Reidt v. Frontier Communications: Verizon Stock Fund Settlement

A QDRO is a court order that assigns some retirement-plan benefits to another person, often in a family-law matter.

• You may be included if, between December 12, 2012, and April 30, 2018, you were a Plan participant or beneficiary, or an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), and your Plan account included Verizon common stock or the Verizon Stock Fund.
• Defendants and their immediate family members are excluded.

Payment still depends on the settlement becoming effective and on the person qualifying under the settlement terms.

• No claim form is described.
• If the settlement is approved, class members do not need to take action to be in the class or to be eligible for a payment.
• The notice does not ask class members to submit documents to prove their investment losses. Plan records are used for the allocation.

This is not a fixed payment per person. Money still left after allocations is returned to the Plan under the Settlement Agreement.

• The Company will place $14,050,000 into the Settlement Fund.
• Administration costs, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other expenses are paid from that fund before the remaining Net Settlement Amount is distributed.
• Your amount will be based on your year-end Verizon Stock Fund balances during the class period. For 2018, the March 31 balance is used. A year in which you were not in the Plan or had no Verizon Stock Fund balance counts as zero.
• Eligible members whose calculated allocation is below $10 will receive $10. Other allocations will be adjusted proportionally.
• The notice cannot state anyone’s exact payment now because the final net fund, final class size, and individual balances are not yet known.

The notice does not give a distribution date. Payments cannot be distributed unless the Court grants final approval and the settlement becomes effective.

• Active Participants, as defined in the Settlement Agreement, will have their payment placed automatically in their Plan account if it is still open and has a positive balance when distributions are made.
• Former Participants will receive a check unless they choose a direct rollover to another tax-qualified account.
• An Active Participant whose Plan account is no longer open when payments are made will receive a check unless they contact the Settlement Administrator to arrange a direct rollover.
• The Settlement Administrator will handle required tax withholding and reporting.

You may object to the proposed settlement, but an objection asks the Court to approve or reject this settlement as written; it cannot require a different settlement.

• No. You cannot opt out, meaning you cannot remove yourself from this settlement class.
• If the settlement is approved, class members will be bound by it and cannot bring the claims that the settlement releases against the released parties.
• The release covers claims connected to, among other things, the inclusion of Verizon stock or the Verizon Stock Fund in the Plan and alleged failure to diversify Plan assets.

The Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for January 7, 2027, at 10:00 a.m., anticipated at the United States Courthouse, 450 Main Street, Room 228, Hartford, Connecticut. The Court may change the time, format, or place.

• Written objections are due December 8, 2026.
• An objection must identify the case, provide the class member’s contact information and signature, explain why the person is a class member, state the grounds for objection, and include other information listed in the notice.
• If you or your lawyer intend to appear at the hearing, notice of that intention must be given to the Court Clerk by December 24, 2026.
• Because the notice conflicts on whether an objection must be received by December 8 or may be postmarked by that date, it does not establish one reliable mailing rule.