented by Lead Plaintiffs and Lead Counsel, unless you enter an appearance through counsel of your own choice at your own expense.  You are not required to retain your own counsel, but if you choose to do so, such counsel must have filed a notice of appearance on your behalf and must have served copies of his or her appearance on the attorneys listed in the section entitled, “When And Where Will The Court Decide Whether To Approve The Settlement? The Settlement hearing has already occured.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not wish to remain a Settlement Class Member, you could have excluded yourself from the Settlement Class by following the instructions in the section entitled, “What If I Do Not Want To Be A Member Of The Settlement Class?  How Do I Exclude Myself? The deadline to request exclusion has expired.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you wish to object to the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel’s application for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses, and if you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you could have presented your objections by following the instructions in the section entitled, “When And Where Will The Court Decide Whether To Approve The Settlement? The deadline to object has expired.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you will be bound by any orders issued by the Court.  If the Settlement is approved, the Court will enter a judgment (the “Judgment”). The Judgment will dismiss with prejudice the claims against Defendants and will provide that, upon the Effective Date of the Settlement, Lead Plaintiffs and each of the other Settlement Class Members, on behalf of themselves, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, predecessors, successors, and assigns in their capacities as such, shall be deemed to have, and by operation of law and of the Judgment shall have, fully, finally, and forever compromised, settled, released, resolved, relinquished, waived, and discharged each and every Released Plaintiffs’ Claim against Defendants and the other Defendants’ Releasees, and shall forever be barred and enjoined from prosecuting any or all of the Released Plaintiffs’ Claims against any of the Defendants’ Releasees.

“Released Plaintiffs’ Claims” means all claims and causes of action of every nature and description, whether known claims or Unknown Claims, whether arising under federal, state, common, or foreign law, that Lead Plaintiffs or any other member of the Settlement Class (i) asserted in the Complaint, or (ii) could have asserted in any forum that arise out of or are based upon the allegations, transactions, facts, matters or occurrences, representations, or omissions involved, set forth, or referred to in the Complaint and that relate to the purchase, acquisition, holding, sale, or disposition of publicly-traded Stericycle common stock or publicly-traded Stericycle depositary shares during the Class Period. This release does not cover, include, or release: (i) any claims asserted in any ERISA or derivative action, including without limitation the claims asserted in Weinstein v. Alutto et al., No. 2017-CG-03062 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cty., Ill., filed March 1, 2017), Shah v. Alutto et al., No. 2016-CH-11636 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cty., Ill., filed September 1, 2016), Janklow v. Alutto et al., No. 18 cv 00457 (D. Del., filed March 26, 2018), Siu v. Alutto et al., No. 1:16-cv-07145 (Del. Chancery Ct., filed April 12, 2018), Brennan v. Alutto et al., No. 1:18-cv-00567-RGA (D. Del., filed April 16, 2018), or Turney v. Miller et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-05186 (N.D. Ill., filed July 30, 2018); (ii) any claims relating to the enforcement of the Settlement; or (iii) any claims of any person or entity who submits a request for exclusion that is accepted by the Court (“Excluded Plaintiffs’ Claims”).

Defendants’ Releasees” means Defendants and their current and former parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, agents, successors, predecessors, assigns, assignees, partnerships, partners, trustees, trusts, employees, Immediate Family Members, insurers, reinsurers, and attorneys.

Unknown Claims” means any Released Plaintiffs’ Claims which Lead Plaintiffs or any other Settlement Class Member does not know or suspect to exist in his, her, or its favor at the time of the release of such claims, and any Released Defendants’ Claims which any Defendant does not know or suspect to exist in his, her, or its favor at the time of the release of such claims, which, if known by him, her or it, might have affected his, her, or its decision(s) with respect to this Settlement. With respect to any and all Released Claims, the Parties stipulate and agree that, upon the Effective Date of the Settlement, Lead Plaintiffs and Defendants shall expressly waive, and each of the other Settlement Class Members shall be deemed to have waived, and by operation of the Judgment or the Alternate Judgment, if applicable, shall have expressly waived, any and all provisions, rights, and benefits conferred by any law of any state or territory of the United States, or principle of common law or foreign law, which is similar, comparable, or equivalent to California Civil Code §1542, which provides:

A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.

