Lucent Retirees File Lawsuit

NEW YORK -- Three members of the Lucent Retirees Organization filed today a class action lawsuit against Lucent Technologies and related defendants. The suit charges that the company failed to maintain health care benefits for retired employees as required by Section 420 of the Internal Revenue Code and by Lucent’s medical plan and pension plan.

The suit alleges that Lucent violated the strict requirements of federal statutes to maintain health care benefits for retired employees for a five-year period following its action in September 1999 to transfer substantial “surplus” cash assets from the Lucent Retirement Income Plan to a retiree health care account within that pension plan.

“The LRO is supporting the plaintiffs to the fullest extent of our resources, to help bring about refunds and recoveries of monies that Lucent retirees were forced to pay in recent years as a direct result of Lucent’s violations of federal law,” said Ken Raschke, LRO President.

The action, which was filed in the United States District Court in Camden, N.J., also names as defendants the Lucent Employee Benefits Committee and the Lucent Medical Expense Plan for Retired Employees. The three representative plaintiffs in the case are Lucent retirees who are LRO members. They are Peter and Geraldine Raetsch of Reading, Pa. and Curtis Shiflett of Macungie, Pa.

The suit challenges Lucent’s reductions and terminations of retiree medical and prescription drug benefits, as well as increased co-pays, increased contribution requirements and more during the years 2000 through the present. It seeks a court order that Lucent shall, among other things, “…ensure the timely payment, reimbursement and/or refund to each plaintiff and Class member of all financial burdens that were illegally imposed by defendants.”

Raschke said the LRO will work with Alan Sandals, principal attorney of Sandals & Associates, P.C., Philadelphia, who represents the LRO members and the class of retirees. Sandals also is serving as counsel to the LRO and as co-counsel in a separate lawsuit against Lucent and AT&T that seeks restoration of the death benefits terminated by Lucent in February 2003.

Lucent Technologies Inc.