Comcast Stock Drop Case $5M Settlement Gets Court OK

January 27, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal judge in Pennsylvania has given his stamp of approval to a $5-million settlement of a Comcast Corp. stock drop class action suit.

The pact okayed by Chief U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania not only includes a cash settlement to be paid out to about 36,000 Comcast workers involved in the suit, but calls for the company to make changes in its 401(k) program, including:

• provide investment advisory services to all class members for a period of three years;
• send annual diversification notices to all plan participants holding more than 10% of their account balance in company stock;
• provide annual fiduciary training for members of the plan's investment committee; and
• take no action to limit plan participants' ability to sell their Comcast stock for three years.

In April, Bartle certified the suit filed by lead plaintiff Janell T. Moore as a class action. Moore alleged that because the value of company stock was inflated, it was no longer a prudent investment for the 401(k) plan (see Court Clears Path for Stock Drop Class Action). 

Fred Schneyer
editors@plansponsor.com