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Release Date: March 29, 1999
Release Number:
USDL-PWBA-99-37-3-29 Dallas
Contact Name: Diana Petterson or Beverly
Sepulveda
(214) 767-4776, ext. 222 or 221
Sharon Morrissey
(202)
219-8921
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Superior Engine Rebuilding Co. of Houston and its owners have been
sued by the U.S. Department of Labor for withdrawing more than $344,000 from
the company’s profit sharing plan for use by themselves and to pay
creditors of the company. |
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The Superior Engine Rebuilding Co. was formed in Houston to
rebuild motor vehicular engines. The company’s profit sharing plan covered
as many as 29 participants and had assets of $880,367 as of Jan. 31, 1992.
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Named as defendants in the department’s lawsuit are the
company as well as Linda K. Williams and David C. Zingelmann and the estate of
their mother Gladys Zingelmann. These defendants were trustees of the plan and
directors of the company. |
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According to the lawsuit, the defendants violated the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when they:
- caused certain withdrawals, transfers, and/or loans to be made
from the plan in the amount not less than $344,189 to certain parties in
interest to the plan from March 19, 1993, to date and which remain outstanding;
- failed to pay distributions to terminated participants and
beneficiaries of the plan since March 19, 1993;
- failed to defray the reasonable expenses of administering the
plan and caused the plan to incur unnecessary service charges;
- failed to maintain adequate plan records; and
- failed to obtain bonding for persons handling plan property as
required by federal law.
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The lawsuit seeks a court order to require the defendants to
restore any losses, including interest, suffered by the plan’s
participants and beneficiaries and to undo any prohibited transactions
involving the plan. The lawsuit also asks the court to require that the
trustees offset any of their individual account balances to repay the amounts
owed to the plan. |
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In addition, the department’s lawsuit seeks to remove Linda
Williams and David Zingelmann as trustees of the plan, to permanently bar them
from serving as fiduciaries to the plan or any other employee benefit plan
covered by ERISA and finally to appoint an independent successor trustee to
manage the plan. |
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The lawsuit, filed on March 18 in federal district court in
Houston, resulted from an investigation conducted by the Dallas Regional Office
of the Labor Department’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration into
alleged violations of ERISA. |
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(Herman v. Superior Engine)
Civil Action No. 8-99-0808
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U.S. Department of
Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this
news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large
print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive
Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your
request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7775. |
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