Keller Rohrback L.L.P. is Issuing the Following Statement Regarding the JP Morgan...

Keller Rohrback L.L.P. is Issuing the Following Statement Regarding the JP
Morgan Chase Cash Balance Litigation

NEW YORK, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Keller Rohrback L.L.P.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

IN RE JP MORGAN CHASE CASH
BALANCE LITIGATION
Master File No. 06-cv-0732 (DLC)

THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO:
ALL ACTIONS

Notice of Pendency and
Voluntary Dismissal of Class Action

Notice of Pendency of Class Action: If you were a participant in the JPMorgan
Chase Retirement Plan or any of its predecessor plans (collectively, the
"Plan"), at any time between January 1, 1989 and January 31, 2006, please be
advised that your rights may be affected by a class action lawsuit pending in
the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
("District Court" or "Court") before the Honorable Denise Cote, entitled In re
J.P. Morgan Chase Cash Balance Litigation, Master File No. 06-CV-0732 (the
"Action"). For more information about this Action, please visit
http://www.JPMCCashBalanceLitigation.com/.

Notice of Voluntary Dismissal: Please also be advised that your rights may be
affected by the proposed voluntary dismissal of a portion of the Action, which
plaintiffs John Berotti, Annette Falchetti, Terri Melli and Perry Shapiro (the
"Class Representatives"), on behalf of the Certified Notice Class (as defined
in paragraph 4 below), have determined serves the interests of justice and is
fair, reasonable and adequate to members of the Certified Notice Class. The
proposed voluntary dismissal, together with the District Court's December 2008
dismissal of the Certified Age Claim (described in paragraph 2 below), will
terminate all certified class claims in the Action. The proposed voluntary
dismissal will be with prejudice; which means that the claims cannot later be
asserted by you or any other member of the class against defendants.

The only claims that will remain in the Action after dismissal of the
certified claims will be individual claims on behalf of the named plaintiffs,
alleging that defendants did not provide sufficient notice that the Plan's
conversion to a cash balance Plan effective January 1, 1989 caused a
significant reduction in the rate of future benefit accrual. The Court has
denied the named plaintiffs' request that these claims be certified for class
treatment.

Notice of Pending Related Case: A related case entitled Bilello v. JPMorgan
Chase Retirement Plan, et al., 07-CV-07379 ("Bilello"), is also pending in
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York before the
Honorable Denise Cote. The Bilello action is not affected by the dismissal of
this Action. In Bilello, Plaintiff Frank Bilello alleges proposed (but not
yet certified) class claims challenging the JPMorgan Chase Retirement Plan and
certain of its predecessor plans. Certain of the claims asserted in the
Bilello action have been dismissed and other claims are still the subject of a
motion to dismiss. For more information about the Bilello case, as well as
the remaining claims in this Action, you may visit
http://www.JPMCCashBalanceLitigation.com/.

This Notice explains important rights and a deadline for you to act to protect
those rights. The deadline is described below in paragraph 7. Your legal
rights will be affected whether or not you act. Please read this Notice
carefully!

1. Description of the Action: This Notice relates to the proposed voluntary
dismissal with prejudice of the class claims asserted in the Action. The
JPMorgan Chase Retirement Plan and the JPMorgan Chase Director of Human
Resources are defendants in the Action.

The Action was filed on January 31, 2006, and challenges certain aspects of
the Plan. The Consolidated Class Action Complaint, filed on May 25, 2006 (the
"Complaint"), asserts that the Plan violates the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") because, as a cash balance plan, it
discriminates on the basis of age by reducing the rate of benefit accrual as
its participants age (the "Age Claim"). The Action also alleges that
defendants did not provide sufficient notice that the conversion to a cash
balance plan, or the subsequent amendments to the cash balance plans, caused a
significant reduction in the rate of future benefit accrual (the "Notice
Claims," which are discussed in more detail below).

2. Dismissal of the Certified Age Claim: The Age Claim was certified with
respect to participants in the Plan at any time between January 1, 1989 and
January 31, 2006 (the "Certified Age Claim"). In July 2008, the United States
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in an unrelated case entitled Hirt v.
Equitable Ret. Plan, 533 F.3d 102 (2d Cir. 2008) ("Hirt"), held that cash
balance plans, such as the Plan in this Action, do not discriminate on the
basis of age. On October 23, 2008, as a result of Hirt, defendants moved to
dismiss the Certified Age Claim with prejudice. The Class Representatives did
not oppose defendants' motion to dismiss the Certified Age Claim because the
Second Circuit's decision in Hirt is controlling law for the District Court
where the Action is pending. The Class Representatives believed any
opposition to defendants' motion to dismiss the Certified Age Claim would have
been futile. The Court granted defendants' motion and dismissed the Certified
Age Claim from the Action with prejudice on December 4, 2008.

