Ramirez v. J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc., Case No. 6:14-cv-00601-RWS-KNM

Answer:

Pursuant to the Plan of Allocation approved by the United States District Court (please click here to view a copy), the Ramirez v JCPenney Qualified Settlement Fund issued checks to class members who were entitled to a distribution and who did not have an active plan account with the J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. Savings, Profit Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan or the J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan as of April 2, 2018.  The checks were mailed on April 17, 2018 by Rust Consulting (Phone No. 1-866-646-7319).  

For class members who were entitled to a distribution and had active accounts in either of the above plans as of April 2, 2018, their settlement awards were deposited on or around April 11, 2018,into whichever plan held their active account(s).

Answer:

Individual settlement amounts were calculated pursuant to the terms of the Plan of Allocation (please click here to view a copy), as approved by the United States District Court.  If your net loss did not exceed $25.00, you are not entitled to a settlement award.

Answer:

After logging into your PowerLine account through the Associate Kiosk or at www.jcpenneypowerline.com, please make the following selections:

1. Click on the 'Savings & Retirement' menu option on the Home page;

2. On the resulting page, click on the arrow to the right of 'Your Money' and select 'Account Activity';

3. On the resulting Transaction History page, click the 'Change Plan/Date/Fund' or 'Change Date/Fund' button, enter the date range as 04-10-2018 to 0410-2018, and click 'Update';

4. Once the page refreshes, click on the 'Graph' tab heading.

5. The portion of the graph labeled 'Cumulative Activity' should reflect the amount of your award so long as there was no other activity in your account on that date.

If you have additional questions about your settlement award or the settlement itself, please contact Class Counsel at:

Jacob H. Zamansky

Samuel E. Bonderoff

ZAMANSKY LLC

50 Broadway, 32nd Floor

New York, NY 10004

Telephone: (212) 742-1414

jake@zamansky.com

samuel@zamansky.com

Answer:

  On August 25, 2014, an amended putative class action complaint was filed in federal court against J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. and other defendants alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (known as “ERISA”).  ERISA is a federal law that governs certain retirement and health plans. The case alleges that the Defendants breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by failing to (a) prudently and loyally manage the assets of the J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. Savings, Profit-Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan and (b) adequately monitor the independent fiduciary and provide the independent fiduciary with accurate information.  The Settlement provides for a Gross Settlement Fund of four million, five hundred thousand dollars ($4,500,000.00), from which attorneys’ fees and costs, and any case contribution awards have been paid in amounts approved by the United States District Court.

The remaining portion of the settlement fund was allocated pursuant to a Plan of Allocation to class members who have suffered a net loss of greater than $25.00 related to the investment of their J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. Savings, Profit-Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan account in the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund from November 1, 2011 through May 31, 2016. 

The Settlement is the product of intensive, arm’s-length negotiations between Class Counsel and Defense Counsel, with the assistance of a professional mediator. The Court in charge of this case has approved the Settlement (click here to view Final Approval Order).

Answer:

In a class action, one or more plaintiffs, called “named plaintiffs,” sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of the individuals on whose behalf the Named Plaintiffs in this lawsuit are suing are “Class members,” and they are also referred to in the Class Notice as members of the Settlement Class.  All Class members are bound by the Settlement, which was approved by the Court.  United States District Court Judge Robert W. Schroeder III, in Eastern Texas, presided over this case.

Answer:

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you had a portion of your J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. Savings, Profit-Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan Account invested in the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund from November 1, 2011 through May 31, 2016.

Answer:

Members of the Settlement Class do not need to do anything with respect to the Settlement in this lawsuit.

Answer:

Full details of the Settlement are set forth in the Settlement Agreement, the Plaintiffs' Unopposed Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement, Certification of Settlement Class and Approval of Plan of Allocation; and the Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement and related documents filed with the Court, and the United States District Court's Final Approval Order granting final approval of the Settlement. Copies of the Settlement Agreement, as well as other important documents are available here.

