This website has been established in order to make available to Class Members certain information about the class action Settlement in the lawsuit titled Snitzer and Livant v. The Board of Trustees of the American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund, et al., No. 1:17-cv-05361-VEC (the "Action"), brought in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Following the Fairness Hearing held on August 26, 2020, and after considering the positions and objections of the parties and objectors, the Court, by Order dated August 28, 2020, as amended by an order dated October 6, 2020, granted final approval of the Settlement Agreement – including a payment of about $18.253 million into the Plan – and dismissed the Action with prejudice. Copies of the August 28 and October 6 Orders can be found here. As reflected in paragraph 13 of the Final Approval Order, the Court also adopted the parties' clarification of the release set out in the Settlement Agreement.
The Court also awarded: (i) Class Counsel $7,786,500 (29% of the Gross Settlement Amount) plus reimbursement of their reasonable expenses in the amount of $805,130.07, to be deducted from the Gross Settlement Amount; and (ii) Service Awards to the Class Representatives in the amount of $10,000 each, to be deducted from Class Counsel's Attorneys' Fees and Costs and not from the Gross Settlement Amount. A copy of the transcript of the Fairness Hearing can be found here
A single class member, objector Martin Stoner, filed an appeal of the Settlement approval with the Second Circuit, but then voluntarily dismissed that appeal with prejudice without receiving any payment or adjustment to the District Court's approval of the Settlement. Dismissal of the appeal became final when the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued its mandate on October 26, 2020. This means that the Settlement became Final on October 26, 2020, which is the Settlement Effective Date. Class Members' release of the Released Claims (as set forth in the Settlement Agreement and the Final Approval Order) also went into effect on October 26, 2020. The Governance Provisions will become operative on November 25, 2020, i.e., thirty (30) calendar days after the Settlement Effective Date. Payment to the Plan will be made on or before December 5, 2020, after a deduction has been made for Attorneys' Fees and Costs to Class Counsel.
As a reminder, the Settlement Class includes all Participants and Beneficiaries of the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Plan from August 9, 2010 through May 18, 2020. The fact that you are included in the Settlement Class does not mean that you are entitled to a Plan benefit now or in the future. It only means that you (or, if you are a beneficiary, the person who designated you) were a Plan Participant during the Class Period.
You can read the full Settlement Agreement, the Court's Order granting Final Approval of the Settlement, the Settlement Notice, and other relevant pleadings and documents on the Case Documents page of this website
PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT, THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE, OR THE FUND OFFICE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR LEAD CLASS COUNSEL IS AVAILABLE ON THE SETTLEMENT NOTICE.