The Settlement The Settlement was reached on May 11, 2018. Class Counsel filed this action on May 10, 2018. Over two years prior to the filing of this action, Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel conducted an adversarial informal discovery process. Class Counsel reviewed and analyzed thousands of pages of documents provided by Defendant and also reviewed many other documents, including U.S. Department of Labor Forms 5500 and other publicly available documents. The Parties participated in mediation before a nationally recognized mediator who has extensive experience in resolving similar claims involving other 401(k) plans. Only after six months of extensive arm’s length negotiation following the mediation were the parties able to agree to the terms of the Settlement. As part of the Settlement, a Qualified Settlement Fund of $17,000,000 will be established to resolve the Class Action. The Net Settlement Amount is $17,000,000 minus any Administrative Expenses, taxes, tax expenses, Court-approved Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, Class Representatives’ Compensation, and other approved expenses of the litigation. The Net Settlement Amount will be allocated to Class Members according to a Plan of Allocation to be approved by the Court. In addition to the monetary component of the Settlement, the Parties to the Settlement have agreed to certain additional terms: (1) During the first eighteen months (18) following the final approval of the Settlement, Defendant has agreed that the Plan’s fiduciaries will conduct a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) process for recordkeeping services to the Plan; (2) Within the first year following final approval of the Settlement, Defendant has agreed to publish a communication to then current Plan participants explaining the risks and benefits of the Plan’s money market fund investment option; (3) Defendant also will use an independent consultant familiar with fixed income investment options in defined contribution plans who will review the investment lineup and make recommendations to the Plan’s fiduciaries regarding whether to retain the money market fund and whether to add a stable value or comparable fund; (4) In addition, during the three- year Settlement period, Defendant has agreed to provide Class Counsel a list of the Plan’s investment options and fees; and (5) In considering investment options for the Plan, Defendant has agreed that the Plan’s fiduciaries will consider: (a) the lowest-cost share class available for any particular mutual fund considered for inclusion in the Plan as well as other criteria applicable to different share classes; (b) the availability of revenue sharing rebates on any share class available for any particular mutual fund considered for inclusion in the Plan; and (c) the availability of collective trusts, to the extent such investments are permissible and are otherwise identical to a particular mutual fund considered for inclusion in the Plan.
