A court authorized the notice to let you know about a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit called Kohari, et al. v. MetLife Group, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-6146-JHR (the “Action”), brought on behalf of the Class Members and the Plan, and pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The notice describes the Settlement. Please read the notice carefully. Your rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained in the notice. Please understand that if you are a Class Member, your legal rights are affected regardless of whether you act.

A class action is a lawsuit in which one or more plaintiffs—in this case, one current Plan participant and two former Plan participants (the “Named Plaintiffs”)—sue on behalf of a group of people who allegedly have similar claims. After the Parties reached an agreement to settle this case, the Court granted preliminary approval of the Settlement. Among other things, the preliminary approval permits Class Members to voice their support of or opposition to the Settlement before the Court makes a final determination as whether to approve the Settlement. In a class action, the Court resolves the issues for all class members.  

The Named Plaintiffs, suing individually and on behalf of the Class and Plan (the “Plaintiffs”), allege that Defendants breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by including investment options in the Plan that are affiliated with MetLife and failing to adequately monitor the fees and performance of those funds. A more complete description of what Plaintiffs allege is in the Amended Complaint, which is available on the Important Documents page. 

Defendants deny all claims of wrongdoing or liability against them and assert that they have always acted prudently and in the best interests of Plan participants and beneficiaries. Defendants are settling the Action solely to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and disruption of litigation, without admitting the allegations of breach and damage contained in the Amended Complaint.
 

The Named Plaintiffs filed this Action on July 19, 2021. Defendants moved to dismiss the Action on October 6, 2021. The Court denied Defendants’ motion on August 1, 2022. On August 31, 2022, Plaintiffs filed the Amended Complaint (the operative complaint) adding the Employee Benefits Committee as a defendant as well as additional information supporting their allegations. On September 30, 2022, Defendants answered the Amended Complaint. On May 31, 2023, Plaintiffs moved for class certification. Defendants opposed that motion. The Court has not yet ruled on the motion. The Parties have exchanged extensive fact discovery, which completed on July 3, 2023. Instead of continuing Plaintiffs’ case against the Defendants, both sides agreed to a Settlement. That way, both sides avoided the cost and risk of additional court proceedings, and the affected Class Members will receive benefits that they would not have received if the Named Plaintiffs had litigated the remaining issues and lost, or had lost on appeal. The Named Plaintiffs and their attorneys believe the Settlement is in the best interests of the Class Members. Nothing in the Settlement Agreement is an admission or concession on Defendants’ part of any fault, liability or damages whatsoever, but has been entered into to avoid the uncertainty, expense, and burden of additional litigation.

The Court decided that everyone who fits this description is a member of the Settlement Class:

All participants and beneficiaries of the MetLife 401(k) Plan who were invested in the MetLife Index Funds at any time on or after July 19, 2015, through December 31, 2021, excluding any persons with responsibility for the Plan’s investment or administrative functions.

If you meet the definition above, you are a member of the Class.
 

MetLife has agreed to pay $4,500,000 into a Qualified Settlement Fund to resolve the claims of Class Members. The Net Settlement Amount (after deduction of any Court-approved expenses associated with administering the Settlement, Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, and Service Awards to Named Plaintiffs) will be allocated to Class Members according to the Plan of Allocation set forth in the Settlement Agreement. Under the Plan of Allocation, monies will be distributed to Participant Class Members and Former Participant Class Members pro rata based on (i) their average account balance for the period July 19, 2015, to December 31, 2021, and (ii) which of the Plan’s investment options they had chosen to invest in over that period.

All Class Members and anyone claiming through them will fully release the Plan as well as Defendants and the Released Parties from Plaintiffs’ Released Claims. The Released Parties include, but are not limited to, Defendants’ past, present, and future parent corporation(s), subsidiaries, divisions, joint ventures, predecessors, successors, successors-in-interest, and assigns, and any individual, partnership, corporation, or any other form of entity or organization that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with any of the foregoing. The Plaintiffs’ Released Claims include, but are not limited to, all claims that were asserted in the Action or could have been asserted in the Action based on any of the allegations, acts, omissions, purported conflicts, representations, misrepresentations, facts, events, matters, transactions, or occurrences asserted in the Action, whether or not pleaded in the Complaints. The Plaintiffs’ Released Claims also include those that relate to the direction to calculate, the calculation of, and/or the method or manner of allocation of the Net Settlement Fund pursuant to the Plan of Allocation and/or that relate to the approval by the Independent Fiduciary of the Settlement Agreement, unless brought against the Independent Fiduciary alone.

