You received the Notice because records show you are an individual who either, (i) purchased ATMI tokens via a Series 1 or Series 2 Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) with Atonomi in 2018; or (ii) purchased ATMI tokens through a “public sale” by Atonomi on or about June 6, 2018. These are the “Class Members” who were sent this Notice of the proposed Settlement. “Settlement Class Members" excludes Defendants and their affiliates, Court staff, and people who exclude themselves.

You have a right to know about the proposed Settlement and all your options before the Court decides whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement and after any objections and appeals are resolved, the Net Settlement Fund will be disbursed to Settlement Class Members who submit a valid Proof of Claim.  A class action is a type of lawsuit in which one or several individuals or entities prosecute claims on behalf of all members of a group of similarly situated persons and entities (i.e., a class) to obtain monetary or other relief for the entire group.

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 to consider the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of the Settlement.

The issuance of the Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court concerning the merits of any claim in the Action, and the Court still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, then payments to eligible 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.

The lawsuit claims that Atonomi’s 2018 sale of ATMI tokens failed to comply with the registration requirements of the Washington State Securities Act (“WSSA”). The Plaintiff claims this entitles persons who purchased ATMI tokens directly from Atonomi the right to get back the funds they invested, plus interest, or damages if they sold at a loss. The Plaintiff claims that under the WSSA, Atonomi and other entities and individuals involved in the token sale are liable to initial purchasers of ATMI. The Defendants deny any wrongdoing, and the Court has not found that any Defendant has committed wrongdoing, and the Court has not found that any Defendant has committed any wrongdoing. 

In this class action lawsuit, the “Class Representative” (in this case, Chris Hunichen) sued on behalf of himself and other people who have similar claims because they purchased ATMI tokens from Atonomi in 2018. Together they are called Class Members. One Court resolves the issues for all Class Members except those who exclude themselves from the class and the Settlement.  U.S. District Court Judge Richard A Jones presides over this class action.

The Court did not decide that the Plaintiff is entitled to any recovery from Defendants.  Instead, Plaintiff and some of the Defendants, LaunchCapital, LLC, Woody Benson, and David Fragale, have agreed to settle the Class Members’ lawsuit against these “Settling Defendants.” Plaintiff continues the lawsuit against the remaining Defendants who have elected not to settle.

By settling, these Settling Parties avoid the costs and delay of further legal proceedings and the people affected will get the benefits of this Settlement. The Class Representative and his attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Class Members.  

To see if your rights are affected by the Settlement, you must determine whether you are a Class Member.

You are a Class Member if you either: (i) purchased ATMI tokens via a Series 1 or Series 2 Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) with Atonomi in 2018; or (ii) purchased ATMI tokens through a “public sale” by Atonomi on or about June 6, 2018.

You are excluded from the Settlement if you are a Defendant in the lawsuit, or an affiliate of any Defendant, or if you are part of the judicial staff overseeing the lawsuit, or if you decide to exclude yourself from the Settlement.

If you are affected by the Settlement, you still need to submit a Proof of Claim form to get any money. The Proof of Claim is available on this website on the File a Claim tab.

If you are still not sure whether you are included, you can ask for free help. You can call 1 (833) 636-2117 or email info@AtonomiSecuritiesSettlement.com for more information, or review all the settlement documents on this website.

In exchange for a release of all claims against, and rights to sue the Settling Defendants and their related persons or entities (except of course those Defendants who chose not to settle), the Settling Defendants have agreed to create a Settlement Fund of $6,037,500. This Settlement Fund will be used to pay Claims, Settlement Administration Costs, taxes, attorneys fees and costs for Class Counsel, and a potential service award to the Plaintiff as approved by the Court.

The “Net Settlement Fund”, which is the amount left over after fees, expenses, taxes and a service award, will be divided pro-rata to all Class Members who timely file a valid Proof of Claim and do not exclude themselves from the Settlement. Your claim is calculated based on a simple formula provided for by the Washington State Securities Act. That Act provides that purchasers of unregistered securities are entitled to receive the value they paid for the unregistered securities, minus any value received from selling them.

For more information regarding the calculation of claims, please see page 3 of the Notice. 

To qualify for a payment from the Net Settlement Fund, you must submit a Proof of Claim, and supporting documentation, which can be submitted online on the File a Claim tab.  You can also print out a paper copy of the Proof of Claim, and mail it to the  Administrator at P.O. Box 91408, Seattle WA 98111. Your Proof of Claim must be submitted online or postmarked no later than February 20, 2023. Late or unsupported Claims may be rejected so follow the instructions carefully.

You will have to provide documentation demonstrating that you are indeed a Settlement Class Member, and supporting your losses. The Proof of Claim describes the documents and information you need, and how to submit a Claim. If you have any unanswered questions or require assistance in submitting a Proof of Claim, you can contact the Administrator at 1 (833) 636-2117 or info@AtonomiSecuritiesSettlement.com. 

YOUR PROOF OF CLAIM MUST BE SUBMITTED ON THIS WEBSITE NO LATER THAN February 20, 2023, OR IF BY MAIL, MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN February 20, 2023.

Judge Jones will hold a Final Approval Hearing on March 22, 2023 at 2:00pm, to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If Judge Jones approves the Settlement and there are no appeals, Claims will be paid shortly after the Judge’s approval of the Settlement. However, it is possible there may be appeals related to the final approval, any attorneys’ fees or costs awarded, or any incentive award to the Plaintiff.  It is always uncertain whether and how these appeals will be resolved and resolving them may take time, perhaps more than a year. This website will be updated with current settlement information including if final approval is entered and approximate dates that any Claims expect to be paid.  Please be patient.

