Salomon, Smith Barney and an unspecified number of its employees have been charged with a number of claims, including negligence, breach of contract, unfair trade practices and state racketeering violations. The suit was filed on behalf of about 50 BellSouth Corp. retirees from North Carolina who allege they received bad investment advice from the brokerage firm.
The plaintiffs claim that once they were eligible for early retirement after 30 year's service, Salomon, Smith Barney encouraged them to leave the company and to put their lump-sum retirement payouts into accounts which it supervised or controlled. The suit also claims that Salomon, Smith Barney and its employees told the workers that they could retire "and generate higher take-home income than that which they were receiving while employed" and that they "could maintain their present lifestyle without the need to work further."
The lawsuit is asking that each of the retired workers receive compensatory damages in excess of $10,000 and punitive damages in excess of $10,000 as many of the retirees had to return to work and most if not all of them were subject to tax penalties as a result of advice from Salomon, Smith Barney and its employees.
At the present time, the plaintiff's are asking the court to certify their complaint as a class-action case and it has been estimated that the number of retired workers involved in a class-action suit could reach 200.
If you feel you qualify for damages or remedies that might be awarded in this class action please fill in our form on the right to submit your complaint.
If your injustice does not match the complaint described above, please use this form to register your complaint. Thank you.
