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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.
More information and case documents
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.
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.
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.
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.