The Judgment will also provide that, upon the Effective Date of the Settlement, Defendants, on behalf of themselves, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, predecessors, successors, and assigns in their capacities as such, shall be deemed to have, and by operation of law and of the Judgment shall have, fully, finally, and forever compromised, settled, released, resolved, relinquished, waived, and discharged each and every Released Defendants’ Claim (as defined in ¶ 39 of the Notice) against Lead Plaintiffs and the other Plaintiffs’ Releasees (as defined in ¶ 40 of the Notice), and shall forever be barred and enjoined from prosecuting any or all of the Released Defendants’ Claims against any of the Plaintiffs’ Releasees. Lead Plaintiffs and Defendants acknowledge, and each of the other Settlement Class Members shall be deemed by operation of law to have acknowledged, that the foregoing waiver was separately bargained for and a key element of the Settlement.

"Released Defendants’ Claims” means all claims and causes of action of every nature and description, whether known claims or Unknown Claims, whether arising under federal, state, common, or foreign law, that arise out of or relate in any way to the institution, prosecution, or settlement of the claims asserted in the Action against Defendants. Released Defendants’ Claims do not include:  (i) any claims relating to the enforcement of the Settlement; or (ii) any claims against any person or entity who submits a request for exclusion from the Settlement Class that is accepted by the Court (“Excluded Defendants’ Claims”).

"Plaintiffs’ Releasees” means Lead Plaintiffs, all other plaintiffs in the Action, and all other Settlement Class Members, and their respective current and former parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, agents, successors, predecessors, assigns, assignees, partnerships, partners, trustees, trusts, employees, Immediate Family Members, insurers, reinsurers, and attorneys.

To be eligible for a payment from the proceeds of the Settlement, you must be a member of the Settlement Class and you must timely complete and return the Claim Form with adequate supporting documentation postmarked no later than August 7, 2019. A Claim Form is included with the Notice, or you may obtain one from the website, or you may request that a Claim Form be mailed to you by calling the Claims Administrator toll free at 1-833-291-1647 or emailing the Claims Administrator at info@StericycleSecuritiesLitigation.com. Please retain all records of your ownership of and transactions in Stericycle Securities, as they may be needed to document your Claim. If you request exclusion from the Settlement Class or do not submit a timely and valid Claim Form, you will not be eligible to share in the Net Settlement Fund.

At this time, it is not possible to make any determination as to how much any individual Settlement Class Member may receive from the Settlement.

Pursuant to the Settlement, Stericycle has agreed to pay or caused to be paid forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000) in cash.  The Settlement Amount will be deposited into an escrow account.  The Settlement Amount plus any interest earned thereon is referred to as the “Settlement Fund.”  If the Settlement is approved by the Court and the Effective Date occurs, the “Net Settlement Fund” (that is, the Settlement Fund less (i) any Taxes; (ii) any Notice and Administration Costs; (iii) any Litigation Expenses awarded by the Court; (iv) any attorneys’ fees awarded by the Court; and (v) any other costs or fees approved by the Court) will be distributed to Settlement Class Members who submit valid Claim Forms, in accordance with the proposed Plan of Allocation or such other plan of allocation as the Court may approve.

The Net Settlement Fund will not be distributed unless and until the Court has approved the Settlement and a plan of allocation, and the time for any petition for rehearing, appeal, or review, whether by certiorari or otherwise, has expired.

Neither Defendants nor any other person or entity that paid any portion of the Settlement Amount on their behalf are entitled to get back any portion of the Settlement Fund once the Court’s order or judgment approving the Settlement becomes Final.  Defendants shall not have any liability, obligation, or responsibility for the administration of the Settlement, the disbursement of the Net Settlement Fund, or the plan of allocation.

Approval of the Settlement is independent from approval of a plan of allocation.  Any determination with respect to a plan of allocation will not affect the Settlement, if approved. The Court has approved the Settlement.

Unless the Court otherwise orders, any Settlement Class Member who or which failed to submit a Claim Form postmarked on or before August 7, 2019 shall be fully and forever barred from receiving payments pursuant to the Settlement but will in all other respects remain a Settlement Class Member and be subject to the provisions of the Stipulation, including the terms of any judgment entered and the releases given. This means that each Settlement Class Member releases the Released Plaintiffs' (as defined in ¶ 35 of the Notice) against the Defendants' Releases (as defined in ¶ 36 of the Notice) and will be enjoined and prohibited from filing, prosecuting, or pursuing any of the Released Plaintiffs’ Claims against any of the Defendants’ Releasees whether or not such Settlement Class Member submits a Claim Form. 

Participants in and beneficiaries of a plan covered by ERISA (“ERISA Plan”) should NOT include any information relating to their transactions in Stericycle Securities held through the ERISA Plan in any Claim Form that they may submit in this Action.  They should include ONLY those shares that they purchased or acquired outside of the ERISA Plan.  Claims based on any ERISA Plan’s purchases or acquisitions of Stericycle Securities during the Class Period may be made by the plan’s trustees.

