>Washington Mutual ERISA
Date Filed: November 29, 2007
Court: U.S. District Court
Location: Washington

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro filed a class-action lawsuit against Washington Mutual on behalf of all employees participating in the company's 401(k) plan. The suit claimed the company's CEO, board members and all other fiduciaries failed to adequately monitor the plan and advise participants when the company stock investment was no longer prudent. As a result, employee participants suffered total financial losses in excess of $150 million.

The suit sought to represent all WaMu employees whose 401(k) plan accounts include investments in company stock from April 18, 2006, until present.

The suit claimed that under ERISA, fiduciaries were obligated to eliminate imprudent investment vehicles from 401(k) plans and to warn plan participants of risky investments. Fiduciaries were also responsible to restore any losses to the plan resulting from proven mismanagement.

If you have WaMu stock through the company 401(k) plan and would like to find out more about this settlement, you can contact HBSS by sending an e-mail to info@hbsslaw.com.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:

January 7, 2011 – The Honorable Marsha J. Pechman granted final approval of the class-action settlement agreement on behalf of eligible beneficiaries of the Washington Mutual Savings Plan (“WaMu Plan”).

We do not know how long it will take for the settlement proceeds to be distributed to class members – it could take as long as several months or more. This process is managed by an outside organization, beyond our control. If we learn more about timing, we will post that information on this site.

If you were a participant in the WaMu Plan and enrolled in the Chase 401(k) Plan, you will automatically receive your share of the settlement proceeds in your Chase Plan account.

Eligible WaMu Plan participants who did not enroll in the Chase Plan will receive an election form in the mail, giving you the choice of rolling over your settlement distribution into an eligible retirement account, or receiving a check. If you believe you are a class member, please contact us with your updated address.

If you did not receive a mailed “Notice of the Settlement” but were a WaMu Plan participant between October 19, 2005, and September 26, 2008, and invested in WaMu common stock, you should contact class counsel at info@WaMu401kSettlement.com or 1-(800) 269-0794.

Distribution of the settlement proceeds is pending, and could take several months or more. We will provide further information on this site as it becomes available.

November 9, 2010 - The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington has preliminarily approved the settlement and has scheduled a hearing to evaluate the fairness and adequacy of the settlement. At the hearing scheduled for January 7, 2011, the Court will consider the plaintiff's requests for final approval of the settlement. More information about the settlement is available here.

August 6, 2010 - The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington preliminarily approved a proposed settlement of all claims in In Re Washington Mutual, Inc. ERISA Litigation. If finally approved, the settlement will provide a cash fund of $49 million. After an award of attorneys’ fees, costs and incentive awards for the named plaintiffs as approved by the Court, the remainder of the fund will be distributed to participants and beneficiaries of the Washington Mutual Savings Plan whose individual Plan accounts included investment in WaMu stock between October 19, 2005, and September 26, 2008. You are a Class member if you held Wamu stock in your Plan account during that time. In general terms, the settlement fund will be distributed among Class members in proportion to their losses. Please see the Plan of Allocation for a more complete explanation of the distribution of the fund.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing to decide whether or not to finally approve the Settlement on November 5, 2010 at 3:30. The hearing will occur before Judge Marsha J. Pechman at 700 Stewart Street, Seattle, Washington 98101. You are not required to attend the hearing to participate in the Settlement.

 

If you are a Class member you are entitled to object to the settlement, the request for attorneys’ fees and expenses, the Plan of Allocation, and/or the request for incentive awards for the named plaintiffs. In order for your objection to be considered by the Court, you must provide a written objection to the Court and the attorneys for the parties to the Settlement by October 22, 2010. Full instructions for objecting can be found in the Notice of Proposed Settlement of ERISA Class Action Litigation. If you file a written objection, you may (but are not required to) voice your objection in person at the Fairness Hearing.

Payment is conditioned on the District Court and Bankruptcy Court's approval of the Settlement. The approval of those Courts must become Final Orders and no longer be subject to any appeals. Depending on these processes distribution could take several months or more than a year; please be patient.

