FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/22/2018 09:43 PM
`NYSCEF DOC. NO. 31
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`INDEX NO. 654856/2018
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`RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/22/2018
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`SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
`COUNTY OF NEW YORK
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`SCHONFELD STRATEGIC ADVISORS LLC,
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`Plaintiff,
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`Index No. 654856/2018
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`-against-
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`ALESSANDRA SASSUN and EXODUSPOINT
`CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LP,
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`Defendants.
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`Hon. Andrea Masley
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`Motion Sequence 001
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`)s
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`)
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`s.:
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`STATE OF NEW YORK
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`COUNTY OF NEW YORK
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`THOMAS J. KAVALER, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
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`1.
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`I am a member of the Bar of the State of New York and Senior Counsel of the
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`firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, attorneys for the Defendants herein.
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`2.
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`I make this affidavit to set forth events that transpired during a certain telephone
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`conversation that Joel Kurtzberg of Cahill Gordon and I had with Wendy Klein, attorney for
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`Plaintiff, on September 4, 2018 and to place certain documents before the Court.
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`3.
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`After Mr. Kurtzberg and I introduced ourselves to Ms. Klein and asked her what
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`she wanted (on August 29, 2018, she had sent a letter, to Michael Neus, the General Counsel of
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`our client ExodusPoint Capital Management, LP, a true and correct copy of which is attached as
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`Exhibit 8 to the accompanying affidavit of Michael Neus), she told us that she was hoping to set
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`up a meeting between the principals of her client and the principals of our client, specifically Mi-
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`chael Gelband and perhaps Hyung Lee. I told her that Mr. Gelband and Mr. Lee are not in the
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`business of meeting with the principals of ExodusPoint’s competitors. I further told her that I
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`could see no possible bona fide reason for such a meeting given the circumstances. Finally, I
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`FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/22/2018 09:43 PM
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`told her that it seemed to me that the only reason that her client’s principals would want to sit
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`down with our client’s principals would be to discuss an agreement to divide the market for em-
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`ployment of securities industry professionals between them, whereby ExodusPoint would agree
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`not to hire some category of employees from Schonfeld. I made clear to her that I thought any
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`such agreement would seriously implicate the federal antitrust laws and ExodusPoint has no in-
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`terest whatsoever in facilitating or participating in any such conversation. She immediately pro-
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`tested that her client has no interest in violating the antitrust trust laws, and I told her that there-
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`fore we seem to be on the same page and thus there is no need for such a meeting.
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`4.
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`I asked Ms. Klein what facts she is aware of that cause her to believe Schonfeld
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`has a claim against ExodusPoint. She told me that the facts are set forth in her draft complaint
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`(attached to her letter to Mr. Neus which is Exhibit 8 of the accompanying affidavit of Michael
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`Neus). I told her that I had read her draft very carefully and I saw therein only neutral facts (e.g.,
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`the fact that Ms. Sassun used to work for Schonfeld and now works for ExodusPoint; the fact
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`that her job titles at the two companies are similar; the fact that she had an employment agree-
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`ment when she was employed by Schonfeld, and things of that nature). I told her that I saw no
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`actionable facts, that is, facts that might give rise to a claim. I said that all the language directed
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`to a possible claim is mere boilerplate and legal phraseology, which could generically be
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`dropped into any draft complaint in any similar circumstance.
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`5.
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`Ms. Klein repeatedly assured me that Schonfeld in fact has facts and in fact they
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`are very powerful. I again asked her what they are. Although she repeatedly assured me that
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`Schonfeld has some, she refused to say what they are. She only repeated her mantra that “they
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`are set forth in the draft complaint.” I eventually told her that we are not making any progress; I
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`said if Schonfeld has facts other than those set forth in the draft complaint, she should feel free to
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`FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/22/2018 09:43 PM
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`share them with us and I promised that we would review them with our client and revert to her
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`promptly. However, I made clear to her that in the absence of real facts, we see nothing in the
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`draft complaint that requires any kind of response whatsoever nor, for that matter, that states a
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`cause of action.
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`6.
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`We also asked Ms. Klein what Schonfeld wants on a higher plane. This was an-
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`other way of asking her what her purpose was in sending her letter to Mr. Neus. She said she
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`would confer with her client and get back to us. However, at no time thereafter did she ever get
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`back to us on this or any other subject prior to filing the Verified Complaint herein.
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`7.
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`I told Ms. Klein that she should be aware of certain facts of which I believe her
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`client is already aware because ExodusPoint’s General Counsel Mike Neus communicated them
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`to Schonfeld’s General Counsel Mark Peckman on or about April 20, 2018. I told Ms. Klein that
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`in considering her next move, she should bear in mind the following:
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`a) ExodusPoint routinely obtains a representation and warranty from each potential
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`new employee hired from Schonfeld that that candidate is not breaching any con-
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`tract with any prior employer by coming to work for ExodusPoint.
