US Labor Department files suit to appoint independent fiduciary to distribute assets of abandoned Staten Island savings plan

Date of action:  March 24, 2016

Type of action: Complaint

Names of defendants: Lily Pond Nursing Home Savings Plan

Allegations: The Lily Pond Nursing Home Savings Plan was established in 1990 to provide retirement benefits for employees of the Lily Pond Nursing Home on Staten Island. Miriam Rosenberg was the plan’s sole trustee and fiduciary. Miriam Rosenberg stopped performing her fiduciary duties in January 2007 and did not ensure the appointment of a new fiduciary to manage the plan. The business ceased operations in 2012 and Miriam Rosenberg died in July 2013.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration found that no successor trustee was named and no individuals have come forward to assume fiduciary responsibility for the plan. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act requires that every employee pension benefit plan be managed by named fiduciaries and its assets held in trust by trustees. Without a trustee, the plan’s seven participants cannot access their shares of the plan’s $129,223.26 in assets.

Resolution:  The department’s lawsuit asks the court to appoint an independent fiduciary to administer and distribute the plan’s assets to its participants and beneficiaries.

Court:  U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Docket Number: 1:16-cv-01446-ARR-JO

Employers and workers can reach EBSA toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems related to private sector retirement and health plans.  Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa/.