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Hines REIT agrees to pay $3M to settle class-action suit

Hines Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. and other defendants agreed to pay roughly $3.3 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to the company's liquidation plan.

In a lawsuit filed with the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City in August 2016, the plaintiffs purportedly comprising a group of stockholders accused the office-focused REIT, its adviser and owners, and certain affiliates and board members of breaching their fiduciary and other duties. The suit also claimed that the defendants triggered the waste of corporate assets and misappropriated corporate assets related to certain liquidation payments that were made or that will be made to certain affiliates.

The complaint sought monetary damages from the Hines affiliates and individual defendants, attorneys fees and certain other remedies. The settlement fee, less any attorneys' fee awards and other expenses, will be distributed pro rata to the company's stockholders of record as of March 2.

The planned settlement received preliminary approval from the Baltimore court and is slated for a final court hearing June 6.

If the settlement obtains court approval at the hearing, Hines said it aims to make a final liquidating distribution shortly thereafter to its shareholders. The distribution amount is estimated to range from 5 cents per share to 7 cents per share, according to a March 9 filing.