Deals & People October 20, 2010

Employee Benefits Firm Brings on Board Actuarial Firm

Bolton Partners, Inc., of Baltimore, Md., has acquired Stephen R. Thomas Actuarial Associates, Inc., of Trenton, N.J.
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Stephen R. Thomas provides actuarial services to about 50 multiemployer and government plans in New York, New Jersey, and New England, from its offices in Trenton, New Jersey. 

The Baltimore-based Bolton Partners was founded in 1981 by Robert G. Bolton as an independent employee benefits firm.

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Bolton is divided into three divisions which provide actuarial, health & welfare, and investment consulting services for corporate, public sector, multiemployer plans, and not-for-profit organizations. 

Compliance October 20, 2010

Employer in Stock Drop Case Gets 2nd Chance

A federal judge in Missouri reversed his ruling and gave a St. Peters, Missouri-based silicon wafer manufacturer another chance to argue that a stock-drop lawsuit against it should be thrown out.
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With that ruling, U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autrey of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, threw out his March decision rebuffing a dismissal request from MEMC Electronic Material Inc. Autrey gave both sides a chance to file additional legal briefs on the dismissal request as part of the court’s reconsideration.

Autrey said he changed his mind on the issue of whether the 401(k) participants filing the stock-drop action had put forth a sufficiently strong case to overcome the presumption of prudence typically granted to employers offering company stock plans as a retirement savings investment option.

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The court said the March ruling was “gravely in error” because he had lightened the evidentiary burden the plaintiffs would need to carry to survive an initial legal challenge from the employer.

The plaintiffs’ suit alleged the company violated its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by continuing to offer the company stock after it was no longer prudent to do so. The company’s share price was hit hard in mid-2008 after the disclosure of major production problems at two of its plants.

The case is Jones v. MEMC Electronic Material Inc., E.D. Mo., No. 4:08CV1991 HEA.

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