A judge has granted preliminary approval of a $49 million settlement to end an ERISA class action lawsuit against Washington Mutual, Inc. If you participated in a WaMu Savings Plan and invested any of your 401(k) money in Washington Mutual stock at any time between October 19, 2005 and September 26, 2008, your rights may be affected by the class action lawsuit settlement.

The Washington Mutual ERISA Class Action Lawsuit alleges Washington Mutual violated its duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by allowing its 401(k) plan to invest in Washington Mutual stock when it was allegedly an unsuitable and imprudent investment for the Plan. Also named as a defendant is JPMorgan Chase Bank, which seized Washington Mutual, Inc. in September 2008 when the bank collapsed. Chase is not accused of violating ERISA, but the lawsuit is seeking to recover from Chase on the theory that it was the successor to Washington Mutual, Inc.

A hearing is scheduled for November 5, 2010 for final approval of the settlement, class certification and other actions.

If the settlement is approved and you are a member of the class, you do not need to do anything in order to receive benefits from the settlement. If you are a current participant in the JPMorgan Chase 401(k) Savings Plan, any money to which you’re entitled to will be deposited into your Chase Plan account. If you are not currently participating in the Chase Plan, the funds will be made available to you as a qualified distribution.

Note: No claim form is necessary to participate in the class action lawsuit settlement. If you received a class action settlement notice in the mail, you are automatically considered a class member. If you did not receive the notice by mail and you believe you should have, call (800) 269-0794 to ensure that your current address is entered into the database that will be used to distribute money from the settlement.

The deadline to object to the settlement is October 22, 2010.