The Cushing MLP Total Return Fund Announces Settlement of Class Action Lawsuit

DALLAS, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Cushing MLP Total Return Fund (the "Fund") (NYSE: SRV), announced today that a settlement has been reached in the securities class action lawsuit filed on February 10, 2009, by Terri Bachow as lead plaintiff against Swank Energy Income Advisers, L.P., Swank Capital, LLC, Jerry V. Swank, Mark W. Fordyce, and the Fund's outside trustees pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.  The lawsuit relates to allegations concerning the Fund's treatment of its deferred tax asset under financial accounting standard No. 109.  Although all of the named defendants have denied any liability or responsibility for the claims made and make no admission of any wrongdoing, the Fund believes that it is in the best interests of its shareholders to settle the matter.

The settlement is contingent on court approval and provides for, among other things, dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice, the granting of broad releases of the named defendants, the Fund and all affiliated entities and a payment to the plaintiffs by the Fund's insurance carrier of $3.6 million, which would include payment of any attorneys' fees for plaintiffs' counsel.  The Fund anticipates that the entire settlement amount will be paid by its insurers and that the Fund will not incur any further costs or liability from this settlement.  On May 17, 2010, the lead plaintiff and Defendants Jerry Swank and Mark Fordyce filed a joint motion seeking preliminary approval by the court of the settlement and approval of a form of notice to potential settlement class members.

The Cushing MLP Total Return Fund is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund's investment objective is to obtain a high after-tax total return from a combination of capital appreciation and current income. No assurance can be given that the Fund's investment objective will be achieved. The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in MLP investments.

The Fund is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SRV." The Fund is managed by Swank Energy Income Advisors, LP, an SEC-registered Investment Adviser headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

ABOUT SWANK ENERGY INCOME ADVISORS, LP.

Swank Energy Income Advisors, LP ("Swank Energy"), is an SEC-registered Investment Adviser headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Swank Energy serves as investment adviser to affiliated funds, which invest primarily in securities of MLPs and other natural resource companies.  Swank Energy is also the sponsor for The Cushing® 30 MLP Index which is a fundamental based North American energy infrastructure index, comprised of 30 equally weighted publicly traded MLPs.  The Cushing® 30 MLP Index is calculated by Standard & Poor's and reported under the Bloomberg ticker "MLPX".  Swank Energy continues to expand its platform of MLP-related investment products, leveraging extensive industry contacts and unparalleled research depth to drive both passive and actively managed investment opportunities for individual and institutional investors.  The Investment Adviser seeks to identify and exploit investment niches it believes are generally less understood and less followed by the broader investor community.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws.  Generally, the words, "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the Fund's historical experience and its present expectations or projections indicated in any forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in economic and political conditions; regulatory and legal changes; MLP industry risk; leverage risk; valuation risk; interest rate risk; tax risk; and other risks discussed in the Fund's filings with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Fund undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein. There is no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be attained.

The Cushing® 30 MLP Index (the "Cushing® 30") is the exclusive property of Swank Capital, LLC, which has contracted with the Standard & Poor's ("S&P") to maintain and calculate the Index.  Standard & Poor's® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC "Calculated by S&P Custom Indices" and it related stylized mark(s) are service marks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and have been licensed by use by Swank Capital, LLC.  S&P and its affiliates shall have no liability for any errors or omissions in calculating the Index.  

SOURCE The Cushing MLP Total Return Fund