Plaintiffs' Counsel Announce Settlement in Merrill Lynch Florida Public Pension Plan Consulting Services Litigation (City of Lake Worth Employees' Ret. Sys., et al. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., Case No.3:10-cv-845-J-32MCR, MD FLA)

PLANTATION, Fla., May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen & Levinson, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, and Sugarman & Susskind, PA regarding the Merrill Lynch Florida Public Pension Plan Consulting Services Litigation (City of Lake Worth Employees' Retirement System, et al. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., Case No. 3:10-cv-845-J-32MCR (M.D. Fla.)).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CITY OF LAKE WORTH EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, et al., Plaintiffs, vs. MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INCORPORATED, Defendant.

Case No. 3:10-cv-845-J-32MCR

SUMMARY NOTICE OF (I) PENDENCY AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION, (II) SETTLEMENT FAIRNESS HEARING, AND (III) MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES

TO: All named fiduciaries of the Florida public employee retirement benefit plans for which Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. ("Merrill Lynch") and Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor Michael Callaway or any other member of the Callaway Team provided Consulting Services during the period from July 1, 2000, through and including June 30, 2008 (the "Class Period"), or any portion thereof, except for all such plans that had brought separate arbitration or litigation proceedings against Merrill Lynch or any member of the Callaway Team on or before December 14, 2011 (the "Class").

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR PLAN'S LEGAL RIGHTS (AS WELL AS THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF EACH OF ITS NAMED FIDUCIARIES IN THEIR CAPACITIES AS SUCH) WILL BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, (i) that the above-captioned litigation (the "Action") has been certified as a class action on behalf of the Class described above; and (ii) that, pursuant to the terms of the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement ("Stipulation"), Plaintiffs in the Action have reached a proposed settlement of the Action with defendant Merrill Lynch ("Defendant") for $8,500,000 in cash, plus interest thereon, that, if approved, will resolve all claims in the Action. Based on the records maintained by Merrill Lynch, it has already been determined which Plans are members of the Class in this Action. For a list of the Class Member Plans, please visit the settlement website, www.mlfloridapensionplansettlement.com, or call the Claims Administrator toll-free at 1- 800-231-1815. Each Class Member Plan is entitled to payment from the Settlement proceeds.

A hearing will be held on July 27, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., before The Honorable Timothy J. Corrigan, in Courtroom 10D of the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse, 300 North Hogan Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202, to determine (i) whether the proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (ii) whether the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against Defendant, and the releases specified and described in the Stipulation should be granted; (iii) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation should be approved as fair and reasonable; and (iv) whether Plaintiffs' Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses should be approved.

If you have not yet received the full printed Notice of (I) Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action, (II) Settlement Fairness Hearing, and (III) Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Expenses (the "Notice"), and the Claim Form and Release ("Claim Form"), you may obtain copies of these documents by contacting the Claims Administrator at Merrill Lynch Florida Public Pension Plan Consulting Services Litigation, c/o GCG, Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 9349, Dublin, OH 43017-4249, 1-800-231-1815. Copies of the Notice and Claim Form can also be downloaded from the settlement website, www.mlfloridapensionplansettlement.com.

In order to receive a payment under the proposed Settlement, an authorized representative(s) of the Class Member Plan must submit a Claim Form postmarked no later than September 11, 2012. If a Class Member Plan does not submit a proper Claim Form, it will not share in the distribution of the net proceeds of the Settlement but will nevertheless be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Action.

If a Class Member Plan wishes to exclude itself from the Class, an authorized Plan representative(s) must submit a request for exclusion on behalf of the Plan such that it is received no later than July 6, 2012, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice. If a Plan properly excludes itself from the Class, it will not be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Action and it will not be eligible to share in the proceeds of the Settlement.

Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or Plaintiffs' Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses, must be filed with the Court and delivered to Plaintiffs' Counsel and counsel for Defendant such that they are received no later than July 6, 2012, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE. Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice, may be made to Plaintiffs' Counsel:

Robert D. Klausner, Esq.
Adam P. Levinson, Esq.
Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen & Levinson
10059 N.W. 1st Court
Plantation, FL 33324
1-954-916-1202
[email protected]

William C. Fredericks, Esq.
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
1-800-380-8496
[email protected]

Ivelisse Berio LeBeau, Esq.
Sugarman & Susskind, PA
100 Miracle Mile, Suite 300
Coral Gables, FL 33134
1-800-329-2122
[email protected]

By Order of the Court

SOURCE Klausner Kaufman Jenson & Levinson, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, Sugarman & Susskind, PA