Lucent Retiree Medical Settlement - Latest News

This is a status report update as of April 20, 2012:

As detailed in the Report, as of April 18, 2012 class members have cashed settlement checks representing 93.67% of the funds being distributed. The Report provides additional information about (1) the steps being taken for the remaining uncashed checks, including robocalls and mailings to households that were issued the checks, (2) additional payments mailed out on April 18, 2012 to 15 households which previously had been under investigation, and (3) the completion of the review and payment to the approximately 450 households which have been under investigation for eligibility.

You can review the Fourth Status Report by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the Status Report. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

This is a status report update as of March 7, 2012:

The next status report will be filed on April 20, 2012. Because settlement administration has entered a more routine phase, the Court will not hold another conference until the summer of 2012, at which time plans for the conclusion of settlement administration will be reviewed. However, if any class member wants to raise any issues for the Court's attention before the next conference, he or she should communicate those issues in writing to plaintiffs' counsel at the following postal or email address:

Please note that routine issues about settlement administration, such as requests to reissue checks, should continue to be directed to the settlement administrator, either by email to LucentRetirees@Heffler.com, or by phone to 1-888-229-4969.

This is a status report update as of February 17, 2012:

As detailed in the Report, as of February 15, 2012 class members have cashed settlement checks representing 91.45% of the funds being distributed. The Report provides additional information about (1) the steps being taken for the remaining uncashed checks, (2) additional payments mailed out on January 31, 2012 to 401 households which previously had been under investigation, and (3) the status of the review of 42 remaining households under investigation for eligibility.

You can review the Third Status Report by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the Status Report. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

This is a status report update as of January 6, 2012:

You can review the Second Status Report by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the Status Report. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

This is a status report update as of December 2, 2011:

Due to normal delays in postal service deliveries, please allow sufficient time for your check to arrive. If you have not received a check by Friday, December 9, 2011 but believe you are entitled to receive a check, you may call or email the Settlement Administrator, Heffler Radetich & Saitta, using the following contact information:

On Friday, December 2, 2011, the attorneys for the retirees filed a Status Report Re: Settlement Distribution to update the Court on the progress of the settlement distribution and the investigation of the 450 households where eligibility has not yet been finally determined. Exhibit A to the Status Report includes copies of (1) the settlement payment check stub with explanatory information, and (2) the letter on potential tax issues relating to receipt of the settlement payment. These are the same documents that were mailed on November 30.

You can review the Status Report by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the Status Report. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

This is a status report update as of November 21, 2011:

This is a status report update as of November 15, 2011:

You can review the Order by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the letter. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

This is a status report update as of November 3, 2011:

The Court approved the request, under which the amount of $ 250,000 will be reserved for possible later payments to households whose eligibility for a settlement payment remains under investigation. This payment reserve would have the effect of reducing the amount of settlement payments to the approximately 53,000 eligible class member households by a maximum of less than one percent. A second reserve in the amount of $ 305,000 will be made to cover past and future expenses of settlement administration. After deducting the amount of these two reserves, a total settlement fund of $ 25,252,625 will be available for distribution at this time.

The settlement distribution will occur by the end of November 2011. A later update on this website will provide information on the actual mailing dates for the settlement checks.

The attorneys for the retirees will submit a status report to Court on December 2, 2011 to report on the status of this distribution and the progress in resolving the 450 remaining cases. The Court will review this information in a telephone conference with the attorneys on Friday, December 9, 2011.

This is a status report update as of October 28, 2011:

You can review this new court filing, entitled "Request for Authorization to Distribute Settlement Funds Subject to Reserve for Later-Recognized Class Members", by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the letter. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

The new court filing explains that there are now 450 retiree households that require additional research to determine whether the household is entitled to a settlement payment. The research process may take several more months. Under the proposal filed with the Court today, the amount of $250,000 would be reserved for possible later payments to these households. This payment reserve would have the effect of reducing the amount of settlement payments to the approximately 53,000 eligible class member households by less than one percent. A second reserve in the amount of $305,000 is proposed to cover past and future expenses of settlement administration. After deducting the amount of these two reserves, a total settlement fund of $25,252,625 would be available for distribution at this time if the Court approves this proposal.

The Court will review this proposal in a telephone conference with the attorneys on Thursday, November 3, 2011.

This is a status report update as of October 20, 2011:

As reported in the last update, the number of cases under investigation has been reduced to 460. Since the last conference, additional investigation and analysis has occurred to determine the number of individuals whose medical claims history may need to be analyzed due to their potential eligibility for payments under Pool One of the Plan of Allocation. The data vendor which maintains this claims data for Lucent states that it could take 4-8 weeks to electronically restore the archived data and make it available for analysis. Additional research also is required to investigate eligibility for payments under Pool Two.

Due to the length of additional time that will be needed to investigate every remaining case, the attorneys are proposing the creation of a reserve for possible later settlement payouts to people whose status is still under investigation, so that distribution of payments to known eligible class members is not further delayed. It was not possible to propose this approach when the number of questioned cases was much larger.