You may obtain a copy of the Settlement Agreement by making a written request to Class Counsel at:

Jacob H. Zamansky

Samuel E. Bonderoff

ZAMANSKY LLC

50 Broadway, 32nd Floor

New York, NY 10004

Telephone: (212) 742-1414

jake@zamansky.com

samuel@zamansky.com

Answer:

The Parties have agreed to settle this case following significant litigation. While Plaintiffs and Class Counsel believe the Action has merit, they recognize that the outcome would have been uncertain. Plaintiffs would have faced lengthy litigation on the merits of their claims, including discovery, class certification proceedings, trial and likely appeals.

As in any litigation, the Plaintiffs would have faced an uncertain outcome. On the one hand, continuation of the case against the Defendants could have resulted in a judgment greater than this Settlement. On the other hand, continuing the case could have resulted in no recovery at all, or a recovery that would have been less than the amount of the Settlement.  And, continuing the case could have resulted in judgment for Defendants. Based on these factors, Plaintiffs and Class Counsel have concluded that this Settlement is in the best interests of all Settlement Class members.

Answer:

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you fall within the definition of the Settlement Class approved by the Court:

All Persons who were participants in or beneficiaries of the J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. Savings, Profit Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan (the “Plan”) at any time from November 1, 2011 through May 31, 2016, and whose Plan accounts included investments in the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund.

If you are a member of the Settlement Class, the amount of money you received, if any, depends upon the Plan of Allocation, described below, and the amount of the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund in which your Plan account was invested during the Class Period.

Answer:

Your share (if any) of the Net Settlement Fund, net of the fees and expenses described above, will depend on your alleged loss, compared to other Settlement Class members’ alleged losses, related to Plan investments in the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund at any time since November 1, 2011. Each Settlement Class member’s share will be calculated according to a Court-approved Plan of Allocation. You are not responsible for calculating the amount you may be entitled to receive under the Settlement, or for providing the information needed to perform such calculations.

In general, your proportionate share of the Settlement will be calculated as follows:

1. Each Settlement Class member’s "Net Loss" will be calculated. For each Settlement Class member, his or her Net Loss will be equal to: (a) the dollar value, if any, of his or her account balance in the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund on the first day of the Settlement Class Period (November 1, 2011); plus (b) the dollar value, if any, of all purchases of interests in the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund for his or her account during the Class Period, as of the time of purchase(s); minus (c) the dollar value, if any, of all dispositions of interests in the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund in his or her account during the Class Period, as of the time of the disposition(s); minus (d) the dollar value of the balance in the J.C. Penney Common Stock Fund remaining in his or her account on the close of business on May 31, 2016.
2. All Net Losses will be aggregated to yield the total loss over the Plan of Allocation and each Settlement Class member’s percentage of that total loss will be calculated.
3. Applying that percentage to the Settlement proceeds (net of fees and expenses as described above), the Settlement Administrator, if one is retained, or other such entity, will calculate each Settlement Class member’s share of those proceeds on a preliminary basis.
4. All participants whose preliminary share is greater than zero but less than or equal to twenty-five dollars ($25.00) will be deemed to have a final share equal to zero dollars. The Settlement Administrator, if one is retained, or other such entity, will then recalculate the net loss percentage of those Settlement Class members whose preliminary share was greater than $25.00, to arrive at each such Settlement Class member’s final share.

Answer:

You do not have the right to exclude yourself from the Settlement. The Settlement Stipulation provides for certification of the Settlement Class as a non-opt-out class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(1) and (b)(2) and the Court has determined that the requirements of that Rule have been satisfied. Thus, it is not possible for any Settlement Class member to exclude themselves from the Settlement. As a Settlement Class member, you are bound by any judgments or orders that were entered in the Action for all claims that were or could have been asserted in the Action or are otherwise released under the Settlement.

Answer:

The Court has appointed the law firm of Zamansky LLC as Class Counsel for Plaintiffs.  You may contact Class Counsel at:

Jacob H. Zamansky

Samuel E. Bonderoff

ZAMANSKY LLC

50 Broadway, 32nd Floor

New York, NY 10004

Telephone: (212) 742-1414

jake@zamansky.com

samuel@zamansky.com

Answer:

The Court has approved Class Counsel's motion for attorneys' fees in the amount of $1,350,000 to be paid from the Gross Settlement Fund.