Merrill LynchMerrill Lynch ERISA Violations LawsuitsSummary of Lawsuits These lawsuits allege that the Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (“Merrill Lynch” or the “Company”) fiduciaries of the Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan (the “Savings Plan”), the Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc., Retirement Accumulation Plan (the “RAP Plan”), and the Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the “ESOP”) (collectively the “Plans”) engaged in violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York appointed Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll interim co-lead class counsel with Keller Rohrback L.L.P. and consolidated eleven other similar cases alleging ERISA violations with to the acquisition and holding of Merrill Lynch stock in the Plans. See In re Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., et al., ERISA Litig., 07-cv-10268. The Complaint alleges that the fiduciaries of the Merrill Lynch Plans breached their duties of loyalty and prudence to Plan participants by authorizing the investment of Plan assets in Merrill Lynch stock when it was no longer a prudent investment due to massive losses the Company has suffered from subprime related securities. On Oct 5, 2007 Merrill stated that its subprime related write-downs would be approximately $4.5 billion. However, the company has now disclosed write-downs totaling $23.2 billion as of December 28, 2007. Merrill Lynch's stock price dropped from $97.5 on January 24, 2007 to $48.17 on Jan 8, 2008, losing 50% of its value in less than one year. Class Action Allegations Both lawsuits are brought on behalf of the following class: All persons, other than Defendants, who were participants in or beneficiaries of the Plans at any time between January 18, 2007 and the present and whose accounts included investments in Merrill Lynch stock.
During the following Class Period: The fiduciaries of the Plans knew or should have known at least by January 18, 2007 that the Company’s material weaknesses were so pervasive that Merrill Lynch stock could no longer be offered as a prudent investment for retirement Plans.
Contact Us If you are currently a participant or beneficiary of the ESOP, the Savings Plan or the RAP Plan, who is invested in Merrill Lynch stock, and would like to talk to us about our investigation, please contact us by phone or email below. Bruce Rinaldi, Esq. brinaldi@cmht.com
Michelle C. Yau, Esq. myau@cmht.com Toll free 1-888-240-0775 Cohen Milstein is a leading law firm in the Employee Benefits field and is lead counsel or co-lead counsel in a wide-variety of class action cases alleging pension and welfare plan abuses by employers and fiduciaries under ERISA. |
