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Preliminary Approval in Trust Company Settlement of California Class Action

On January 22, 2010, The United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted preliminary approval for a partial settlement of $15 million in a class action on behalf of participants in and beneficiaries of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) of K-M Industries Holding Co., Inc. (“K-M Industries”), the parent company of Kelly-Moore Paint Co., Inc. and Capital Insurance Group. The case, Fernandez et al. v. K-M Industries Holding Co., Inc. et al., Case No. C 06-07339 (CW), is pending in U.S. district court in Oakland, CA.

Plaintiffs alleged in the lawsuit that the ESOP overpaid for company stock when it initially purchased that stock in 1998 and 1999. The Defendant denies that the ESOP overpaid for the stock and allege that the stock value was professionally and fairly stated at the time of the initial transactions.

The settlement was reached with North Star Trust Co., trustee for the ESOP since 2003. A previous settlement of $40 million was reached with the family trusts of the Moore family, from which the ESOP purchased the stock in 1998 and 1999, K-M Industries and the committee that oversees the ESOP in May, 2009.

Upon final approval, the $15,000,000 settlement amount, less court costs and any fees awarded to the Plaintiffs’ attorneys, will go to the ESOP for the benefit of participants and beneficiaries, who are current and former employees of Kelly-Moore Paint Co., Inc. and Capital Insurance Group.

Plaintiffs and the Class are represented by Todd Jackson, Daniel Feinberg, Margo Hassleman, Nina Wasow and Kirsten Scott of Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C. and Peter Rukin of Rukin Hyland Doria & Tindall, LLP.

See Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Settlement with North Star Trust Co.

See Order Granting Final Approval of Settlement with Moore family trust, K-M Industries and ESOP committee.

Daniel Feinberg Appointed to Bar Association of San Francisco Foundation Board of Directors

The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) Foundation raises funds in support of free legal services to those in need, efforts to promote diversity within the legal profession, and public outreach projects for underserved individuals, communities and schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mr. Feinberg was appointed to the BASF Foundation Board of Directors in January 2010.

See BASF Foundation

Bizjournals.com coverage on MSN Money

Partial Denial of Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Tribune Company Pension Lawsuit

On December 17, 2009, U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer ruled that GreatBanc, Trustee of the Tribune Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Samuel Zell and his takeover entity, EGI-TRB, may be liable for fiduciary breaches arising from the 2007 Leveraged ESOP buyout of Tribune Company. The ruling also held that various transactions related to the ESOP transaction may have been prohibited under ERISA. Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C. will seek discovery and class-certification to bring claims against GreatBanc and Zell on behalf of all Tribune Co. ESOP participants.

For more information contact Daniel Feinberg, Angelica Jongco, Todd Jackson or Nina Wasow.

View Judge Pallmeyer’s opinion and coverage of the ruling on Bloomberg.com.

Final Approval of KSI Settlement

On October 8, 2009, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted final approval of the class action settlement in Arrez v. Kelly Services, Inc., making the $11 million settlement one of the largest wage-and-hour class action settlements ever achieved for an Illinois-only class. The named plaintiffs alleged that Kelly Services, Inc., violated the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act by failing to pay class members for all of the unused vacation time that they had earned in their final paychecks. In addition, the Complaint alleged that Kelly Services, Inc. had failed to provide proper Wage Payment and Notice, as required by the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act. Class members filed 27,316 timely Claim Forms to participate in the settlement.

For more information, contact Daniel Feinberg.

Lawsuit Filed to Recover Pension Plan Funds Lost Due to Madoff Fraud

On September 29, 2009, Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker and Jackson PC, along with co-counsel Keller Rohrback LLP, filed suit on behalf of trustees of thirteen union-affiliated employee benefit plans seeking to recover losses incurred by the funds from investments in entities associated with Bernard Madoff. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against various individuals and entities that managed assets for and/or gave investment advice to the plans. The defendants included Ivy Asset Management LLC, J.P. Jeanneret & Associates, Inc., and Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, as well as individuals associated with those entities. Plaintiffs allege that defendants breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty, care, skill, prudence, and diligence under ERISA, by directing plan assets into Madoff-related investments, despite numerous red flags that indicated such investments were risky and imprudent. Plaintiffs seek to recover funds for their plans, which provide retirement and other benefits to plan participants.

For further information, please contact Jeffrey Lewis, Andrew Lah, or Catha Worthman.

