Marsh & McLennan
Practice Area: Employee Benefits
Cohen Milstein represented a class of participants in the Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Investment Plan (“The Plan”) alleging violations of the federal pension law (ERISA) in connection with the loss of value in Marsh & McLennan stock acquired and held by current and former employees who were participants in the Plan.
Summary of the Claims
This litigation alleged that the fiduciaries of the Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Investment Plan violated their fiduciary duties by investing Plan assets in Marsh & McLennan stock from November 1, 1998 to January 31, 2004, during which time Marsh & McLennan failed to disclose harmful business practices. Specifically, Plaintiffs alleged that Marsh failed to disclose that a substantial portion of their income was based on “contingent commissions” whereby the Company would be paid to steer business to those that paid said commission and away from those that chose not to, thereby causing the Marsh & McLennan’s stock to traded at artificially inflated prices.
History of the Litigation
Cohen Milstein, which was appointed by the Court as a member of the executive committee of Plaintiffs’ firms responsible for the litigation, defeated Defendants’ motion to dismiss the Consolidated Amended Complaint and moved to certify the class. While the motion for class certification was pending, the parties reached a settlement.
The Class
As part of the settlement, the Court certified the following class: All persons, other than Defendants, who were participants in or beneficiaries of the Plan at any time between July 1, 2000 and January 31, 2005 and whose accounts included investments in MMC.
The Settlement
In November 2009, the parties reached a settlement which provided for a cash payment to the Plan of $35,000,000. The final settlement was approved by the Court on January 29, 2010. The settlement and the order approving the settlement are attached under Case Documents.
Questions About the Settlement
If you have questions about the settlement or distribution, please contact the claims administrator at the following address:
http://www.marsherisasettlement.com/
For More Information About the Case
If you have other questions regarding this case, please contact:
Bruce F. Rinaldi, Esq., brinaldi@cohenmilstein.com
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
1100 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20005
Telephone: 202-408-4600