Foot Locker, Inc. announced today that it intends to appeal a U.S. District Court decision issued late Tuesday in favor of the plaintiff in the case of Osberg v. Foot Locker, Inc., et al., which involves claims related to the conversion of the company's pension plan in 1996 to a defined benefit plan with a cash balance formula.
The company disagrees with the decision. Although it cannot predict the outcome of any appeal, the company continues to believe, as previously indicated in its public filings on Forms 10-Q and 10-K, that the potential plan funding implications of this decision will not have a material adverse effect on the company's consolidated financial position, liquidity, or results of operations, as a whole. Given the company's intention to appeal, no further comments on this case from the company or its executives will be available until further notice.
According to Foot Locker's 10Q for the most recent second quarter, the plaintiff charged that the company and the retirement plan failed to properly advise plan participants of the “wear-away” effect of the conversion. Plaintiff’s current claims are for breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and violation of the statutory provisions governing the content of the Summary Plan Description. The trial was held in July 2015, and the court had not yet delivered a decision.