See complaint

Lawsuit Filed on behalf of Sonoma County Retirees

A lawsuit filed on behalf of The Sonoma County Association of Retired Employees (“SCARE”) charges Sonoma County with violating state and federal law by implementing drastic cuts to its retiree health care benefit system. For decades, Sonoma County induced employees to work and continue to work for the County by promising them that it would pay all or substantially all of the cost of the employees’ health care benefits after they retired. Despite these promises, the County implemented drastic cuts to this system in June 2009, which will require SCARE’s members, most of whom are elderly individuals who live on fixed incomes, to pay hundreds of additional dollars a month toward their medical premiums. The lawsuit seeks to compel the County to honor the promises that the County made to its employees regarding retiree benefits.

For more information, contact Jeffrey Lewis, Bill Lann Lee, Sacha Steinberger, or Andrew Lah.

See press release and complaint

Firm attorneys named 2009 Super Lawyers

Five of the Firm’s shareholders were recently selected as Northern California Super Lawyers for 2009 by Law & Politics. Jeffrey Lewis, Daniel Feinberg and Teresa Renaker were named for their practice of Employee Benefits/ERISA law. Bill Lann Lee was named in the Employment and Labor law area. All have been named Super Lawyers in previous years. Todd Jackson was named in Employment Litigation: Plaintiff law area. Margo Hasselman and Lindsey Nako were selected as Northern California Rising Stars for 2009. Ms. Hasselman for her practice in Employee Benefits/ERISA and Ms. Nako in Employment Litigation: Plaintiff law. In addition, Teresa Renaker was, once again, named as one of The Top 50 Women lawyers in Northern California.

For more information about the selection process visit www.superlawyers.com.

Margo Hasselman becomes co-editor of the ABA Labor and Employment Law Section, Employee Benefits Committee Newsletter

The Summer 2009 issue includes articles by several LFLRJ attorneys, including an article by Nina Wasow titled “Appeals Court Considers the Boundaries of Indemnification for ESOP Fiduciaries,” and an article by Julia Campins and Catha Worthman titled “Class Certification in 401(k) Cases After LaRue.”

Final Approval in Construction Companies Settlement of California Class Action

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted preliminary approval for a partial settlement of $40 million in a class action on behalf of participants in and beneficiaries of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) of K-M Industries Holding Co., Inc. (“K-M Industries”), the parent company of Kelly-Moore Paint Co., Inc. and Capital Insurance Group. The case, Fernandez et al. v. K-M Industries Holding Co., Inc. et al., Case No. C 06-07339 (CW), is pending in U.S. district court in Oakland, CA.

Plaintiffs alleged in the lawsuit that the ESOP overpaid for company stock when it initially purchased that stock in 1998 and 1999. Defendants deny that the ESOP overpaid for the stock and allege that the stock value was professionally and fairly stated at the time of the initial transactions.

The settlement was reached with the family trusts of the Moore family, from which the ESOP purchased the stock in 1998 and 1999, K-M Industries and the committee that oversees the ESOP.

Claims will proceed against North Star Trust Co., trustee for the ESOP since 2003. Plaintiffs allege that North Star failed to act prudently upon becoming successor trustee for the ESOP.

Upon final approval, the $40,000,000 settlement amount, less court costs and any fees awarded to the Plaintiffs’ attorneys, will go to the ESOP for the benefit of participants and beneficiaries, who are current and former employees of Kelly-Moore Paint Co., Inc. and Capital Insurance Group.

Plaintiffs and the Class are represented by the law firms of Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C. and Rukin Hyland Doria & Tindall, LLP.

For more information contact Todd Jackson.

See press release and case documents

Partial Settlement of Employee Stock Ownership Plan Class Action Preliminarily Approved

A settlement in an employment-related class action for construction workers was granted final approval by U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer of the Central District of California, in Gutierrez et al. v. Schmid et al. on March 10, 2009. Workers will begin receiving settlement checks by mail in mid-April.

The suit was filed on behalf of certain current and former California employees. The settlement resolves all of the named plaintiffs’ and affected employees’ wage claims against defendants in exchange for an $8.5 million payment.

While the companies deny any liability, the suit alleged violations of California’s wage and hour laws. The lawsuit did not involve any claims or allegations of unlawful discrimination.

The class, as finally approved by the Court, includes current and former California installers who worked for Western Insulation, L.P., at any time from October 13, 2002, to September 30, 2008; for Schmid Insulation Contractors, Inc., from October 13, 2002, to December 31, 2007; and for Masco Contractor Services of California, Inc., at any time from January 1, 2008, until September 30, 2008.

