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Hertz
Schram
obtains
$39 Mil
settlement
on
behalf
of
disabled
retirees
in class
action
lawsuit
Significant
victory
for the
protection
of
pension
plan
participants
BLOOMFIELD
HILLS,
MI -
Bradley
Schram,
shareholder
and
president
of Hertz
Schram
PC, a
Bloomfield
Hills-based
law
firm,
announced
the firm
obtained
a
landmark
settlement
of more
than $39
million
on
behalf
of
disabled
retirees
of the
Carpenters
Pension
Trust
Fund –
Detroit
and
Vicinity
Pension
Plan
(Plan).
The
settlement
recovers
more
than $15
million
in back
benefits
and more
than $24
million
(in
today’s
dollars)
in
future
benefits.
“We are
pleased
to have
represented
participants
of the
Plan who
suffered
financial
hardship
due to
the cut
in their
benefits,”
said
Schram.
“Our
pension
lawyers
are
vigilant
in their
efforts
to
secure
better
remedies
for
pension
plan
participants
who have
suffered
a
monetary
loss
because
of a
violation
of the
pension
laws.”
The
Plan, a
multiemployer
pension
plan
subject
to the
Employee
Retirement
Income
Security
Act of
1974 (ERISA),
dramatically
reduced
the
class
members’
Disability
Retirement
Benefits
(DRB) by
an
average
of more
than 61
percent
and
threatened
total
elimination
of their
DRB.
The 324
plaintiffs,
most of
whom
reside
in the
Detroit
area,
filed
suit in
the U.S.
District
Court
for the
Eastern
District
of
Michigan,
Southern
Division,
averring
that an
August
2013
plan
amendment
that
reduced
their
DRB was
unlawful
under
both the
Plan’s
terms
and the
Pension
Protection
Act of
2006.
“This
was an
egregious
breach
of
stewardship
by the
trustees
of the
Plan,”
said Eva
Cantarella,
the lead
plaintiffs’
attorney
from
Hertz
Schram.
“This
ruling
is
significant
not only
because
it
restores
benefits
to these
disabled
retirees,
but also
in its
potential
impact
to
protect
the
benefits
of
disabled
retirees
nationwide.”
After a
Fairness
Hearing
in which
Class
members
and
Hertz
Schram
attorneys
Cantarella
and
Robert
Geller
testified,
Honorable
Judge
Laurie
Michelson
granted
approval
of the
settlement.
Distributions
to Class
members
commenced
March
23.
Located
in
Bloomfield
Hills
and
Detroit,
Michigan,
Hertz
Schram
PC has
represented
pension
plan
participants
in 14
class
actions
nationwide,
establishing
itself
as one
of the
leading
pension
law
firms in
the
United
States.
In the
past 15
years,
Hertz
Schram’s
pension
lawyers
--
Cantarella,
Geller
and
Schram
-- have
recovered
more
than
$120
million
in
pension
benefits
for more
than
20,000
pension
plan
participants
and
their
beneficiaries.
Lead
pension
lawyer,
Cantarella,
has
testified
before
the
Internal
Revenue
Service
and the
United
States
Department
of
Treasury
on
proposed
regulations
governing
tax-qualified
pension
plans
with the
goal of
ensuring
that,
once
finalized,
the
regulations
will not
undercut,
but
rather
will
improve
upon,
protections
for
pension
plan
participants
and
their
beneficiaries.
For more
information
visit
www.hertzschram.com.
To
contact
Cantarella
about a
pension
issue,
call
248-335-5000.
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