Participants and beneficiaries of the Frontier Communications 401(k) Savings Plan whose accounts held Verizon stock between December 12, 2012 and April 30, 2018 will be paid automatically from the $14.05 million Frontier ERISA class action settlement if it is approved; there is no claim form to file. Former participants have until December 8, 2026 to choose a rollover instead of a mailed check, and the final approval hearing is set for January 7, 2027.
Current Status
There is no claim form: payments are automatic if the court grants final approval. U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny granted preliminary approval on August 18, 2026, and postcard notices went out to class members on October 9, 2026. The final approval hearing is scheduled for January 7, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. in Hartford, Connecticut. Former participants who no longer have a Plan account have until December 8, 2026 to submit a Rollover Form if they want a direct rollover rather than a check. No payment date had been announced as of October 15, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
Frontier Communications Corporation and the Retirement Investment & Administration Committee agreed to pay $14,050,000 to resolve a 2018 class action over the Verizon stock held in the Frontier Communications 401(k) Savings Plan. The settlement agreement is dated July 10, 2026, the same day the named plaintiff asked the court for preliminary approval. Judge Chatigny granted that request on August 18, 2026, finding the deal fair, reasonable and adequate on a preliminary basis, certifying a settlement class and appointing Rust Consulting, Inc. as the settlement administrator.Rust Consulting mailed short-form postcard notices on October 9, 2026. Bloomberg Law, citing the preliminary approval motion, reported that the settlement covers about 10,000 people who held Verizon stock in their Frontier 401(k) accounts.
The preliminary approval order first set the final approval hearing for December 10, 2026. The court docket shows a motion concerning the hearing filed September 24, 2026 and an order on it the next day, and the official settlement website now lists January 7, 2027; the objection and appearance deadlines on the website track that later date.
What Is the Lawsuit About?
The case, Reidt v. Frontier Communications Corp., was filed on September 11, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The plaintiff alleges that the defendants allowed the Plan to become overly concentrated in Verizon common stock, mainly through the Verizon Stock Fund, and that this breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including the duty to diversify plan investments.The complaint describes how that stock reached a Frontier plan in the first place. In 2010, Verizon spun off its local landline business in predominantly rural areas of 14 states, which then merged with Frontier. According to the complaint, Verizon management employees who became Frontier employees brought their savings-plan accounts with them, and those accounts were merged into the Frontier Plan by the end of 2011. A second deal, which closed on April 1, 2016, moved Verizon's wireline operations in California, Texas and Florida to Frontier, and the complaint says it transferred more Verizon savings-plan assets into the Plan. The complaint alleges that Verizon stock made up more than 13% of the Plan's total holdings at the end of 2016.
The defendants deny all of the claims and admit no wrongdoing. They contend that the Plan's fiduciaries monitored the Verizon Stock Fund, that the fund was open only to legacy Verizon employees, and that legacy stock funds are not uncommon after spin-offs and mergers. The settlement website says the Verizon Stock Fund was removed from the Plan in April 2018. The court has not decided who was right; the settlement resolves the claims without a ruling on the merits.
Who Qualifies?
The court certified a settlement class of participants in and beneficiaries of the Frontier Communications 401(k) Savings Plan, along with any Alternate Payee of a participant under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), at any time from December 12, 2012 through April 30, 2018, whose Plan accounts included investments in Verizon common stock, including the Verizon Stock Fund. The settlement website describes the participants as vested participants.The defendants say the Verizon Stock Fund was available only to legacy Verizon employees, so the class is made up largely of people who came to Frontier from Verizon and held Verizon shares in their Frontier 401(k) during that window. Frontier employees who never had Verizon stock in their Plan account are not part of this class. The defendants and their immediate family members are excluded, as are the legal representatives, successors and assigns of anyone excluded.
How Much Will Class Members Receive?
The total settlement fund is $14,050,000. Several court-approved costs come out of it before anything is distributed:- Attorneys' fees and litigation expenses for Class Counsel, which the court has not yet set.
- A case contribution award of up to $25,000 for the named plaintiff.
- The costs of administering the settlement.
- Fees and costs of the Independent Fiduciary.
- Taxes and tax-related costs of the settlement fund.
What remains is divided under a court-approved Plan of Allocation. The preliminary approval order says each class member's share is based on that person's investment in the Verizon Stock Fund during the class period, which the court called a fair proxy for the harm alleged. The Settlement Administrator calculates each amount from the Plan recordkeeper's records. The settlement website says individual amounts cannot be estimated yet, and no per-person average has been published.
How the money arrives depends on whether the class member still has a Plan account:
- People with a positive Plan account balance when the money is distributed have their share deposited into that account.
- Former participants without a Plan account receive a check by mail unless they choose a direct rollover to an IRA or another eligible employer plan by submitting a Rollover Form by December 8, 2026.