Margo Hasselman Becomes Shareholder with the Firm

Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson is pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2009, Margo Hasselman has become a Shareholder with the firm. Ms. Hasselman joined the firm as an associate attorney in 2003. Since that time, she has been instrumental in helping the firm’s clients receive pension, medical, and disability benefits, as well as overtime pay, in both individual and class action cases.

Court Certifies Class in ERISA Breach of Fiduciary Duty 401(k) Case against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

Plaintiffs allege that defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the plan by forcing the liquidation of two investment funds consisting of stock of formerly affiliated companies without adequate investigation or analysis. At the time, the stock was trading at historic lows, but was widely expected to rise and investment analysts were increasingly recommending that it be held or purchased. The court certified the class in its entirety. The court declined to exclude either participants who signed severance agreements purportedly releasing claims or participants who directed the sale of the stock at issue before the final liquidation date (but after being informed that the stock would be sold).

For more information, contact Jeff Lewis, Bill Lann Lee, Julia Campins, or Catha Worthman.

See case documents

Final Approval of Dynegy Settlement Granted

On September 30, 2008, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois granted final approval of the class action settlement in Lively v. Dynegy, Inc.. The class plaintiffs alleged that the fiduciaries of the Illinois Power Company Incentive Savings Plan for Employees Covered Under a Collective Bargaining Agreement breached their duties to the Plan’s participants by investing and permitting the investment of Plan assets in stock of the sponsoring employer, Dynegy, Inc. The Court had previously certified a class of all Plan participants whose accounts held Dynegy stock beginning February 1, 2000, and had appointed the law firms of Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson and Schuchat, Cook & Werner as class counsel. The Defendants’ appeal from the class certification order was pending at the time of the settlement.

For more information, contact Teresa Renaker, Jeff Lewis, or Margo Hasselman.

See case documents

Class Action filed on behalf of Burger King customers who use wheelchairs or scooters.

Forty years after California adopted accessibility standards, 18 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and ten years after Burger King promised—in settling an earlier lawsuit—to bring its stores into compliance, customers from across the state report that Burger King restaurants remain in violation of wheelchair access laws. This disability class action against Burger King challenges accessibility barriers at California Burger King restaurants for people who use wheelchairs or scooters. The barriers include, for example, excessively heavy doors; queue lines that are too narrow for wheelchairs; inaccessible restrooms, service counters and dining areas; and insufficient accessible parking. The case was filed September 10, 2008 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The firm is part of a legal team including Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and Fox & Robertson, P.C.

For more information about this class action, contact Bill Lann Lee.

View our press release.

Firm attorneys named 2008 Super Lawyers.

Four of the Firm’s shareholders were recently selected as Northern California Super Lawyers for 2008 by Law & Politics. Jeffrey Lewis, Daniel Feinberg and Teresa Renaker were named for their practice of Employee Benefits/ERISA law. Bill Lann Lee was named in the Employment and Labor law area. All have been named Super Lawyers in previous years. In addition, Teresa Renaker was named as one of The Top 50 Women lawyers in Northern California for 2008. For more information about the selection process visit www.superlawyers.com.

Class Action Seeking Recovery of Lost Retirement Benefits Filed on Behalf of Former Employees of ANB Financial, N.A.

A class action filed on behalf of over 250 former employees of ANB Financial, N.A., charges that the bank holding company, individual trustees, and other fiduciaries of the ANB Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) breached their duties to plan participants by continuing to invest participants’ retirement savings in company stock even after the fiduciaries knew that the bank was engaged in unsafe and unsound banking practices. The action further charges that the fiduciaries actively misrepresented the condition of company stock to the employees and failed to disclose to the employees the information they needed to protect their retirement savings. The case, entitled Taylor, Crosswhite, and Godsey v. ANB Bancshares, Inc., et. al., was filed in federal court in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

For more information about this class action, contact Teresa Renaker or Jeff Lewis.

View our press release and press coverage of the case.

Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C. , and the ACLU urge Konica Minolta Not to Terminate Domestic Partner Health Insurance of 9/11 Survivor

Seeking to maintain health insurance for a 9/11 survivor, the Firm and the American Civil Liberties Union today sent a demand letter to the New Jersey offices of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (KMBS) urging the company to interpret its policy on domestic partner health insurance so that more employees will have access to the insurance. KMBS currently interprets its policy as requiring employees to re-register as domestic partners with the state every time that they move, even though many states have no way for same-sex partners to do so.

For more information about this case, view our press release and coverage of the case on ABC News or CNN.

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