More than 450 executives from Chrysler's white collar force, going all the way back to Lee Iacocca, have sued Daimler and Cerberus for gutting the value of their collective supplemental pensions to the tune of $100 million. The class action suit took the noted step of not suing Fiat-owned Chrysler, with the lead attorney saying that "Everybody involved in this suit loves that company and like everybody else wants to see it succeed."
Plaintiffs accuse Daimler and Cerberus of not adequately protecting the supplemental pensions from creditors as Chrysler's health slid from trouble to terminal. Those pensions weren't moved to the new Chrysler, and now the former execs are paying the price. Follow the jump for a press release from the lead firm handling the case.
[Source: AFP]
Plaintiffs accuse Daimler and Cerberus of not adequately protecting the supplemental pensions from creditors as Chrysler's health slid from trouble to terminal. Those pensions weren't moved to the new Chrysler, and now the former execs are paying the price. Follow the jump for a press release from the lead firm handling the case.
[Source: AFP]
Former Chrysler/DaimlerChrysler Executives File Claim for Lost Pensions
DETROIT, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of over 450 former employees and managers from Chrysler and DaimlerChrysler today filed a class action claim in Wayne County Circuit Court against Daimler and Cerberus to regain their supplemental pensions that were lost during Chrysler's reorganization and bankruptcy last year. The guaranteed pensions were not transferred to the new Chrysler during those proceedings and, as a result, each of the plaintiffs lost large percentages of their earned retirement pensions.
Attorneys Sheldon L. Miller of Farmington Hills and Mayer Morganroth of Birmingham are the lead attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case.
"The Chrysler bankruptcy was devastating to virtually everyone involved," said Miller. "Many of the men and women participating in this lawsuit worked their entire lives at the company under the repeated promise that these pensions would be there and intact for their retirement years. The direct financial loss, in combination with the serious reduction in medical, health care and auto benefits resulting from the bankruptcy, is causing them to make drastic changes to their retirement plans at a time when they can't go out and find other jobs to supplement their incomes. These are good, hard working people who are being severely punished through absolutely no fault of their own."
Miller said there are no plans for any action against the new Chrysler. "Everybody involved in this suit loves that company and like everybody else wants to see it succeed," Miller said. "The plaintiffs in our case are trying to assure that there won't be similar hardships for Chrysler's current employees, many of whom worked for and with the people involved in this suit. Nobody wants to hurt them or the new company's chances for success."
DETROIT, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of over 450 former employees and managers from Chrysler and DaimlerChrysler today filed a class action claim in Wayne County Circuit Court against Daimler and Cerberus to regain their supplemental pensions that were lost during Chrysler's reorganization and bankruptcy last year. The guaranteed pensions were not transferred to the new Chrysler during those proceedings and, as a result, each of the plaintiffs lost large percentages of their earned retirement pensions.
Attorneys Sheldon L. Miller of Farmington Hills and Mayer Morganroth of Birmingham are the lead attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case.
"The Chrysler bankruptcy was devastating to virtually everyone involved," said Miller. "Many of the men and women participating in this lawsuit worked their entire lives at the company under the repeated promise that these pensions would be there and intact for their retirement years. The direct financial loss, in combination with the serious reduction in medical, health care and auto benefits resulting from the bankruptcy, is causing them to make drastic changes to their retirement plans at a time when they can't go out and find other jobs to supplement their incomes. These are good, hard working people who are being severely punished through absolutely no fault of their own."
Miller said there are no plans for any action against the new Chrysler. "Everybody involved in this suit loves that company and like everybody else wants to see it succeed," Miller said. "The plaintiffs in our case are trying to assure that there won't be similar hardships for Chrysler's current employees, many of whom worked for and with the people involved in this suit. Nobody wants to hurt them or the new company's chances for success."
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