The Court has reserved jurisdiction to allow, disallow, or adjust on equitable grounds the Claim of any Settlement Class Member.

Each Claimant shall be deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to his, her, or its Claim Form.

Only Settlement Class Members, i.e., persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Stericycle Securities during the Class Period and were damaged as a result of such purchases or acquisitions, will be eligible to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund.  Persons and entities that are excluded from the Settlement Class by definition or that exclude themselves from the Settlement Class pursuant to request will not be eligible to receive a distribution from the Net Settlement Fund and should not submit Claim Forms.  The only securities that are included in the Settlement are the Stericycle Securities. 

Plaintiffs’ Counsel have not received any payment for their services in pursuing claims against Defendants on behalf of the Settlement Class, nor have Plaintiffs’ Counsel been reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses.  Before final approval of the Settlement, Lead Counsel will apply to the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees for all Plaintiffs’ Counsel in an amount not to exceed 25% of the Settlement Fund.  At the same time, Lead Counsel also intends to apply for reimbursement of Litigation Expenses incurred by Plaintiffs’ Counsel in an amount not to exceed $350,000, which may include an application for reimbursement of the reasonable costs and expenses incurred by Lead Plaintiffs directly related to their representation of the Settlement Class.  The Court will determine the amount of any award of attorneys’ fees or reimbursement of Litigation Expenses.  Such sums as may be approved by the Court will be paid from the Settlement Fund.  Settlement Class Members are not personally liable for any such fees or expenses.

Each Settlement Class Member will be bound by all determinations and judgments in this lawsuit, whether favorable or unfavorable, unless such person or entity mails or delivers a written Request for Exclusion from the Settlement Class, addressed to:  Stericycle Securities Litigation, EXCLUSIONS, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91124, Seattle, WA 98111-9224.  The exclusion request must have been received on or before July 1, 2019.  You will not be able to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class after that date.  Each Request for Exclusion must (i) state the name, address, and telephone number of the person or entity requesting exclusion, and in the case of entities, the name and telephone number of the appropriate contact person;   (ii) state that such person or entity “requests exclusion from the Settlement Class in In re Stericycle, Inc. Securities Litigation, Civil Action No. 1:16-cv-07145”; (iii) state the number of shares of Stericycle Common Stock and/or Stericycle Depositary Shares that the person or entity requesting exclusion (a) owned as of the opening of trading on February 7, 2013 and (b) purchased/acquired and/or sold during the Class Period (i.e., from February 7, 2013 through February 21, 2018, inclusive), as well as the dates, number of shares, and prices of each such purchase/acquisition and sale; and (iv) be signed by the person or entity requesting exclusion or an authorized representative.  A Request for Exclusion shall not be valid and effective unless it provides all the information called for in this paragraph and is received within the time stated above, or is otherwise accepted by the Court.

If you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class, you must follow these instructions for exclusion even if you have pending, or later file, another lawsuit, arbitration, or other proceeding relating to any Released Plaintiffs’ Claim against any of the Defendants’ Releasees.  Excluding yourself from the Settlement Class is the only option that allows you to be part of any other current or future lawsuit against Defendants or any of the other Defendants’ Releasees concerning the Released Plaintiffs’ Claims.  Please note, however, if you decide to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you may be time-barred from asserting the claims covered by the Action by a statute of repose.

If you ask to be excluded from the Settlement Class, you will not be eligible to receive any payment out of the Net Settlement Fund.

Stericycle has the right to terminate the Settlement if valid requests for exclusion are received from persons and entities entitled to be members of the Settlement Class in an amount that exceeds an amount agreed to by Lead Plaintiffs and Stericycle.

Settlement Class Members do not need to attend the Settlement Hearing. The Court will consider any submission made in accordance with the provisions below even if a Settlement Class Member does not attend the hearing. You can participate in the Settlement without attending the Settlement Hearing.

The Settlement Hearing was held on July 22, 2019 at 9:00 a.m., before the Honorable Andrea R. Wood at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Courtroom 1925 of the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604.  The Court reserves the right to certify the Settlement Class, approve the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, Lead Counsel’s motion for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses, and/or consider any other matter related to the Settlement at or after the Settlement Hearing without further notice to the members of the Settlement Class. The Court has approved the Settlement.

Any Settlement Class Member who or which does not request exclusion may object to the Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel’s motion for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses.  Objections must be in writing.  You must have filed a written objection, together with copies of all other papers and briefs supporting the objection, with the Clerk’s Office at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division at the address set forth below on or before July 1, 2019.  You must have served the papers on Lead Counsel and on Defendants’ Counsel at the addresses set forth below so that the papers are received on or before July 1, 2019. Please note the deadline to object has passed.

