Hamilton Township School District Retired Employees Settlement

The Hamilton Township School District in New Jersey has reached a $17 million class action settlement agreement to resolve a contract dispute in which the district allegedly failed to follow through with cash payments to retirees in lieu of receiving prescription drug coverage for themselves and their dependents.

The class action complaint, filed in 2014 by more than 30 retired district employees, states that in July 2011 the district stopped making payments to specific retirees. The non-payment continued in 2012 and 2013 until all retirees were no longer receiving the cash payments required by contract. According to the New Jersey State Health Benefits Plan, the cash payment amount per person has increased every year, with the maximum cash payment amount currently at more than $1,300.

According to the Hamilton Township School District settlement agreement, $4 million of the settlement fund will be paid in two payments to cover retroactive 2011 – 2017 cash payments. The remaining $13 million will be used to make yearly payments to retirees over the next 10 years. The settlement includes former members of the Hamilton Township Administrators and Supervisors Association, Hamilton Township School Secretaries’ Association, and Hamilton Township Education Association.

Payments will be automatically mailed to Class Members. Dependents of retirees that are Class Members will also receive payment, for the years until the dependent reaches the age of 26. Deceased Class Members will have payments made to their estate for the years each member was alive. Class Members can update their contact information on the settlement website here. The executor or legal representative of a deceased Class Member can provide estate contact information here.

Class Members may object to the settlement or ask to be excluded by submitting a written request by Oct. 24, 2017.

Who’s Eligible

The settlement includes five subclasses:

Subclass A: Hamilton Administrators/Supervisors and dependents of employees that stopped receiving cash payments in July 2011, July 2012, or July 2013.

Subclass B: Hamilton Township Education Association members who contracted to receive the annual maximum in prescription drug copayments, and stopped receiving cash payments in July 2012 or July 2013.

Subclass C: Hamilton Township School Secretaries Association members who contracted to receive the annual maximum in prescription drug copayments, and stopped receiving cash payments in July 2011 or July 2013.

Subclass D: Hamilton Township Education Association members who contracted to receive a defined payment of $500 per year, and stopped receiving cash payments in July 2012 or July 2013.

Subclass E: Hamilton Township School Secretaries Association members who contracted to receive a defined payment of $500 per year, and stopped receiving cash payments in July 2011 or July 2013.

Potential Award

Varies.

There is no Claim Form. Payments will be mailed automatically to Class Members. The amount of each Class Member’s retroactive payment is based upon the cash payments they would have received if they were paid through Dec. 31, 2017, if the benefit had not stopped. Retroactive payments will be made in two payments. The first half paid within 30 days of final approval, and the second half paid in or around January 2018. Prospective payments will be paid over a 10 year period with one payment made at the beginning of each year, starting in January 2019.

Proof of Purchase

N/A

Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS »

Exclusion Deadline

10/24/2017

Case Name

Joan Gray, et al, v. Board of Education of the Township of Hamilton, Mercer County, Case No. MER-L-747-14, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Mercer County

Final Hearing

12/18/2017

Settlement Website

www.HamiltonRetirees.com

Claims Administrator

Hamilton Class Administrator
c/o The Notice Company
PO Box 455
Hingham, MA 02043
800-921-7820

Class Counsel

Subclass A counsel:
Robert M. Schwartz
SCHWARTZ LAW GROUP LLC
(609) 860-9100

Subclasses B, C, D and E counsel:
Richard A. Friedman
ZAZZALI FAGELLA NOWAK KLEINBAUM & FRIEDMAN PC
(973) 623-1822

Defense Counsel

Patrick F. Carrigg
LENOX SOCEY FORMIDONI GIORDANO COOLEY LANG & CASEY LLC