U.S. Department of Labor sues former West Palm Beach, Florida, tile and flooring distributor to restore SIMPLE IRA assets

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Bonnie Tile and several of its former corporate officers to require them to restore assets to the defunct company’s savings incentive match plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA) plan.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The suit alleges that in 2006 and 2007 the defendants withheld employee contributions and failed to send them to the plan, failed to make company matching contributions between 2006 and 2008, and failed to maintain plan records during this period. The department calculates plan losses of approximately $28,500.

The suit seeks a court order to require that three officers – Dennis Hughes, Susan Hughes and John Frank Mason – be barred from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any ERISA-covered plan in the future and to appoint an independent administrator at the defendants’ expense.

“The Labor Department will not allow company officials to take funds meant for their employees’ retirement and use them for other purposes,” said R.C. Marshall, regional director of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) office in Atlanta.

Bonnie Tile was a tile and flooring wholesaler located in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2007, the company filed for bankruptcy. The filing was later dismissed by the judge.

This case resulted from an investigation conducted by EBSA’s district office in Miami. Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s regional office in Atlanta at 404.302.3900 or toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. In fiscal year 2008, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.2 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families.

Solis v. Dennis Hughes
Civil Action File Number 9:09-cv-80523

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