DES MOINES, Iowa, June 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sanford Heisler Sharp today filed a motion for preliminary approval of a $5.4 million settlement in an ERISA class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. On behalf of a class of current and former Transamerica Corporation employees, the firm reached agreement with the Transamerica Corporation to resolve their ERISA breach of the fiduciary duty class claims. The clients, a group of current and former Transamerica Corporation employees invested in Transamerica’s 401k retirement plan, filed papers today asking an Iowa federal court to preliminarily approve the settlement agreement.
The parties executed the settlement agreement after they had conducted significant fact and expert discovery and participated in an all-day mediation session with an independent mediator. If approved, this class settlement would end the ERISA class action filed by six plaintiffs in December 2018, which had accused the Plan’s fiduciaries of retaining several poorly performing investment options for the Plan. The case was certified as a class action in March 2020.
Under the terms of the proposed Settlement, Transamerica will pay $5.4 million into a settlement fund which will be allocated pro rata among the class pursuant to a Plan of Allocation. In addition, Transamerica has agreed to continue to provide fiduciary training to Plan fiduciaries and to retain an unaffiliated investment consultant to provide independent consulting services to Plan fiduciaries.
Sanford Heisler Sharp Chairman David Sanford said he is “pleased that the firm and Transamerica could come to an agreement following extensive and productive negotiations. The resolution of the matter presents substantial benefits to the Class and promotes judicial economy.”
Charles Field, Chair of the firm’s Financial Services Litigation Practice, added “this settlement provides class members with an outstanding result of Transamerica adding money to their retirement savings in the Plan.”
The settlement covers about 17,000 investors who participated in Transamerica Corporation’s 401k Plan from December 28, 2012, through the date that the deal is preliminarily approved.
About Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP
Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP is a national public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Nashville, and Baltimore. Sanford Heisler Sharp focuses on employment discrimination, wage and hour, whistleblower, criminal/sexual violence, Asian-American litigation, and financial services matters. The firm has recovered over $1 billion for its clients through many verdicts and settlements.
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