Yes. Unless you exclude yourself, you will be bound to a “Release” of claims as described in the Settlement Agreement. You will not be able to sue the Settling Defendants or their Released Parties for anything related to your purchase of ATMI tokens from Atonomi as described in the lawsuit.

This means that you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Settling Defendants or their Released Parties about the legal issues in this case. It also means that the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you. You may view the Settlement Agreement for the full language of the legal claims you will give up if you remain in the Settlement HERE.

If you do nothing and the Court finally approves this Settlement, you will be included in the Settlement and be bound by the Release of claims as described above. However, if you do not timely submit Proof of Claim as explained above, you will not receive any portion of the Net Settlement Fund. To be paid your Claim, you must timely submit a Proof of Claim with sufficient supporting documents and information as explained in the Proof of Claim.

The Plaintiff and the Settlement Class Members are represented by Class Counsel who are Joel B. Ard, of Ard Law Group PLLC, Angus F. Ni of AFN Law PLLC, and William R. Restis of The Restis Law Firm, P.C. You will not be directly charged for their work on the case except as approved by the Court from the Settlement Fund.   If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve payment of a maximum of one third of the Settlement Fund ($1,992,375) for attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses to be paid from the Settlement Fund.

Class Counsel will also ask the Court to approve a payment of a maximum of $10,000 to the Plaintiff for his assistance in prosecuting the lawsuit on behalf of the Class. The Court may award less than these amounts.

Class Counsel have a deadline of December 13, 2022 to file these requests with the Court. Class Counsel will explain the basis for their requests, which will be available HERE no later than December 22, 2022.

If you do not want the Settlement Agreement to apply to you, and do not want a portion of the Net Settlement Fund, but want to keep the right to sue or continue to sue the Settling Defendants or their Released Parties on your own about the legal issues in this case, then you must take steps to get out. This is called excluding yourself from the Settlement (also referred to as “opting out”).

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must send a written statement, either by mail, or email, to the  Administrator saying that you want to be excluded from the Hunichen, v. Atonomi, LLC Settlement. You cannot exclude yourself by phone. 

This written request must include your name and address so the Court’s records will know who is not included. To be valid, your request for exclusion must be submitted or postmarked (if by mail) by February 20, 2023:

Atonomi Securities Settlement
Exclusions
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91408
Seattle, WA 98111

info@AtonomiSecuritiesSettlement.com

If you ask to be excluded, you will not receive any payments from the Net Settlement Fund and cannot object to the settlement.  If you ask to be excluded from the Settlement, you will not be legally bound by anything that happens in this lawsuit, even if the Court finally approves the Settlement. Group opt-outs, including “mass” or “class” opt-outs, are prohibited.

You can tell the Court that you do not agree with the Settlement or some part of it. You can also object to the Fee and Expense Award submitted by Class Counsel, or any Service Award requested by the Plaintiff. This is called objecting to the Settlement.

If you’re a Class Member and have not excluded yourself, you can object to the Settlement or the Settlement Agreement if you do not like any part of it. You can give reasons why you do not think the Court should approve it.  You can also object to any award of attorneys’ fees and costs requested by Class Counsel or any service award requested by the Plaintiff.  You can give reasons for the objection and why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement, or any request for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs, or any request for a service award. The Court will consider your views.

To object, you must state in writing that you object to the settlement of the lawsuit entitled Chris Hunichen, v. Atonomi, LLC, et al, Case No. 2:19-cv-00615-RAJ-SKV.  Please note that it is not sufficient to simply state that you object.  Rather, in your written objection, you must include your full name, and current address, and evidence demonstrating that you are a Class Member impacted by the Settlement.

To assist the Court in considering your objection, you should include the factual and legal grounds for your objections, and copies of any documents supporting your positions. See Notice. 

To be considered, any written statement of objection must be submitted or postmarked (if mailed) by February 20, 2023:

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement, any award of attorneys’ fees and costs requested by Class Counsel or any service award requested by the Plaintiff.

You can object only if you stay in as a Settlement Class Member. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the class and you will not receive any of the benefits under the Settlement Agreement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement, any award of attorneys’ fees and costs requested by Class Counsel, or any service award requested by any Class Representative because the case no longer affects you.

Judge Jones will hold a Final Approval Hearing on March 22, 2023 at 2:00pm to decide whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and whether the settlement and Settlement Agreement may be finally approved.  At the Final Approval Hearing, Judge Jones will also decide whether to award any attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel and whether to award a service payment to the Plaintiff.  If there are objections, the Court will consider them then.  Judge Jones will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing and will decide how much to pay Class Counsel.  You may attend and ask to speak at the Final Approval Hearing, but you do not have to.

At the Final Approval Hearing, Class Counsel will answer any questions that Judge Jones may have.  But you are welcome to come at your own expense.  If you send an objection, you do not have to come to the Court to talk about it.  As long as you submitted your written objection on time as explained above, the Court will consider it.  You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.

After the hearing, Judge Jones will decide whether to approve the Settlement, whether to award any attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and whether to award an incentive payment to any of the Class Representatives.  We do not know how long these decisions will take.

If you intend to speak at the Final Approval Hearing, you must file with the Court a Notice of Intention to Appear before March 22, 2023.  You must include copies of any papers, exhibits, or other evidence that you or your lawyer intend to present to the Court in connection with the Final Approval Hearing.  Your Notice of Intention to Appear must be served on all counsel.

If you fail to submit a proper Notice of Intention to Appear before March 22, 2023, along with copies of any papers, exhibits, or other evidence that you or your counsel intend to present to the Court in connection with the Final Approval Hearing, you may not be heard during the Final Approval Hearing, although any timely objection you submitted will be considered by Judge Jones.