Certain information needed to prepare the proposal is expected to be received during the coming week. So the proposal for the distribution with reserve will be filed with the Court not later than next Friday, October 28, 2011. The document will be posted on this website. The Court will review the proposal in a telephone conference with the attorneys on Thursday, November 3, 2011.

This is a status report update as of October 13, 2011:

During this conference, the attorneys reported that since the September 22nd conference, additional analysis and data reconciliation work has occurred. Based on these efforts by Lucent, its data vendors, and the settlement administrator, the number of individuals whose eligibility status requires further investigation has been reduced from 1,187 individuals to 460 individuals. The Lucent data vendors also have determined that there are four general explanations for why these individuals were not included in the original database that is being used for the settlement payment calculations. The attorneys believe that they will be able to report further reductions in the number of unresolved cases at the next conference with the Court on October 20th, and that a smaller number of individuals who must be the subject of detailed research will remain.

This is a status report update as of September 28, 2011:

On September 22nd, in preparation for the status conference, the attorneys for the retirees filed a "Notice of Filing Materials Relevant to September 26, 2011 Status Conference." You can review the Notice of Filing by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the letter. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

The Notice of Filing reported that approximately one-half of the names being investigated had been linked to households on the list of recognized class members who are eligible for a settlement payment. This leaves 1,187 individuals whose eligibility remains to be investigated. The data on these individuals was passed back to Lucent and its vendors on Friday, September 23rd, for their investigation. It is hoped that the status of most of these people can be determined without individual investigation. The results of this review are expected to be available at the time of the next conference with the Court on October 6th.

In the Notice of Filing, the attorneys for the retirees also provided to the Court the texts of the questions submitted by six class members and their responses to those questions.

This is a status report update as of September 15, 2011:

As a result of the conference, the Court entered an Order on September 15, 2011 establishing a process for reports to and phone conferences with the Court every 14 days until settlement administration is completed. Each conference will be summarized in a set of minutes that will be available on this website. Also, any class member may raise issues for discussion during the conferences by writing or emailing to counsel for plaintiffs Alan Sandals, whose email address is asandals@sandalslaw.com.

You can review the September 15 Order by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the letter. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

This is a status report update as of September 9, 2011:

You can review the letter by clicking on this link. You will need to use the free "Adobe Reader" program to view the letter. A copy of the Adobe Reader program can be downloaded at this website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

We apologize for these unanticipated delays in finalizing the payment calculations and thank you for your patience. These delays have occurred due to the fact that the settlement fund is being distributed among more than 50,000 households based on individualized calculations. Since the payments will be distributed once to a defined group of people, we must be certain that the list of recipients is correct.

This is a status report update as of August 24, 2011:

Although everyone involved continues to believe that the settlement payment list is complete and correct, it still is necessary to obtain a fully satisfactory confirmation that others who are on the mailing list are not eligible for payments under the settlement. (The mailing list database is known to include many people who are not eligible for a settlement payment.)

When the review process is completed and the settlement payments are ready to be mailed, a new update will provide the schedule for this mailing. The mailing will not occur until you see this information on this website.

We apologize for these unanticipated delays in finalizing the payment calculations and thank you for your patience. These delays have occurred due to the fact that the settlement fund is being distributed among more than 50,000 households based on individualized calculations. Since the payments will be distributed once to a defined group of people, we must be certain that the list of recipients is correct.

This is a status report update as of August 12, 2011:

When the review process is completed and the settlement payments are ready to be mailed, a new update will provide the schedule for this mailing. The mailing will not occur until you see this information on this website.

We apologize for these unanticipated delays in finalizing the payment calculations and thank you for your patience. These delays have occurred due to the fact that the settlement fund is being distributed among more than 50,000 households based on individualized calculations. Since the payments will be distributed once to a defined group of people, we must be certain that the list of recipients is correct.

This is a status report update as of June 20, 2011:

We apologize for these unanticipated delays in finalizing the payment calculations and thank you for your patience. These delays have occurred due to the fact that the settlement fund is being distributed among more than 50,000 households based on individualized calculations.

The hearing on final approval of the settlement occurred as scheduled on November 8, 2010. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court entered an Order and Final Judgment (1) granting final approval of the settlement and plan of allocation, and (2) granting the petition for award of attorneys' fees and expenses and special payments to the named plaintiffs. Assuming there is no appeal of this decision, the settlement will become final and effective on December 9, 2010.

Court-Ordered Legal Notice of Certification of Settlement Class and Proposed Settlement of Class Action was mailed out on September 1, 2010. If you received this notice in the mail directly from the Settlement Administrator, you are a member of the Settlement Class and there is nothing you need to do to be included. If you did not receive a copy of this Notice by mail directly from the Settlement Administrator but you believe you are a member of the Settlement Class, it is essential for you to contact the Settlement Administrator at the phone number or email address listed below. Otherwise, you may not be included in the distribution of the Settlement Fund.

Contact us for more information