SEATTLE, April 22, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Keller Rohrback L.L.P. (www.erisafraud.com) and Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. (www.locklaw.com) announce that the firms have filed an ERISA class action complaint on behalf of a class of all persons who were participants in or beneficiaries of the Retirement Plan for Employees of Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Publishing House of the ELCA ("Plan"), from January 1, 2000 to the present ("Class Period").
Recently, Publishing House of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which does business as Augsburg Fortress Publisher, announced that it was terminating the Plan and that the Plan had been underfunded for nine years. Plaintiffs allege that the Plan is not a "church plan" exempted from ERISA and therefore the participants in the Plan should have the same protections ERISA extends to plan participants generally.
The complaint, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants breached their duties under ERISA, or alternatively under state law, by among other things: (1) failing to adequately fund the Plan; (2) failing to prudently and loyally manage the Plan's assets; (3) failing to disclose necessary information to co-fiduciaries and participants; and (4) breaching their contractual and trust-law duties to the participants.
If you are a participant in or a beneficiary of the Retirement Plan for Employees of Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Publishing House of the ELCA, and you would like information regarding this matter, you may contact Keller Rohrback attorneys Ron Kilgard or Lynn Sarko toll free at (800) 776-6044, or via email at investor@kellerrohrback.com or Lockridge Grindal Nauen attorney Craig S. Davis at (612) 339-6900, or via email at csdavis@locklaw.com.
Keller Rohrback, with offices in Seattle, WA, Phoenix, AZ and New York, NY, is one of America's leading law firms handling ERISA retirement plan litigation. We are committed to helping employees and retirees protect their retirement savings. Keller Rohrback serves or has served as lead and co-lead counsel in numerous ERISA class action cases, including cases against Enron, WorldCom, and HealthSouth. Keller Rohrback has successfully provided class action representation for over a decade. Its trial lawyers have obtained judgments and settlements on behalf of clients in excess of seven billion dollars.
Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P., with offices in Minneapolis, MN and Washington, D.C., has 30 years of class action litigation experience in both state and federal courts across the country and has earned a reputation for aggressive, cost-effective representation. The firm's expertise in securities and antitrust class actions, as well as other complex civil litigation is widely recognized. Lockridge Grindal Nauen has recovered millions of dollars for Institutional Investors and other shareholders in the wake of corporate misrepresentations. Since 1978, the firm has led or been actively involved in many of the largest, most successful cases in the country, including cases against AOL, WorldCom and Boston Scientific.