Ann: The a2 Milk Company to Defend Second Class Action, page-31

The only requirement for eligibility is that you bought shares in the relevant period. Whether you disposed of them or still hold them has no bearing (from memory). So I imagine a lot of participants would be former shareholders who bought high and sold low.

Awhile back I looked at some precedents for similar cases that have gone to a decision, and drew the conclusion that it would be a very difficult case to actually win. However, these are opportunistic firms whose endgame is a settlement in which they will net the lion's share of funds. I actually don't agree that any settlement would be damaging to the company, other than reputationally, because it would most likely be insured against. I do agree that the case itself is very weak, but also the risk threshold for settling vs. going to a judgement would also be very low. The weakness of the case is probably an advantage to A2M even in the event of a settlement as it might provide some leverage in negotiating the settlement terms.