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EBSA News Release: [08/11/2003] Contact Name: Gloria
Della Phone Number: (202) 693-8664
Court Appoints Independent Fiduciary and Restores Assets
to Retirement Plans of Maryland Companies
SILVER SPRING, Md.A federal court in Greenbelt, Md. on July
29, 2003 appointed an independent fiduciary to distribute all remaining plan
assets of the profit sharing plans of Della Ratta, Inc. and Commercial
Management Company in Silver Spring, Md. The court further ordered restoration
of more than $166,000 to the plans from assets held in a Della Ratta, Inc.
corporate account and restitution to be paid by the plans trustees.
Corporations and executives who are designated retirement plan
fiduciaries have a responsibility to protect the pension assets of its
participants, said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. These
defendants used the plan assets for their personal gain. The department's
action recovers pension assets taken illegally from the workers and their
families.
Following a trial, the court ordered the appointment of Nell Hennessey
of Washington, D.C. to be the independent fiduciary, with authority to
distribute all remaining plan assets to plan participants and to conclude all
business of the plans. The court also ordered defendants Joseph M. Della Ratta
and Joseph E. Brimmer to restore assets owed to the plans, be removed as
trustees of the plans and be permanently barred from serving any plans governed
by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in the future.
The court order resolves a lawsuit filed Dec. 1, 2000 against the
defendants for transferring plan assets to a Della Ratta, Inc. account and for
using plan assets to pay a sanction owed by Della Ratta, Inc. to the Internal
Revenue Service. The suit also alleged that the trustees and the companies,
which served as plan administrators failed to make distributions to all
participants when the plans were terminated in 1999. The plans covered
approximately 32 participants.
The department also obtained a temporary restraining order in December
2000 prohibiting the defendants from withdrawing assets from the corporate
account to which plan assets had been transferred.
Della Ratta, Inc. is a construction company and Commercial Management is
a real estate management firm that served as administrators of the plans. Della
Ratta is an officer of both companies and Brimmer is an officer of Della Ratta,
Inc.
This case was investigated by EBSAs Washington District Office.
Employers and workers can contact the office at (301) 713-2000 or EBSAs
toll free number, 1-866-444-EBSA (3272), for help with problems relating to
private-sector pension and health plans.
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