11/16/09
Civil Action Filed on Behalf of Verizon Retirees Transferred Against Their Will to Idearc
On November 13, 2009, a civil action was filed against Verizon Communications and Idearc Media in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.
The plaintiffs had previously pursued a class-wide internal administrative claim challenging their unwilling transfer from the more financially secure Verizon pension plans into pension plans sponsored by Idearc, a company in bankruptcy proceedings. Moreover, Idearc chose not to respond to the merits of Plaintiff’s administrative claim. Instead, more than six months after receiving Plaintiff’s class-wide claim, Idearc reported back to Plaintiffs that “ERISA does not recognize such a claim.”
The Plaintiffs have four claims for relief:
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To Recover Penalty for failure to provide requested plan documents.
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For breach of fiduciary duty for refusal to disclose pension plan related information.
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For breach of duty to provide annual funding notice with end of year valuation date.
- For breach of duty including failure to comply with plan document rules.
Further, the Plaintiffs included thirteen class action allegations.
It is the hope of all Verizon retirees that were transferred to Idearc that the result of this action would be the return of those retirees to the relative safety of the Verizon umbrella and the restoration of benefits that have been reduced or terminated as a result of that transfer.
A copy of the entire filing is found on the Association of BellTel Retiree’s web site: http://www.belltelretirees.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33:legal-actions&catid=5:association-activities&Itemid=32.
C. William Jones
President & Executive Director
Association of BellTel Retirees Inc.