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`b) Wherever possible, ExodusPoint obtains a copy of the candidate’s employment
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`agreement with Schonfeld, and each of those agreements is carefully reviewed by
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`ExodusPoint’s General Counsel (Mr. Neus) for the specific purpose of satisfying
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`ExodusPoint that hiring the candidate will not present a situation where the candi-
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`date is in breach of any valid and subsisting term of his prior employment agree-
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`ment with Schonfeld.
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`c) ExodusPoint routinely tells new employees to come “clean” – that is, to bring
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`with them no confidential or other information from their prior employer; Exo-
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`FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/22/2018 09:43 PM
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`dusPoint always emphasizes to new employees that they are being hired for their
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`skills, not their files.
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`8.
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`After reciting these facts to Ms. Klein, I asked her if she is aware of any facts that
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`suggest to her that anything I had just told her might be untrue in this case. Her only response
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`was that she had put all the facts known to her and her client in the draft complaint. In other
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`words, she did not respond to my question whether she had any reason to believe that what I just
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`told her is not true in this case by offering any alternative facts whatsoever.
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`9.
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`The way we left it is that she would confer with her client to see if she could come
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`up with any actual facts. If she was able to do so, she would get back to me and Mr. Kurtzberg
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`and we would take those facts back to our client and then get back to her.
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`10.
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`The next time I heard from Ms. Klein was on Monday, October 1, 2018 at
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`6:29 p.m. when I received an email from her telling me that Schonfeld had filed a Verified Com-
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`plaint and an application for a TRO against both ExodusPoint Capital Management, LP, and
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`Alessandra Sassun in New York State Supreme Court that day (presumably earlier than
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`6:29 p.m.) and that Ms. Klein would be in the Commercial Division Support Office the next day
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`to submit the application. A copy of that email and the Verified Complaint is attached hereto as
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`Exhibit 1. The Verified Complaint actually filed is nearly identical to the draft complaint except
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`for the addition of paragraphs 34, 49, and 70-75 which appear in the Verified Complaint but do
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`not appear in the draft complaint. No new “facts” have been added. Attached hereto as Exhibit
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`2 is a redline comparison of the two documents; additions which appear in the Verified Com-
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`plaint but do not appear in the draft complaint appear as blue underlined text.
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`11.
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`Nothing in the way Schonfeld and its outside counsel have conducted themselves
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`has shown a need for expedited discovery. Despite Ms. Klein’s repeated demands for expedited
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`discovery on October 2, 2018, (see Oct. 2. Tr. at 16:14-15 (“we would like to get documents as
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`quickly as possible”)), supposedly justified by its admitted ignorance of the facts (id. at 16:21-23
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`(“it is really unknown if there are e-mails between Miss Sassun, and, whoever does the hiring at
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`Exodus[P]oint”)), Plaintiff waited a full week after the Court’s October 2, 2018 Order to serve its
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`document requests (they were received by us on October 9, 2018), and has not otherwise demon-
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`strated any immediate need for expedited discovery. Attached hereto as Exhibit 3 is a true and
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`correct copy of the October 9, 2018 email to me from Ms. Klein attaching Plaintiff’s document
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`requests.
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`12.
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`Attached hereto as Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of the Transcript of the Oc-
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`tober 2, 2018 Hearing.
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`13.
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`Attached hereto as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy, redacted for responsive-
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`ness, and of a document produced by the Defendants in this litigation bearing bearing Bates
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`numbers XP-Schonfeld-0000526 – XP-Schonfeld-0000528.
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`14.
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`Attached hereto as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of a January 26, 2018
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`email from Peter Hornick to Hyung Soon Lee, describing then-candidate Gregoire Vidal as
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`“highly thought of throughout [the] m[ar]k[e]t” bearing Bates number XP-Schonfeld-0000008.
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`15.
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`Attached hereto as Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of Gregoire Vidal’s
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`LinkedIn profile page.
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`16.
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`Attached hereto as Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of Valmiki Prasad’s
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`LinkedIn profile page.
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`17.
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`Attached hereto as Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of Cornell University’s bi-
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`ography page for Valmiki Prasad, dated June 13, 2018.
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`FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 10/22/2018 09:43 PM
`IFILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 1012212018 09:43 Phil]
`NYSC
`3F DOC. NO. 31
`NYSCEF DOC. NO. 31
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`IND
`EX NO .
`654856/2018
`INDEX NO. 654856/2018
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`4-D
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` 3F:
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`\IYSC:
`10/22/2018
`RECEIVED NYSCEF: 10/22/2018
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`(cid:15)(cid:24)(cid:9)(cid:59)
`18.
