Plaintiffs v STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST CO. ERISA LITIGATION
Notice of Proposed Settlement of ERISA Class Action, Settlement Fairness Hearing, and Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Expenses
The following statement is being issued by Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, New York, NY; Keller Rohrback LLP, Seattle, WA; Berman DeValerio, Boston, MA; regarding the case of STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST CO. ERISA LITIGATION.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
IN RE STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST MDL DOCKET No. 1945
CO. ERISA LITIGATION
Master File No. 07-cv-8488 (RJH)
This Document Relates To:
No. 07 Civ. 9319 ECF Case
No. 07 Civ. 9687
No. 08 Civ. 0265
TO: THE NAMED FIDUCIARIES, PARTICIPANTS AND BENEFICIARIES OF ERISA PLANS THAT HELD OR OWNED SHARES OF COMMINGLED FUNDS MANAGED BY STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY ("STATE STREET") AT ANY TIME FROM JANUARY 1, 2007 TO DECEMBER 31, 2007.
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS AND THE RIGHTS OF YOUR ERISA PLAN MAY BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, that a proposed settlement in the amount of $89,750,000.00 has been reached in the consolidated ERISA Class Actions (collectively, the "Action") originally filed under docket nos. 07-Civ-9319, 07-Civ-9687 and 08-Civ-0265 and subsequently consolidated by the Court under docket no. 07-Civ-8488. The terms and conditions of the proposed settlement are set forth in a Settlement Agreement dated August 18, 2009 (the "Settlement Agreement"). The Action has been brought as a class action on behalf of a class of ERISA Plans that invested in unregistered commingled funds (listed at Schedule A of the Settlement Agreement) (the "Funds") that were managed by State Street. For the sake of clarity, the term "Funds" shall not include any investment portfolio of SSgA Funds, a series mutual fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Action alleges that State Street violated its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") by, inter alia, imprudently managing the Funds, causing the various ERISA Plans to suffer losses.
IF YOU ARE A FIDUCIARY OF AN ERISA PLAN THAT INVESTED IN OR OWNED SHARES IN ANY OF THE STATE STREET FUNDS AS DEFINED ABOVE DURING THE PERIOD JANUARY 1, 2007 TO DECEMBER 31, 2007 (THE "CLASS PERIOD"), YOU AND YOUR PLAN MAY BE MEMBERS OF THE PROPOSED CLASS.
Copies of the Settlement Agreement and the Notice of Proposed Settlement of ERISA Class Action Litigation, Final Settlement Fairness Hearing, and Application for Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Expenses (the "Notice") are available at www.statestreetERISAsettlement.com, or by contacting the Claims Administrator at:
State Street Bank and Trust Co. ERISA Litigation
c/o The Garden City Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 9526
Dublin, OH 43017-4826
You are further advised that a hearing will be held before the Honorable Richard J. Holwell, U.S. District Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, Courtroom 17B, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007, at 3:00 p.m. on February 17, 2010 to (i) determine whether the proposed Settlement should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (ii) consider the application of Co-Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses; and (iii) determine certain other matters described in the Notice.
IF YOUR ERISA PLAN IS A CLASS MEMBER AS SET FORTH IN THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND NOTICE, OR IF YOU ARE A NAMED FIDUCIARY, PARTICIPANT OR BENEFICIARY OF SUCH PLAN, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE PENDING ACTION AND THE SETTLEMENT, AND YOUR PLAN MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE SETTLEMENT FUND.
If you are a named fiduciary of an ERISA plan that is a member of the Class (or a participant or beneficiary thereof), and your ERISA Plan does not exclude itself from the Class, your ERISA plan and its named fiduciaries, participants and beneficiaries will be bound by any judgment entered in the Action. If you are a named fiduciary and wish to exclude your ERISA plan (if it is an Included Plan) from the Class, you must submit a request for exclusion postmarked no later than forty (40) days before the hearing described above, which means January 8, 2010, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice. Any objections to the proposed Settlement, Plan of Allocation and/or application for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses must be filed with the Court and delivered to Co-Lead Counsel for the Class listed below no later than February 10, 2010 in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice. If your ERISA Plan excludes itself from the Class, it will not share in the Settlement Fund.
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE. Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice, may be made to Lead Counsel:
William C. Fredericks, Esq. Derek W. Loeser, Esq.
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP Keller Rohrback LLP
1285 Avenue of the Americas 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200
New York, NY 10019 Seattle, WA 98101
Telephone: (212) 544-1400 Telephone: (206) 623-1900
Patrick T. Egan, Esq.
Berman DeValerio Dated: October 28, 2009
One Liberty Square
Boston, MA 02109
Telephone: (617) 542-8300 BY ORDER OF THE COURT
