As D&O maven Dan Bailey noted in a recent memo (here), ERISA class action litigation represents a significant and growing liability exposure for benefit plan fiduciaries. With the recent addition of the $70.5 million settlement in the Tyco ERISA class action lawsuit (about which refer here) and the $55 million settlement in the Countrywide ERISA class action lawsuit (refer here) to the long and growing list of significant ERISA class action settlements, it is clear that the these ERISA class action lawsuit represent an increasingly important area of potential liability exposure.
In light of the increasing prevalence of these significant ERISA class action lawsuits, it seems to me that the time has arrived for a more systematic tracking of significant settlements.
Accordingly, I have prepared a list of the largest ERISA class action settlements of which I am aware. The list, in the form of a Word document, can be found here.
This list is comprehensive, but it likely is incomplete. I suspect strongly that there may be other similarly significant ERISA class action settlements of which I am unaware that should be included in order for the list to be complete. I would be very grateful if any readers who are aware of any specific settlements that I omitted from the list but that should have included would please let know so that I can incorporate them into the list and make the information available to all readers.
In any event, as new ERISA class action settlements arise in the future, I will add them to the list, and I will indicate on the top of the Word document the most recent date on which the list was updated. I encourage readers to let me know about any significant ERISA class action settlements of which they become aware.