Krispy Kreme ERISA Litigation

The Smith v. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation ERISA Complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on behalf of Plaintiffs and a class (the "Class") of all persons who were participants in or beneficiaries of the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation Retirement Savings Plan and the Krispy Kreme Profit Sharing Stock Ownership (the “Plans”) between January 1, 2003 and May 15, 2006 (the "Class Period").

The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, the Defendants breached their fiduciary duties to Plaintiffs and the Class members by:

  • failing to prudently and loyally manage the Plans' assets;
  • failing to provide participants with complete and accurate information regarding Krispy Kreme stock sufficient to advise participants of the true risks of investing their retirement savings;
  • failing to properly monitor the performance of their fiduciary appointees, and remove and replace those whose performance was inadequate; and,
  • violation of co-fiduciary duties.

Not all claims were brought against every Defendant. Please refer to the Complaint or Contact Us for more information. 

Settlement Update

January 10, 2007: Keller Rohrback is pleased to announce that on January 10, 2007, the Honorable William L. Osteen approved the Final Settlement of this matter. Once the appeals period has expired and the Settlement becomes final, Class Counsel will direct the Plans’ Trustee to begin calculating each Class Member’s portion of the Settlement and commence distribution of Settlement Funds pursuant to the Plan of Allocation. As always, please continue to visit this website and the Krispy Kreme ERISA litigation settlement website for updates about the Settlement and allocation of Settlement Funds.

November 16, 2006: Pursuant to the Court’s order dated November 16, 2006, the Fairness Hearing has been rescheduled for January 10, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. For details regarding the Settlement, and the legal rights and options for class members in relation to the Settlement, please visit the Krispy Kreme ERISA litigation settlement website: http://www.kellersettlements.com/krispykreme.html

September 27, 2006: Keller Rohrback announces preliminary court approval of the $4.75M cash settlement with all Named Defendants in the Smith v. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation ERISA Litigation. The Named Defendants include Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation, Randy J. Casstevens, Ken Hudson, Sherry Luper, Frank Murphy, Pam Petro-Ott, Michael C. Phalen, Sherry Polonsky, Jeff Thielen, Scott A Livengood, and John N. (Jack) McAleer. On November 20, 2006, the Court will hold a fairness hearing, at which time it will determine whether to give the settlement final approval. For details regarding the Preliminary Settlement Approval Order and the legal rights and options for class members in relation to the settlement, please refer to the Case Documents. Notices were mailed to Class Members on September 29, 2006, and are available for review under Case Documents section below.

August 15, 2006- Keller Rohrback announces that it has reached a $4.75m cash Settlement with all Named Defendants in the Smith v. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation ERISA Litigation. Plaintiffs have asked the Court for preliminary approval of the Settlement and are expecting a ruling shortly. For details regarding the settlement agreement, please refer to the Case Documents below.

Case Documents