Beazer ERISA Class Action Settlement

If you participated in or were a beneficiary of the Beazer Homes USA, Inc. 401(k) Plan at any time between July 28, 2005 and May 12, 2008, and you had an account that included investments in the Beazer Homes company stock fund, you could claim money from a class action lawsuit settlement.

The settlement ends a 2008 class action lawsuit against Beazer Homes alleging the company violated their duties under ERISA by allowing participants in their 401(k) Plan to invest in the Beazer Stock Fund, even though they knew it was a risky and inappropriate investment option for Plan participants’ retirement savings during the class period.

According to the class action lawsuit, many Plan participants chose to have contributions to the Plan invested in the Beazer Stock Fund, and the company permitted the Plan to purchase and hold shares of the stock during the class period, when they knew or should have known that it was imprudent to do so. The lawsuit alleges Beazer Homes knew that such an investment was risky and imprudent because of the company’s alleged serious mismanagement and improper business practices.

Beazer Homes denies any wrongdoing but has established a $5.5 million settlement fund to end the class action lawsuit. Your share (if any) of the settlement will depend on your alleged loss, compared to other settlement class members’ alleged losses, related to Plan investments in the Beazer Stock Fund at any time during the period between July 28, 2005 and May 12, 2008. You are not responsible for calculating the amount that you may be entitled to, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t have records showing your Plan activity. A third-party vendor will calculate your losses based on the formula described in the class action settlement notice.

If the settlement is approved by the court on November 15, 2010 and you’re a class member, you will not need to do anything to receive a payment. There is no claim form necessary. If you are currently participating in the Plan, any share of your portion of the class action settlement will be deposited into your Plan account. If you are no longer a Plan participant, your share of the settlement will be deposited into a Plan account that will be established for you, if necessary, and you will be notified of such account.

For more information on the Beazer ERISA Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, see the Administrator’s Website.