TORONTO, Aug. 28, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Members of the former Simpsons, Limited, Supplementary Pension Plan (Simpsons Plan) have filed a class action lawsuit against the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) (TSE:HBC) (Other OTC:HBCSF), Royal Trust Corporation and Investors Group Trust Company Limited, alleging breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duties in relation to the administration of the former Simpsons Plan.
The HBC acquired Simpsons in 1979 and took over the administration of the Simpsons Plan. The claim alleges that since 1994 the defendants have been wrongfully diverting surplus assets from the trust fund of the Simpsons Plan to make employer contributions to the Kmart and Zellers Pension Plans, which were also acquired by HBC. The Simpsons Plan members are seeking, in part, the return of surplus funds estimated at over $75 million they claim were wrongfully diverted, or payment of such amounts to them as damages.
After acquiring Zellers and Kmart, the HBC took over the administration of the Zellers and Kmart Pension Plans and merged the Zellers and Kmart Pension Plans into the Simpsons Plan, and then re-named the plan, the Dumai Pension Plan. The Simpsons Plan members allege that the Simpsons Plan was set up by Simpsons as a trust fund for their benefit and that no assets from the Simpsons trust fund can be used or diverted for the benefit of Zellers and Kmart employees.
The Plaintiffs also allege that they did not receive advance notice of these changes by the HBC and they have only come to light when they hired legal and actuarial advisors to look into the situation.
A former Simpsons employee and one of the proposed representative plaintiffs, Ronald Sutherland states, I was upset to discover that my pension money in the Simpsons Pension Plan is being used to pay for somebody else's pension.
The plaintiffs also seek to vary or collapse the Simpsons Plan which would allow the surplus assets to be distributed among the Simpsons Plan members. Pension records indicate that Simpsons pensioners have had only one minor improvement to their pension benefits for a cost of living increase, which took place in 1997.
The Plaintiff Class is being represented by Mark Zigler and Andrew Hatnay of the law firm of Koskie Minsky in Toronto. We believe that this is a valid claim, and have been instructed by a group of current and retired Simpsons Plan members to proceed, said counsel Mark Zigler.
Koskie Minsky is a leading employee benefits firm and is experienced in handling complex class actions involving pension and employee benefit matters. Lexpert recognizes lawyers at the firm as being leading practitioners in the area and in related areas of law.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca