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Susman Godfrey L.L.P. Provides Notice of Settlement to Class Members In re Electronic Data Systems Corp. "ERISA" Litigation
Business Wire, June 25, 2008
DALLAS -- Susman Godfrey L.L.P.:
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT <
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS <
TYLER DIVISION <
<
IN RE ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS <
CASE NO. 6:03-MD-1512
CORP. "ERISA" LITIGATION <
LEAD CASE: 6:03-CV-126
<
("ERISA")
THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: <
ALL ACTIONS <
COURT-ORDERED LEGAL NOTICE
(Summary)
To: (a) All participants and former participants in the Plan, and their beneficiaries for whose individual accounts the Plan purchased and/or held interests in EDS stock through the EDS Company Stock Fund (f/k/a the EDS Stock Fund or the GM Class E Stock Fund) at any time during the period September 7, 1999 through and including October 9, 2002, and the beneficiaries of such participants or former participants; and (b) all participants and former participants in the Plan, and their beneficiaries for whose individual accounts the Plan purchased EDS stock through the EDS Company Stock Fund at any time during the period October 20, 2001 through and including November 18, 2002, (collectively the "Settlement Class").
Susman Godfrey L.L.P. announced today that a settlement (the "Settlement") has been preliminarily approved by the federal court in a class action lawsuit alleging breaches of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") and sales of unregistered EDS stock to the EDS 401(k) Plan (the "Plan") in violation of Section 12(a)(1) and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 in connection with the Electronic Data Systems Corporation 401(k) Savings Plan. This Settlement will provide for a payment of $12.5 million to the Plan and former Plan participants (minus Court-approved fees and expenses). The Settlement funds will be allocated to the Settlement Class based on their Plan account holdings in the EDS Company Stock Fund ("Stock Fund") during the settlement class period described above ("Settlement Class Period"). The Settlement also provides for injunctive relief in the form of certain Plan design changes. The injunctive relief has been valued to be worth at least $19 million.
On May 13, 2008, Hewlett-Packard Company ("HP") and EDS announced a definitive merger agreement under which HP will purchase EDS at a price of $25.00 per share. The merger is expected to close sometime in the second half of 2008. If this merger is consummated, the EDS Company Stock Fund will become an all cash fund, and certain of the benefits provided by the injunctive relief will be expedited. The cash proceeds in the EDS Company Stock Fund will then be transferred to the Qualified Default Investment Alternative offered by the Plan, and obligations to perform the injunctive relief may be assumed by the successor company and plan to the extent applicable.
If you qualify, you will receive an allocation of the Settlement funds. If you have received a Notice of Class Action Settlement regarding this case by mail or email directly from Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel or EDS, you do not need to send in a claim or take any other action unless you object to the Settlement. If you have not received a Notice of Class Action Settlement regarding this case directly from Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel or EDS, but you believe that you are a member of the Settlement Class, it is essential that you contact Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel at the phone number or address below. Otherwise, you may not be included in the distribution of the Settlement Fund. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, authorized this Notice.
THE COURT WILL HOLD A HEARING ON AUGUST 6, 2008 TO DECIDE WHETHER TO APPROVE THE SETTLEMENT.
Who Is Included in the Settlement?
Plan participants. If you were a participant in the Plan (including predecessors to the Plan) for whose individual account the Plan invested in the Stock Fund during the Settlement Class Period, alternate payee, representative, or successor-in-interest to any such participant, you are a member of the Settlement Class, and you may be eligible to receive a payment as a result of the proposed settlement of this lawsuit. You are not eligible if you are a Defendant in this litigation or the Immediate Family, heir, successor, or assign of a Defendant.
What Is This Case About?
This case is about the Plan's investments in EDS stock through the Stock Fund. The Plaintiffs in the case claim that the Defendants were fiduciaries of the Plan and that they violated fiduciary duties owed to EDS employees who were participants in the Plan. The Plaintiffs claim that the Defendants should not have allowed Plan investments in EDS stock between September 7, 1999 and October 9, 2002, and that the Stock Fund should have been eliminated as a Plan investment option. The Plaintiffs also claim that the Defendants sold unregistered shares of EDS stock to the Plan in violation of the federal securities law between October 20, 2001 and November 18, 2002. The Defendants deny that they did anything wrong or caused any loss to the Plan. The Court has not ruled in favor of either side.