Clean Code - Functions snippet one

CleanCodeFunctionsOne.java

public int compareTo(final Object _other) throws ClassCastException, NullPointerException {
  final ExampleClass otherExampleClass = (ExampleClass) _other;
  if(equals(otherExampleClass)) {
    return 0;
  }
  if(getCreatedDate() == null) {
    if(otherExampleClass.getCreatedDate() == null) {
      return 0;
    }
    return -1;
  }
  if(otherExampleClass.getCreatedDate() == null) {
    return 1;
  }
  return otherExampleClass.getCreatedDate().compareTo(getCreatedDate());
}