The notice says the rollover and check options are handled differently for tax withholding, and it describes that difference. The full notice is available on the official settlement website.
What Proof Is Required?
None. There is no claim form, and nobody has to submit documents to be paid. Class membership and each person's share come from the Plan recordkeeper's data.The postcard notice carries a Claimant ID and Access Code, but they are used only for the optional Rollover Form. That form changes how a payment is delivered, not whether it is made: a class member who never touches it is still paid, by account deposit or by check.
What Are the Deadlines?
The official sources give the following dates. They do not specify a time zone.- On or before November 8, 2026: Class Counsel's motions for attorneys' fees and expenses and for final approval are due.
- December 8, 2026: deadline to submit a Rollover Form, and to file or postmark an objection.
- December 24, 2026: deadline to file a notice of intent to appear and speak at the final approval hearing.
- January 7, 2027, at 10:00 a.m.: final approval hearing in Hartford, Connecticut.
How Can Class Members Take Action?
Nothing is required to be paid. For the optional steps:- Rollover Form: submitted on the settlement website's Rollover Form page using the Claimant ID and Access Code from the front of the postcard notice, by December 8, 2026. The website also posts a printable version of the form. It is relevant only to former participants who no longer have a Plan account.
- Objections: under the preliminary approval order, an objection must be filed with the Clerk of Court, with copies to Class Counsel and Defense Counsel, and filed or postmarked by December 8, 2026. It must identify the case name and number, include the objector's name and contact information, explain the objection and its grounds, attach any supporting documents, list any lawyer representing the objector, and be signed.
- Speaking at the hearing: a notice of intent to appear goes to the Clerk of Court, with copies to Class Counsel and Defense Counsel, by December 24, 2026.
The filing details and the full notice are on the official settlement website, which also has a contact page for the settlement administrator.
What Happens Next?
Class Counsel, Bailey & Glasser LLP and Izard, Kindall & Raabe, LLP, are due to file the fee and final approval motions on or before November 8, 2026. After the December 8 objection deadline, Judge Chatigny will consider at the January 7, 2027 hearing whether to grant final approval and how much to award in fees and expenses. The order allows the hearing to be held in person, by telephone or by videoconference, and to be moved without further mailed notice; updates are posted on the settlement website.Payments go out only if the court grants final approval. No distribution date had been announced as of October 15, 2026.
Sources and Verification
- Official settlement website (Rust Consulting): home page, FAQ and Rollover Form page.
- Court docket, Reidt v. Frontier Communications Corp., No. 3:18-cv-01538 (D. Conn.), including the Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement and Certification of Settlement Class (ECF No. 199, August 18, 2026).
- Class action complaint (ECF No. 1, filed September 11, 2018).
- Bloomberg Law, report on the settlement and the preliminary approval motion (July 2026).
- Law360, report on preliminary approval (August 2026).
Questions
Do former Frontier employees have to file anything to be paid from the Frontier 401(k) settlement?
There is no claim form. Class members are identified from the Plan recordkeeper's records, and the settlement website says they do not need to do anything to be in the class or, if the settlement is approved, to receive a share. The only optional step is the Rollover Form, which former participants without a Plan account can use to choose a direct rollover instead of a mailed check.
Why did the Frontier 401(k) Plan hold Verizon stock at all?
According to the 2018 complaint, the Verizon stock came into the Plan with workers who moved from Verizon to Frontier. Frontier took over Verizon landline operations in 14 states in 2010 and Verizon's wireline business in California, Texas and Florida in 2016, and retirement accounts from Verizon savings plans, including their Verizon shares, were transferred into the Frontier Plan. The defendants say legacy stock funds like this are not uncommon after spin-offs and mergers.
Can class members opt out of the Frontier 401(k) settlement?
The preliminary approval order certifies the class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(1), and it describes a right to object to the settlement but no process for excluding oneself. The settlement website likewise lists objecting and speaking at the hearing as the options, with objections due December 8, 2026.
What if a class member never received the postcard notice?
Payments are calculated from the Plan recordkeeper's data, not from responses to the postcard, so a missing postcard does not by itself remove anyone from the class. The postcard does carry the Claimant ID and Access Code used for the online Rollover Form, so a former participant who wants a rollover and has no postcard can reach Rust Consulting through the official settlement website at frontiererisasettlement.com.
Does the Frontier settlement mean the company admitted wrongdoing?
The settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing. Frontier Communications Corporation and the Retirement Investment & Administration Committee deny all of the claims, and say the Plan's fiduciaries monitored the Verizon Stock Fund. The settlement website says the parties agreed to settle, and the court's order describes it as a way to avoid the expense, uncertainty and burden of further litigation.
