NEW YORK, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 8, 2004, Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of all participants of the Savings and Investment Plan for the Employees of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Participating Affiliates (the "Plan") established by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Participating Affiliates ("MetLife" or the "Company") , between November 8, 1998 and the present, inclusive (the "Class Period"), against defendant MetLife and certain officers and directors of the Company.
A copy of the Complaint is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP website at http://www.whafh.com/.
The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Plan fiduciaries knew or should have known, that the Company was paying illegal and concealed "contingent commissions" pursuant to illegal "contingent commission agreements;" that violated applicable principles of fiduciary law, subjecting the Company to enormous fines and penalties totaling potentially tens -- if not hundreds -- of millions of dollars.
Plan fiduciaries knew, or should have known, that this business practice was unsustainable and that during the Class Period, the value of the Company's stock was based on financial results dependent on these unsustainable business practices.
In short, by no later than the beginning of the Class Period, MetLife and the Individual Defendants knew, or should have known, that MetLife's stock was a highly inappropriate investment for a long-term retirement savings plan such as the Plan because of the scheme described above and other questionable business practices. Despite this knowledge, Defendants continued to offer MetLife's stock as a Plan investment alternative, continued to cause MetLife matching contributions to be invested in MetLife stock, and failed to impute their full knowledge of the Company's operations on Plan participants so that the Plan participants could make an informed decision concerning their Plan investments in Company stock.
If you were a participant of the Plan, you may retain Wolf Haldenstein, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has approximately 60 attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in Chicago, New York City, San Diego, and West Palm Beach. The reputation and expertise of this firm in financially oriented class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP at 270 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, by telephone at (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4600 (Fred Taylor Isquith, Esq., Mark C. Rifkin, Esq., Gustavo Bruckner, Esq., or Christopher Hinton, Esq.), via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com or visit our website at http://www.whafh.com/. All e-mail correspondence should make reference to MetLife ERISA.
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLPCONTACT: Fred Taylor Isquith, Esq., or Mark C. Rifkin, Esq., or GustavoBruckner, Esq., or Christopher Hinton, Esq., 1-800-575-0735, or+1-212-545-4600, classmember@whafh.com, all of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman& Herz LLP
Web site: http://www.whafh.com/