Bailey Glasser Defeats Motion to Dismiss in $100 Million ERISA Action

Bailey Glasser scored a victory for retirement plan savers Friday, when U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny overwhelmingly rejected defendants’ motions to dismiss claims against fiduciaries to the Frontier Communications 401(k) Savings Plan.

Our lawsuit alleges that the fiduciaries running the Plan imprudently invested a large portion of the retirees’ 401(k) assets in Verizon Communications stock. The case alleges that by placing a large percentage of the Plan in a single security, the fiduciaries violated their obligations under ERISA to be prudent and diversify the assets of the Plan to avoid large losses. The Plan’s public filings show that the Plan had approximately $350 million invested in Verizon stock, and Plaintiffs’ 2018 complaint alleges that the volatility and poor performance of the stock cost the Plan more than $100 million.

The Plaintiffs are represented by Greg Porter, head of Bailey Glasser’s ERISA group, Mark Boyko, a partner in that group, and Robert Izard of Izard, Kindall & Raabe. “Since the Complaint was filed, Verizon stock has continued to underperform diversified alternatives, meaning the actual damages are now significantly higher” noted Boyko. “We look forward to addressing this case on the merits.”

The case is Reidt v. Frontier Communications Corp., No. 18-cv-1538 and is pending in the District of Connecticut.

To read the decision, please follow this link.