This is only a summary of the Released Parties and Plaintiffs’ Released Claims, and is not a binding description of either. The governing releases are found within the Settlement Agreement on the Important Documents page. Generally, the release means that Class Members will not have the right to sue the Plan, Defendants, or related parties for conduct during the Class Period arising out of or relating to the allegations in the lawsuit. The entire Settlement Agreement is available on the Important Documents page.

Class Members do not have to submit claim forms in order to receive settlement benefits.

The benefits of the Settlement will be distributed automatically once the Court approves the Settlement to Participant Class Members' Plan accounts. 

If, however, you are a Former Participant Class Member who did not have a Plan account balance greater than $0.00 on September 16, 2024 or are a Beneficiary or Alternate Payee of such a Participant, you can elect to receive your payment through a rollover to a qualified retirement account. If you are a Former Participant Class Member and would prefer to receive your settlement payment through a rollover to a qualified retirement account, you must complete, sign, and mail a Former Participant Rollover Form by December 20, 2024. If you believe you are a Former Participant Class Member, a Former Participant Rollover Form may be obtained by calling the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-995-0245 or by finding it on the Important Documents page. Former Plan participants who fail to complete, sign, and mail their Former Participant Rollover Form will receive their Settlement distribution by check.

Participant Class Members who are determined to no longer have a Plan account with a balance greater than $0.00 as of the date of their Settlement payments will be treated as Former Participant Class Members and will receive an allocation by check.
 

Former Participant Class Members (or Beneficiaries or Alternate Payees of such participants) who timely submit a Former Participant Rollover Form will receive a rollover of the pro rata share of the $4,500,000.00 as effected by the Settlement Administrator to their qualified retirement account selected in that Form within sixty (60) days after the Settlement has received final approval and becomes effective.  A check will be issued within the same 60-day period to Former Participant Class Members (or Beneficiaries or Alternate Payees of such participants) who do not submit a Former Participant Rollover Form.

Current participant Class Members (or Beneficiaries or Alternate Payees of such participants) will receive their pro rata share of the $4,500,000.00 in the form of a deposit into their Plan account effective no later than sixty (60) days after the Settlement has received final approval and becomes effective. The hearing to consider the final fairness of the Settlement is scheduled for January 9, 2025.  Any Alternate Payees of Participant Class Members will also receive their payment within 60 days, in accordance with the terms of their Qualified Domestic Relations Order.

All checks not cashed within 120 days after they are issued will expire and become void.

Payments made by check may have certain tax consequences; you should consult your tax advisor.  

There will be no payments under the Settlement if the Settlement Agreement is terminated.
 

For purposes of the Settlement, the Court has appointed lawyers from the law firm of Nichols Kaster, PLLP as Class Counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense. In addition, the Court appointed Named Plaintiffs Rita Kohari, John Radolec, and Mohani Jaikaran to serve as the Class representatives. They are also Class Members.

Subject to approval by the Court, Class Counsel has proposed that up to $15,000 may be paid to each of the Named Plaintiffs as the Class representatives in recognition of the time and effort they expended on behalf of the Class. The Court will determine the proper amount of any award to the Named Plaintiffs. The Court may award less than that amount.

From the beginning of the case, which was filed in July 2021, to the present, Class Counsel have not received any payment for their services in prosecuting the case or obtaining the Settlement, nor have they been reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses they have incurred. Class Counsel will apply to the Court for an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees (not to exceed one-third of the settlement fund), plus their costs and settlement administrative expenses. Defendants have agreed not to object to such an application. The Court will determine the proper amount of any Attorneys’ Fees and Costs to award Class Counsel.