Additional information regarding the settlement and your rights under the settlement may be obtained by reviewing the Settlement Agreement, the Court's Findings and Order Preliminarily Approving the Proposed Settlement, the Notice of Proposed Settlement of ERISA Class Action Litigation, and the Plan of Allocation. You may contact Plaintiffs' Counsel with additional questions at at 1-800-269-0794 or email at info@wamu401ksettlement.com.

Future updates are expected. The latest information about the case and the settlement will be provided at www.hbsslaw.com/WaMu.

October 5, 2009 - Today the court ruled on defendants' motions to dismiss, partially granting and denying defendants' requests. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman denied the motions of the Plan Investment Committee and the Plan Administrative Committee - these two groups make up the core fiduciaries who oversaw the company's retirement-savings plan.

The judge granted former CEO Kerry Killinger's motion to dismiss along with JP Morgan Chase, which acquired Washington Mutual after its collapse.

The judge announced that she expects to rule on a separate and similar securities case in three weeks, and two weeks after that would like the parties involved in the ERISA case to present a schedule for class certification, discovery and trial.

As the cases progress, we'll continue to update this case page with details.

August 6, 2009 -- The Honorable Judge Marsha J. Pechman held a hearing to consider whether to dismiss WaMu employees' claims for the massive losses they suffered to their retirement savings when the WaMu stock they held in their 401(k) Plans became nearly worthless.

The defendants include the members of the WaMu Savings Plan Investment and Administration Committees, the HR Committee of the WaMu Board of Directors, former CEO Kerry Killinger, and JPMorgan Chase.

Steve Berman argued on behalf of the WaMu employees that the claims should not be dismissed, that Committee members had the legal obligation to eliminate WaMu stock as a Savings Plan holding when it became an imprudent investment, and they also had the duty to provide employees with accurate information about the precarious position of the company.

Mr. Berman also argued that JPMorgan Chase assumed the liability for the losses in the retirement plan when it purchased Washington Mutual's assets. He argued that it is only fair to require JPMorgan Chase to make good on the losses suffered by former WaMu employees given the massive profits that JPMorgan Chase will make by continuing to run WaMu's business with these same employees. In fact, JPMorgan Chase has stated in SEC filings that, while it purchased WaMu at the fire sale price of $1.9 billion, it expects to make $2 billion in profit each year as a result of the WaMu acquisition. Judge Pechman indicated she would issue a decision on the motions to dismiss at the end of September.

August 5, 2008 - Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro has filed an amended consolidated complaint in its case against Washington Mutual and individuals within the organization. Washington Mutual will likely file a motion to dismiss in the coming weeks, which is an expected procedural step. Check this site for further updates.

October 1, 2008 - This is an update on the proposed class action against Washington Mutual on behalf of employees that held WaMu stock in their WaMu Savings Plan 401(k) accounts.

Recent Developments Will Not End this Litigation
Washington Mutual's collapse and seizure by the FDIC, J.P. Morgan's purchase of some WaMu assets and the bankruptcy of WaMu will certainly affect the progression of this proposed class action, but these changes do not end or cancel the claims of employees for losses in their 401(k).

Any claim directly against WaMu will have to be made through the bankruptcy proceedings--and because JP Morgan purchased WaMu's most valuable assets, there is uncertainty to what value such a bankruptcy claim would have. However, claims against the remaining defendants can proceed in the federal district court in Seattle where the case is pending. We will continue to investigate and prosecute all possible claims on behalf of 401(k) Plan participants against all proper defendants, and will seek all available insurance monies.

WaMu's Collapse and Bankruptcy Will Slow Down the Progress of this Litigation
Once bankruptcy is sought, an automatic stay (or pausing) of all litigation takes effect -- but only against the defendant who declares bankruptcy (in this case, WaMu is the only defendant to declare bankruptcy). We will continue to do all that we can to move this litigation forward despite the bankruptcy . But we do anticipate that the recent developments will delay the process of this litigation to some degree . For one thing, the bankruptcy will slow our ability to obtain documents from WaMu in discovery -- and we will need WaMu's documents to prove our claims.


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