3. Description of the Notice Claims: The Complaint also alleges that
defendants did not provide sufficient notice at any point that the conversion
to a cash balance plan, or the subsequent amendments to the cash balance
plans, caused a significant reduction in the rate of future benefit accrual.
The Complaint alleges that as a result of the facts alleged in these Notice
Claims, the amendments to the JPMorgan Chase Retirement Plan could not become
effective for members of the class who were entitled to, but allegedly did not
receive, sufficient notice of the reduction in the rate of future benefit
accrual. The Complaint seeks to reform the JPMorgan Chase Retirement Plan to
provide participants the greater of the benefits to which they were entitled
under the Plan before or after the amendment.

The defendants have asserted that the Notice Claims are without merit and have
denied all allegations of liability.

4. Description of the Certified Notice Claims and Certified Age and Notice
Classes: The Court certified a class for Notice Claims relating to amendments
to the cash balance plan that became effective on or after January 1, 2002
(the "Certified Notice Claims"). The Court has not certified all of
Plaintiffs' Notice Claims alleged in the Action. In particular, the Court has
not certified Plaintiffs' Notice Claims stemming from the Plan's original
conversion to a cash balance plan as of January 1, 1989, or other claims
pertaining to plan amendments prior to January 1, 2002. As explained in more
detail at www.JPMCCashBalanceLitigation.com, the named plaintiffs intend to
pursue their uncertified Notice Claims.

The class certified with respect to the Certified Notice Claims includes all
participants in the JPMorgan Chase Retirement Plan at any time between January
1, 2002 and January 31, 2006 (the "Certified Notice Class"). The proposed
voluntary dismissal with prejudice of the Certified Notice Claims, if approved
by the Court, will impact the rights of all members of the Certified Notice
Class. No member of the Certified Notice Class will have the right to bring
any action or assert the Certified Notice Claims against these defendants.

The class for the Certified Notice Claims is different than the class
certified with respect to the Certified Age Claim, which included Plan
participants at any point from January 1, 1989 to January 31, 2006 (the
"Certified Age Class"). As explained above, the Court previously dismissed
the Certified Age Claim with prejudice in December 2008. As a result, no
member of the Certified Age Class will have the right to bring any action or
assert the Certified Age Claim against these defendants.

If you were a participant in the JPMorgan Chase Retirement Plan at any time
between January 1, 2002, and January 31, 2006, you are a member of the
Certified Notice Class.

If you were a participant in the JPMorgan Chase Retirement Plan or any of its
predecessor cash balance plans at any time between January 1, 1989 and January
31, 2006, you are a member of the Certified Age Class.

5. Voluntary Dismissal of the Certified Notice Claims On Behalf of the
Certified Notice Class: Plaintiffs have taken full fact and expert discovery
concerning the Certified Notice Claims. The Certified Notice Claims were set
for trial on March 2, 2009. In late January 2009, the Class Representatives,
acting on behalf of the Certified Notice Class, decided to voluntarily dismiss
the Certified Notice Claims with prejudice, for the reasons set forth in more
detail in paragraph 6 below.

Voluntary dismissal means that the Class Representatives have determined that
they no longer wish to pursue any recovery on their own or your behalf from
defendants with respect to the Certified Notice Claims. "With prejudice"
means that the voluntary dismissal will be binding on all members of the
Certified Notice Class, who will thereafter be barred from pursuing the
dismissed claims.

Neither the Class Representatives nor their counsel have received compensation
or any other form of relief with respect to the Certified Notice Claims. You
will not receive any compensation or any other form of relief if the voluntary
dismissal is approved by the Court.

6. Reasons for Voluntary Dismissal of the Certified Notice Claims: After
completing full fact and expert discovery for the Certified Notice Claims, the
Class Representatives concluded that even if they succeed at trial on the
Certified Notice Claims, such an outcome would not result in any meaningful
remedy for the Certified Notice Class. This means that even under the best
result at trial, if the Court found that defendants had violated ERISA with
respect to the Certified Notice Claims, there would be no additional benefits
awarded to members of the Certified Notice Class.

If you would like more information about why there would be no meaningful
remedy or additional benefits awarded to members of the Certified Notice Class
even if Plaintiffs were to prevail at trial on the Certified Notice Claims,
you may visit www.JPMCCashBalanceLitigation.com, and follow the link to
Plaintiffs' Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Voluntary Dismissal dated
April 29, 2009.

Other factors informing the Class Representatives' decision to voluntarily
dismiss the Certified Notice claims are: 1) the Second Circuit's decision in
Hirt, as described in paragraph 2 above, which eliminated both the Certified
Age Claim, as well as any portion of the Certified Notice Claims that were
dependent on the Certified Age Claim; 2) the ability to separately litigate
the Notice Claims in this Action as they relate to the Plan's original
conversion to a cash balance plan in 1989; and 3) the litigation of claims in
the Bilello case which raise distinct claims that also challenge the legality
of the Plan. If you would like more information about any of these factors,
you may visit www.JPMCCashBalanceLitigation.com.

