Legal Question in Securities Law in New York

401k mishandling- NYS

Within NY state, I once worked for a firm (2.5+years) that I invested in a vested 401k plan with 6% matching percentage. I contributed and recieved this payment on my statements-that is not at issue, just a bit of history.

The problem I faced is that, post-layoff & severance payout, which occured in Feb 2004, the company preceded to switch 401k custodian firms without my consent/notification whether I wanted to rollover at that time.

It decided to move my account and neglected to notify me of the transfer; during this time I failed to have access to this account, did not recieve one letter nor statement from all involved: the company, the old firm nor the new custodial firm now managing the acounts.

Do I have any recourse in this, as my account information, right to know, and accessibility was withheld for a period from July 2005 through yesterday, when I asked for and promptly recieved the information via email.

Since I had to inquire from my prior 401k firm, and it was not provided to me, I would like to know what the precedent is for such a case, or even if there is a vaild negligence suit here? Thank you.


Asked on 2/15/06, 8:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence R. Gelber Lawrence R. Gelber, Attorney at Law

Re: 401k mishandling- NYS

You do not assert that you lost any money. Even if there were negligence (which cannot be determined based solely on your synopsis of events), and putting aside issues relating to burdens of proof, absent a quantifiable loss it would generally be difficult to sustain a case. You would need to review the underlying documents to determine whether any obligations, duties or agreements were breached. If you determine that some obligation was not met, you then must evaluate whether that caused you a monetary loss. Monetary loss can be measured by things like out of pocket "actual" losses, or, in some cases, lost economic opportunity. Once you have all the information, your lawyer can advise you if you have compensable claims. There is not enough information in your question. Good luck. This response is provided subject to the disclaimer on my website at www.GelberLaw.net.

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Answered on 2/15/06, 10:54 pm


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