Any objection (i) must state the name, address, and telephone number of the person or entity objecting and must be signed by the objector; (ii) must state with specificity the grounds for the Settlement Class Member’s objection, including any legal and evidentiary support the Settlement Class Member wishes to bring to the Court’s attention and whether the objection applies only to the objector, to a specific subset of the Settlement Class, or to the entire Settlement Class; and (iii) must include documents sufficient to prove membership in the Settlement Class, including the number of shares of Stericycle Common Stock and/or Stericycle Depositary Shares that the objecting Settlement Class Member (a) owned as of the opening of trading on February 7, 2013 and (b) purchased/acquired and/or sold during the Class Period (i.e., from February 7, 2013 through February 21, 2018, inclusive), as well as the dates, number of shares, and prices of each such purchase/acquisition and sale.  Documentation establishing membership in the Settlement Class must consist of copies of brokerage confirmation slips or monthly brokerage account statements, or an authorized statement from the objector’s broker containing the transactional and holding information found in a broker confirmation slip or account statement.  You may not object to the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel’s motion for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses if you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class or if you are not a member of the Settlement Class.

You could have filed a written objection without having to appear at the Settlement Hearing. You could not of, however, appear at the Settlement Hearing to present your objection unless you first file and serve a written objection in accordance with the procedures described above, unless the Court orders otherwise. 

If you wished to be heard orally at the hearing in opposition to the approval of the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel’s motion for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses, and if you did timely file and serve a written objection as described above, you must also have filed a notice of appearance with the Clerk’s Office and served it on Lead Counsel and Defendants’ Counsel at the addresses set forth in ¶ 83 of the Notice so that it was received on or before July 1, 2019.  Persons who intend to object and desire to present evidence at the Settlement Hearing must include in their written objection or notice of appearance the identity of any witnesses they may call to testify and exhibits they intend to introduce into evidence at the hearing.  Such persons may be heard orally at the discretion of the Court. The Settlement hearing has occurred.

You are not required to hire an attorney to represent you in making written objections or in appearing at the Settlement Hearing. However, if you decided to hire an attorney, it will be at your own expense, and that attorney must have filed a notice of appearance with the Court and served it on Lead Counsel and Defendants’ Counsel at the addresses set forth in ¶ 83 of the Notice so that the notice was received on or before July 1, 2019. The deadline to file an appearance has passed.

The Settlement Hearing may be adjourned by the Court without further written notice to the Settlement Class. If you intend to attend the Settlement Hearing, you should confirm the date and time with Lead Counsel.

Unless the Court orders otherwise, any Settlement Class Member who does not object in the manner described above will be deemed to have waived any objection and shall be forever foreclosed from making any objection to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsel’s motion for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses. Settlement Class Members do not need to appear at the Settlement Hearing or take any other action to indicate their approval.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired Stericycle Common Stock or Stericycle Depositary Shares in the open market during the period from February 7, 2013 through February 21, 2018, inclusive, for the beneficial interest of persons or organizations other than yourself, you would have either (i) within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of the Notice, request from the Claims Administrator sufficient copies of the Notice and Claim Form (the “Notice Packet”) to forwarded to all such beneficial owners and within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of those Notice Packets forward them to all such beneficial owners; or (ii) within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of the Notice, provided a list of the names, mailing addresses, and, if available, email addresses of all such beneficial owners to:  Stericycle Securities Litigation, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91124, Seattle, WA 98111-9224.  If you choose the second option, the Claims Administrator will send a copy of the Notice and the Claim Form to the beneficial owners.  Upon full compliance with these directions, such nominees may seek reimbursement of their reasonable expenses actually incurred, by providing the Claims Administrator with proper documentation supporting the expenses for which reimbursement is sought.  Copies of the Notice and the Claim Form may also be obtained from the Important Documents page of this website, or by calling the Claims Administrator toll-free at 1-833-291-1647, or by emailing the Claims Administrator at info@StericycleSecuritiesLitigation.com.

The Notice contains only a summary of the terms of the proposed Settlement.  For more detailed information about the matters involved in this Action, you are referred to the papers on file in the Action, including the Settlement Stipulation, which may be inspected during regular office hours at the Clerk’s Office, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604.  Additionally, copies of the Settlement Stipulation and any related orders entered by the Court will be posted on this website.

All inquiries concerning the Notice and the Claim Form should be directed to:

PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE COURT, THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE COURT, DEFENDANTS, OR DEFENDANTS’ COUNSEL REGARDING THE NOTICE.