`
`(cid:11)(cid:54)(cid:54)(cid:24)(cid:26)(cid:33)(cid:29)(cid:28)(cid:61)(cid:33)(cid:29)(cid:48)(cid:29)(cid:53)(cid:46)(cid:61)(cid:24)(cid:52)(cid:61)(cid:14)(cid:58)(cid:33)(cid:39)(cid:25)(cid:34)(cid:53)(cid:61)(cid:15)(cid:14)(cid:59)(cid:35)(cid:52)(cid:61) (cid:24)(cid:61) (cid:53)(cid:48)(cid:55)(cid:29)(cid:61) (cid:24)(cid:44)(cid:28)(cid:61) (cid:27)(cid:46)(cid:50)(cid:50)(cid:29)(cid:26)(cid:53)(cid:61)(cid:26)(cid:46)(cid:47)(cid:59)(cid:61)(cid:46)(cid:30)(cid:61)(cid:53)(cid:33)(cid:29)(cid:61) (cid:56)(cid:29)(cid:49)(cid:36)(cid:31)(cid:29)(cid:28)(cid:61)(cid:26)(cid:46)(cid:42)(cid:47)(cid:40)(cid:24)(cid:37)(cid:44)(cid:53)(cid:61)
`Attached hereto as Exhibit 10 is a true and correct copy of the verified complaint
`
`(cid:35)(cid:45)(cid:61)(cid:32)(cid:37)(cid:45)(cid:51)(cid:56)(cid:56)(cid:39)(cid:50)(cid:42)(cid:40)(cid:47)(cid:38)(cid:59)(cid:27)(cid:53)(cid:51)(cid:58)(cid:52)(cid:59)(cid:29)(cid:29)(cid:25)(cid:3)(cid:59)(cid:39)(cid:56)(cid:59)(cid:34)(cid:47)(cid:11)(cid:59) (cid:56)(cid:3)(cid:61) (cid:30)(cid:52)(cid:58)(cid:55)(cid:59)(cid:33)(cid:54)(cid:34)(cid:38)(cid:46)(cid:48)(cid:43)(cid:59)(cid:26)(cid:58)(cid:48)(cid:38)(cid:5)(cid:59) (cid:29)(cid:29)(cid:25)(cid:59)(cid:34)(cid:48)(cid:38)(cid:59)(cid:32)(cid:36)(cid:45)(cid:51)(cid:49)(cid:41)(cid:39)(cid:47)(cid:38)(cid:59)(cid:32)(cid:39)(cid:36)(cid:58)(cid:54)(cid:46)(cid:56)(cid:46)(cid:39)(cid:55)(cid:6)(cid:59) (cid:29)(cid:29)(cid:25)(cid:3)(cid:59)
`in Schottenfizld Group LLC, et a]. v. Opus Trading Fund, LLC and Schonfeld Securities, LLC,
`
`(cid:22)(cid:21)(cid:15)(cid:20)(cid:14)(cid:23)(cid:13)(cid:18)(cid:14)(cid:15)(cid:15)(cid:4)(cid:59)(cid:18)(cid:22)(cid:12)(cid:14)(cid:15)(cid:61)(cid:13)(cid:46)(cid:26)(cid:4)(cid:61)(cid:18)(cid:46)(cid:5)(cid:41)(cid:61) (cid:1)(cid:21)(cid:55)(cid:47)(cid:6)(cid:61) (cid:12)(cid:53)(cid:9)(cid:61)(cid:18)(cid:7)(cid:22)(cid:8)(cid:61) (cid:12)(cid:44)(cid:54)(cid:60)(cid:8)(cid:61) (cid:17)(cid:24)(cid:59)(cid:61) (cid:16)(cid:20)(cid:3)(cid:59)(cid:18)(cid:14)(cid:15)(cid:17)(cid:2)(cid:10)(cid:59)
`651307/2011, NYCEF Doc. No.1 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. May 13, 2011).
`
`/
`
`THO
`
`S J. KAVALER
`
`Sworn to before me this
`(cid:21)(cid:57)(cid:46)(cid:51)(cid:61)(cid:53)(cid:46)(cid:61)(cid:25)(cid:29)(cid:32)(cid:50)(cid:29)(cid:61)(cid:43)(cid:29)(cid:61) (cid:54)(cid:33)(cid:38)(cid:52)(cid:61)
`(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:24)(cid:59)(cid:61)(cid:46)(cid:30)(cid:61)(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:53)(cid:46)(cid:25)(cid:29)(cid:50)(cid:61)(cid:18)(cid:14)(cid:15)(cid:24)(cid:59)
`age
`ay of October 2018
`
`7%; /7//’
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`(cid:28)(cid:59)(cid:23)(cid:49)(cid:31)(cid:38)(cid:36)(cid:32)(cid:5)(cid:50)(cid:24)(cid:47)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:3)(cid:19)(cid:50)(cid:33)(cid:44)(cid:50)(cid:22)(cid:28)(cid:50)(cid:29)(cid:42)(cid:45)(cid:37)(cid:50)
`Notary Pubiic 8:5"!’3 of NW York
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`No 02?QCGO58965
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`(cid:7)(cid:22)(cid:8)
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