Free Memorandum in Support of Motion - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut


File Size: 112.5 kB
Pages: 6
Date: October 9, 2007
File Format: PDF
State: Connecticut
Category: District Court of Connecticut
Author: unknown
Word Count: 1,076 Words, 6,771 Characters
Page Size: Letter (8 1/2" x 11")
URL

https://www.findforms.com/pdf_files/ctd/22500/396-4.pdf

Download Memorandum in Support of Motion - District Court of Connecticut ( 112.5 kB)


Preview Memorandum in Support of Motion - District Court of Connecticut
Case 3:03-cv-00383-WIG

Document 396-4

Filed 10/09/2007

Page 1 of 6

EXHIBIT C

Case 3:03-cv-00383-WIG

Document 396-4

Filed 10/09/2007

Page 2 of 6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT WASLEY PRODUCTS, INC., PRECISION MOLDING CO., INC, individually and on behalf of WASLEY PRODUCTS, INC.-UAW LOCAL 376 RETIREMENT PLAN, PRECISION MOLDING CO., INC., 401(k) PROFIT SHARING PLAN, and WASLEY PRODUCTS, INC. 401(k) PROFIT SHARING PLAN, Plaintiffs, v. BARRY L. BULAKITES, JAMES A. WINSLOW, JOSHUA ADAMS CORP. NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE CO. OF AMERICA, LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE CO., Defendants. GREGORY T. PRENTISS, JOHN RIZZI, RICHARD SEICH, and DOROTHY BROWN each individually and on behalf of the Wasley Products, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, and the Wasley Products, Inc. Retirement Plan; DIANE CHUDZIK, individually and on behalf of the Precision Molding : Company, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, and HOWARD Y. ACHILLE, individually and on behalf of the WASLEY PRODUCTS -UAW LOCAL 376 RETIREMENT PLAN, Plaintiffs, v. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:03 CV 00383 (MRK)(LEAD)

OCTOBER 9, 2007 CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:03 CV 00383 (MRK)(LEAD) (3:03 CV1790 (MRK))

Case 3:03-cv-00383-WIG

Document 396-4

Filed 10/09/2007

Page 3 of 6

WASLEY PRODUCTS, INC., ALAN A. WASLEY, ANDREW BRADY, SANDI DUMAS-LAFERRIERE, BARRY CONNELL, BARRY L. BULAKITES, JAMES A. WINSLOW, JOSHUA ADAMS CORPORATION, PRECISION MOLDING CO.,INC., NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE CO. OF AMERICA and LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE CO., Defendants. JOHN M. WIBLYI, individually and on behalf of the Wasley Products, Inc., Retirement Plan, Plaintiffs, v. WASLEY PRODUCTS, INC., ALAN A. WASLEY, SANDI DUMAS-LAFERRIERE, BARRY L. BULAKITES, JAMES A. WINSLOW, NATIONWIDE LIFE INSURANCE CO. OF AMERICA and LINCOLN NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE CO. Defendants.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

OCTOBER 9, 2007 CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:03 CV 00383 (MRK)(LEAD) (No. 3:06cv1435 (MRK))

OCTOBER 9, 2007

Declaration of Joseph V. Meaney, Jr.
I, Joseph V. Meaney, Jr., state and declare as follows and would testify to the same under oath if called as a witness:

2

Case 3:03-cv-00383-WIG

Document 396-4

Filed 10/09/2007

Page 4 of 6

1.

I am an attorney licensed to practice in the State of Connecticut and was

admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1980. I am a general partner in the law firm of Cranmore, FitzGerald & Meaney, 49 Wethersfield Avenue, Hartford, CT 06114. Since 1980 I have practiced extensively in the field of commercial litigation and have litigated many cases under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. 2. I am a graduate from the University of Connecticut School of Law,

1980. In addition to my Connecticut Bar admission, I am admitted to practice before the District of Massachusetts, the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, the Courts for the District of Columbia, for the State of New York, and for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 3. My involvement in ERISA litigation commenced in 1984 when I

represented the trustees of a multi-employer benefit plan against the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, [Jacobson et al. v. John Hancock 655 F.Supp. 1290 (D.Conn. 1987).] This case involved defining the term fiduciary under ERISA to include insurers that held pension plan assets under group annuity contracts. I was able to obtain summary judgment on behalf of the Plaintiffs with respect to the fiduciary status of the Defendant and the case settled shortly thereafter. 4. I represented the participants and trustees, in an action against a Third

Party Administrator fiduciary, involving the investment of a single employer pension plan assets in Certain Colonial Realty Investments. That case, Ellzey v. Carter, 920
3

Case 3:03-cv-00383-WIG

Document 396-4

Filed 10/09/2007

Page 5 of 6

F.Supp 26 (D. Conn. 1995) centered on the alleged fiduciary status of a third-party administrator who was not designated as a fiduciary under the plan. In that case I was able to obtain summary judgment on behalf of the Plaintiffs with respect to the Defendant's status as a fiduciary in connection with the discretionary investment of Plaintiff pension plan funds in Colonial Realty Investments. Once fiduciary status was established the case settled shortly thereafter. In that settlement I was able to recover the entire principal lost by the pension plan, interest, and attorney's fees. 5. I also represented participants in a matter entitled Warzecha v. Nutmeg

Companies, et al., 48 F.Supp. 2nd 151 (D.Conn 1999). This action involved alleged violations of ERISA and various state law claims brought by participants in a retirement plan against both the plan and plan trustees. After cross-motions for summary judgment were decided the case settled. 6. In addition to the above reported cases I have represented numerous

other parties in actions involving ERISA matters. In an unreported case involving valuation of company stock for ESOP purposes I represented participants in a case entitled Evans et al. v. Smith Insurance. This case was resolved in 1992 after intervention by the Department of Labor. 7. In addition to my practice involving ERISA cases I have handled

numerous commercial litigation cases involving complex business matters. 8. I have served as a Special Master in the United States District Court for

the District of Connecticut since 1988.
4

Case 3:03-cv-00383-WIG

Document 396-4

Filed 10/09/2007

Page 6 of 6

9.

I have been listed as one of the best lawyers in America in their annual

publications in the field of commercial litigation for the past three years. I have been rated AV by Martindale and Hubbell for approximately 10 years. 10. I have been compensated approximately $93,000 in this under a reduced

hourly rate of $150 per hour and contingency agreement with the Plaintiffs in Wasley I. In this case, including work to implement any settlement, the firm will have expended over 800 hours of time for three and a half years of work, and the firm has not been paid anything for approximately 40% of those hours it logged. 11. As a result of Judge Garfinkel mediating a division of fees, my firm is

scheduled to receive an additional $208,000 from the proceeds of the proposed settlement for total legal fees of $301,000 in this matter. I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct except as to matters stated on information and belief and as to those I believe them to be true. Executed at Hartford, CT this 9th day of October, 2007. THE "WASLEY PLAINTIFFS" BY: /s/ Joseph V. Meaney, Jr. Joseph V. Meaney, Jr. Cranmore, FitzGerald & Meaney 49 Wethersfield Avenue Hartford, CT 06114

5