Any Attorneys’ Fees and Costs awarded by the Court will be paid to Class Counsel from the settlement fund. Class Counsel will file a motion for an award of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, Administrative Expenses, and Class Representatives’ Compensation at least 14 days prior to the objection deadline. This motion will be considered at the Fairness Hearing. Class Counsel also will seek to recover all actual and anticipated litigation costs and administrative expenses associated with the Settlement.The Class Members will not have to pay anything out-of-pocket toward the fees or costs of Class Counsel.
 

If the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement, a final order and judgment dismissing the case will be entered in the Action. Payments under the Settlement will then be processed and distributed. The release by Class Members will also take effect.  No Class Member will be permitted to continue to assert Plaintiffs’ Released Claims in any other litigation against Defendants or the other persons and entities covered by the release, as described in FAQ 6. 

If you object to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, you may notify the Court of your objection (see FAQ 15). If the Settlement is not approved, the case will proceed as if no settlement had been attempted or reached. If the Settlement is not approved and the case resumes, there is no guarantee that Class Members will recover more than is provided for under the Settlement, or anything at all.

If you do nothing, and the Settlement is approved, you will release any claims you may have against Defendants or the Released Parties concerning the conduct Plaintiffs allege in their complaints (see FAQ 6). You may also receive a payment as described in FAQ 6.

If the Court approves the Settlement, you will be bound by it and will receive whatever benefits you are entitled to under its terms. You cannot exclude yourself from the Settlement, but you may notify the Court of your objection to the Settlement (see FAQ 15). If the Court approves the Settlement, it will do so under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(1), which does not permit Class Members to opt out of the Class.

No. If the Court approves the Settlement, you will have given up any right to sue MetLife or any of the Released Parties for the Plaintiffs’ Released Claims.  

You can object to the Settlement if you don't like any part of it. If you object, you must give the reasons why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement. The Court will consider your views. Your objection to the Settlement must be postmarked no later than December 6, 2024 and must be sent to the attorneys for the Parties at the addresses below:

The objection must be in writing and should include the case name Kohari, et al. v. MetLife Group, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-6146-JHR; as well as include your (a) name; (b) address; (c) a statement that you are a member of the Settlement Class; (d) the specific grounds for the objection (including all arguments, citations, and evidence supporting the objection); (e) all documents or writings that you desire the Court to consider (including all copies of any documents relied upon in the objection); (f) your signature; and (g) a notice of intention to appear at the Fairness Hearing (if applicable). (If you are represented by counsel, you or your counsel must file your objection through the Court’s CM/ECF system.) The Court will consider all properly filed comments from Class Members. If you wish to appear and be heard at the Fairness Hearing in addition to submitting a written objection to the Settlement, you or your attorney should say so in your written objection. 

Class Counsel will file with the Court their request for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, Administrative Expenses, and Service Awards to the Named Plaintiffs at least two weeks prior to December 6, 2024, and post it on the Important Documents page.

A Fairness Hearing has been set for January 9, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. E.T., before The Honorable Katharine H. Parker at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York 10007 in Courtroom 17D. At the hearing, the Court will hear any comments, objections, and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed Settlement, including the amount requested by Class Counsel for Attorneys' Fees and Costs, Administrative Expenses, and the Service Awards to the Named Plaintiffs as the Class representatives. You do not need to attend this hearing. You also do not need to attend to have an objection considered by the Court (see FAQ 15).

Note:  The date and time of the Fairness Hearing are subject to change by Court Order, but any changes will be posted on the Home page.
 

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as any written objection you choose to make was filed and mailed on time and meets the other criteria described in the Preliminary Approval Order, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but you don't have to.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the hearing concerning any part of the proposed Settlement by following the instructions in FAQ 15 above.

The notice provides only a summary of the matters relating to the Settlement.  For more detailed information, you may wish to review the Settlement Agreement.  You can view the Settlement Agreement on the Important Documents page. You can also get more information by writing to the Settlement Administrator at MetLife 401(k) Plan Settlement Administrator, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91488, Seattle, WA 98111 or calling toll-free 1-888-995-0245. 

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT, THE JUDGE, OR METLIFE WITH 
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT.

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