Notice to Monsanto Employees and Former Employees: Zamansky LLC Investigates The Monsanto Savings and Investment Plan for Possible ERISA Violations
October 21, 2015 06:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zamansky LLC announces its investigation of Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON)(“Monsanto”) and the Monsanto Savings and Investment Plan (the “Plan”) for possible violations of the federal Employee Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). ERISA imposes fiduciary duties to prudently manage and invest the assets of the Plan. These duties were potentially violated by Monsanto’s continued offering of its company stock while it allegedly knew that the stock price was artificially inflated.
On March 20, 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (“IARC”), an agency of the international World Health Organization (“WHO”), issued an evaluation of several herbicides, including glyphosate. Glyphosate is the main chemical used in Monsanto’s “Roundup” pesticide responsible for over $5 billion in annual sales. The IARC evaluated studies on exposures to glyphosate since 2001, and concluded that glyphosate was Grade 2A agent and “probably carcinogenic” to humans.
Following the IARC’s report, Monsanto’s pesticide has come under intense scrutiny. Several foreign countries including France, Columbia and Brazil have reportedly banned or sought to ban the pesticide. The California Environmental Protection Agency issued notice of its intent to place glyphosate on its list of chemicals requiring labels indicating that it is carcinogenic. The news of these events have brought Monsanto’s stock price down from over $120 per share to $85 per share.
Additionally, there have been lawsuits filed against Monsanto which allege that it knowingly sold an unsafe and carcinogenic product and misled the public. A class action lawsuit was filed in California state court alleging that Monsanto engaged in false advertising that Roundup pesticide affects enzymes in plants, and not people. A former farm worker with years of exposure to Roundup pesticide filed another lawsuit in California federal court, alleging that his bone cancer was caused by the unsafe product.
According to employee stock fraud attorney, Jake Zamansky, Monsanto’s existing and former employees who purchased company stock through the Savings and Investment Plan may have suffered damage to their retirement savings. If the lawsuit allegations that Monsanto knew the risks of Roundup pesticides prove true, Zamansky states, then the Company knew that its stock price was artificially inflated and that it would correct when the truth came out. Monsanto’s existing and former employees who bought or held company stock that was artificially inflated were likely damaged, he states.
What Existing and Former Monsanto Employees Can Do
If you are an existing or former Monsanto employee who purchased or held company stock through the Monsanto Savings and Investment Plan, please contact our firm for an evaluation of your rights. If you are an existing or former Monsanto employee who has knowledge that would assist the investigation, please contact our firm. You can contact Jake Zamansky by telephone at(212) 742-1414 or by email at jake@zamansky.com.
About Zamansky LLC
Zamansky LLC is a leading stock law firm specializing in securities fraud, ERISA and employment class actions. We are investment fraud attorneys who represent both individual and institutional investors. Our practice is nationally recognized for our ability to aggressively prosecute cases and recover investment losses.
To learn more about Zamansky LLC, please visit our website, http://www.zamansky.
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