Considering all these factors, the Class Representatives and their counsel
believe that the interests of justice warrant, and the resources of all
parties and the Court will best be served by, the voluntary dismissal with
prejudice of the Certified Notice Claims. The Class Representatives have
informed the Court that they believe defendants have committed certain
technical violations of ERISA concerning the Certified Notice Claims.
However, the Class Representatives believe voluntary dismissal of the
Certified Notice Claims with prejudice would be fair, reasonable and adequate
to members of the Certified Notice Class because these technical violations
would not entitle the class members to any additional benefits or other
meaningful relief.

Defendants deny that there were any technical or other violations of
applicable law under ERISA. Defendants believe that the Class Representatives
chose to voluntarily dismiss the action because the extensive discovery
confirmed that, under the applicable law, the Certified Notice Claims are
without any merit and plaintiffs would be unsuccessful at trial.

7. Objecting to Voluntary Dismissal of the Certified Notice Claims or the
Certified age Claim: If you desire, you can tell the Court that you do not
agree with the Class Representatives' decision to voluntarily dismiss the
Certified Notice Claims, or the Court's December 2008 dismissal of the
Certified Age Claim.

A hearing will be held on July 30, 2009 at 11:00 am before the Honorable
Denise Cote at the United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY
10007-1312, to determine whether the dismissal with prejudice of the Certified
Notice Claims should be approved. If any objections are raised to the Court's
prior dismissal of the Certified Age Claim, the Court will also consider at
the hearing whether or not to adhere to its December 2008 dismissal with
prejudice of the Certified Age Claim.

You may object to the voluntary dismissal with prejudice of the Certified
Notice Claims, or the dismissal of the Certified Age Claim, by mailing or hand
delivering a statement referencing the case name and docket number (In re J.P.
Morgan Chase Cash Balance Litigation; Master File No. 06-cv-0732) explaining
the basis for your objection, and stating whether you intend to appear at the
Final Approval Hearing, set for July 30, 2009. Your objection must be filed
with the District Court at the following address:
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
United States District Courthouse
Southern District of New York
500 Pearl Street, Room 1040
New York, New York 10007

In addition, you must send a copy of your objection to the counsel listed
below, who will distribute a copy of your objection to all counsel appearing
in the Action.
KELLER ROHRBACK, L.L.P.
Amy Williams-Derry, Esq.
1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200
Seattle, WA 98101
Telephone: (206) 623-1900
Facsimile: (206) 623-3384

Your objection must be filed with the Court and postmarked or faxed to the
counsel listed above no later than July 6, 2009.

Your notice must include a detailed statement of your specific objection(s),
the grounds for the objection(s) or the reasons why you wish to be heard at
the hearing, and all documents that you wish the Court to consider.

If you fail to object to the voluntary dismissal of the Certified Notice
Claims and/or the December 2008 dismissal of the Certified Age Claim in the
time and manner specified, you will not be heard at the hearing, and you will
not thereafter be able to contest either dismissal, or appeal a judgment
entered by the Court with respect to these dismissals. If you do not object
to either dismissal, or if your objection(s) are overruled by the Court, you
will be bound by both dismissals.

If the Court approves the dismissals, you will be bound by them whether you
have objected or not. Thus, even if you do object to the dismissal of the
Certified Notice Claims and the Certified Age Claim, you will still be bound
by these dismissals if the Court overrules your objection(s) or otherwise
approves the dismissals with prejudice. You will not be able to bring your
own claim for any Certified Notice Claim or Certified Age Claim if the Court
approves the dismissal with prejudice of the Certified Notice or Age Claims.

8. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Further information about this Action and the
Bilello action can be found at www.JPMCCashBalanceLitigation.com. Among other
resources and information, this website includes: a copy of this notice; links
to the parties' filings related to the voluntary dismissal, all pleadings and
substantive orders in this Action and Bilello, and the Second Circuit's
decision in Hirt.

If you have questions about this notice, you may also contact counsel for
Plaintiffs:
KELLER ROHRBACK, L.L.P.
Amy Williams-Derry, Esq.
1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200
Seattle, WA 98101
Telephone: (206) 623-1900
Facsimile: (206) 623-3384
awilliams-derry@kellerrohrback.com
www.JPMCCashBalanceLitigation.com

Please do not telephone or write to the Court (other than to file any
objection).

Contacts:
Attorneys
Keller Rohrback L.L.P.
Amy Williams-Derry
206-623-1900
www.KellerRohrback.com

SOURCE Keller Rohrback L.L.P.

Amy Williams-Derry of Keller Rohrback L.L.P., +1-206-623-1900