Notice to Retired Employees who were Formerly Employed by the Hamilton Township Board of Education, Mercer County: A Class Action Settlement May Affect You

TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The following release was issued today by The Notice Company, Inc.:

A Settlement has been reached in the lawsuit entitled Gray v. Board of Education of the Township of Hamilton, Mercer County, No. MER-L-747-14, pending in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Mercer County. Visit www.HamiltonRetirees.com for complete information.

What Is This Case About?

The lawsuit alleges that the Hamilton Township Board of Education ("Board") breached its obligations to make cash payments in lieu of prescription drug coverage to certain retirees, and in some instances to their dependents, by stopping such payments, and that this benefit is owed to Class Members both retroactively and prospectively.  The parties have agreed to settle, but the Settlement does not constitute an admission of any liability by any party.

Who is Included in the Settlement?

"Class Members" included in the Settlement consist of five Subclasses:

Subclass "A" consists of the Administrators/Supervisors defined as follows: All retired employees that were formerly employed by the Hamilton Township Board of Education pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement with the Hamilton Township Administrators and Supervisors Association and retired from the Board on or before July 1, 2011, and the dependents of such employees. These employees and their dependents received annual cash payments in lieu of the prescription drug coverage pursuant to the terms of Article 4, § 11.2 of the parties' collective bargaining agreement, and their payments stopped in breach of the collective bargaining agreement in or about July 2011 for the dependents of the Association retirees who had declared single coverage; in or about July 2012 for all the dependents of the Association retirees; and in or around July 2013 to all Association retires.

Subclass "B" consists of Hamilton Township Education Association ("HTEA") members who contracted to receive the annual maximum in prescription drug copayments as provided by the School Employees' Health Benefits Program ("SEHBP") and defined as follows: All retired employees that were formerly employed by the Hamilton Township Board of Education and were employed pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with the Hamilton Township Education Association and retired from the Board on or before July 1, 2012. These employees received annual cash payments in lieu of the prescription drug coverage pursuant to the terms of the parties' collective bargaining agreements, and their payments stopped in or around July 2013.

Subclass "C" consists of Hamilton Township School Secretaries Association ("HTSSA") members who contracted to receive the annual maximum in prescription drug copayments as provided by the SEHBP and defined as follows: All retired employees that were formerly employed by the Hamilton Township Board of Education and were employed pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with the Hamilton Township School Secretaries Association and retired from the Board on or before July 1, 2011. These employees received annual cash payments in lieu of the prescription drug coverage pursuant to the terms of the parties' collective bargaining agreements, and their payments stopped in or around July 2013.

Subclass "D" consists of HTEA members who contracted to receive a defined payment of $500.00 per year and defined as follows: All retired employees that were formerly employed by the Hamilton Township Board of Education and were employed pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with the Hamilton Township Education Association and retired from the Board on or before July 1, 2012. These employees received annual cash payments of $500.00 per year in lieu of the prescription drug coverage pursuant to the terms of the parties' collective bargaining agreements, and their payments stopped in or around July 2013.

Subclass "E" consists of HTSSA members who contracted to receive a defined payment of $500.00 per year and defined as follows: All retired employees that were formerly employed by the Hamilton Township Board of Education and were employed pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with the Hamilton Township School Secretaries Association and retired from the Board on or before July 1, 2011. These employees received annual cash payments of $500.00 in lieu of the prescription drug coverage pursuant to the terms of the parties' collective bargaining agreements, and their payments stopped in or around July 2013.

What Does the Settlement Provide?

The Board has agreed to pay $17,000,000 to the members of all 5 subclasses as a total The Board has agreed to pay $17,000,000 to the members of all 5 subclasses as a total settlement. Payment of $4,000,000, representing past payments due, will be paid in two payments. The first half will be paid within thirty (30) days of entry of the Final Approval Order (if the Settlement is approved by the Court) and the second half will be paid in or around January 2018. These payments are intended to result in all class members being paid the amounts they would have received if they were paid through December 31, 2017 (if the benefit had not been stopped). The $13,000,000 in remaining settlement monies will be paid in prospective payments over a ten (10) year period, with one (1) payment made at the beginning of each year, the first of which will be made in in January 2019, and the remaining payments made in January of each of the following nine years.

With respect to Class Members who died prior to January 1, 2017: The Board has agreed to pay to the each Class Member's estate the Class Member's share of the amounts due up until the date of death (for each year the member was alive on January 1 of a given year).

With respect to Class Members who died after January 1, 2017: The Board has agreed to pay to the Class Members estate both retroactive payments. All remaining prospective payments will be paid to the Class Members' estates on the same schedule (provided the Board is notified of the death by the estate's administrator).

With respect to Class Members who are dependents, once a dependent "ages out" (exceeds the age of 26 years), any retroactive payment remaining due shall cease. 

What Are Your rights?

If you do nothing, Class Members will be bound by the Court's decisions.  If you do not want the benefits of the Settlements and, instead, you want to keep your right to sue the Board (subject to applicable statutes of limitation), you must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class by writing to the Class Administrator at the following address:

Hamilton Exclusions
c/o The Notice Company
P.O. Box 455
Hingham, MA 02043

The Court will exclude from the Class any Class Member who submits a written exclusion request, which must be signed, dated and state that you are excluding yourself from the Class in the case of Gray v. Hamilton Township Board of Education, No. MER-L-747-14. To be valid, exclusion requests must be postmarked on or before OCTOBER 24, 2017.

If you do not exclude yourself, you may object to the Settlement, or enter an appearance through counsel, by filing an objection with the Court and sending copies to Class Counsel and Defendant's Counsel, as follows:

Clerk of the Superior Court  
Mercer County Courthouse
P.O. Box 8068
Trenton, NJ 08650-0068

Class Counsel:

Richard A. Friedman, Esq.
Zazzali, Fagella, Nowak, Kleinbaum & Friedman, P.C.
150 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08901

Robert M. Schwartz, Esq.
Schwartz Law Group, LLC
Monroe Office Center at Forsgate
12 Centre Drive
Monroe Township, NJ 08831

Defendant's Counsel:

Patrick F. Carrigg, Esq.
Lenox, Socey, Formidoni, Giordano, Cooley, Lang & Casey, LLC
136 Franklin Corner Road, Unit B-2
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

The deadline to file objections or a notice of appearance is OCTOBER 24, 2017.

When is the Final Hearing?

The Court will hold a hearing on DECEMBER 18, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. at the Mercer County Courthouse, 175 South Broad Street, Trenton, New Jersey, to consider whether to approve the Settlements and a request for attorneys' fees.  This date may change so please check the website.  You or your own lawyer may appear and speak at the hearing at your own expense. 

Should You Submit Updated Contact Information?

If you qualify as a Class Member but you are not sure if the Board has your current address, or if you are the authorized representative of the estate of a Class Member, you should complete a Contact Update Form available at www.HamiltonRetirees.com or by writing to the Class Administrator at the address shown below.

For More Information: Call toll free 1-800-921-7820, visit www.HamiltonRetirees.com, write to Class Counsel, or write to Hamilton Class Administrator, c/o The Notice Company, P.O. Box 455, Hingham, MA 02043.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT

SOURCE The Notice Company

Related Links

http://www.hamiltonretirees.com