Austin Capital Management Ltd. ("Austin Capital" or the Company) is a limited partnership that oversees hedge fund investment portfolios for individual and institutional clients.

According to a press release dated April 8, 2009, the Complaint charges Austin Capital, its investment managers and its outside auditors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).

The action includes a sub-class of those employee benefit plans which invested with the Company during the Class Period, asserting claims under ERISA for breach of fiduciary duty.

The Complaint alleges that the Company placed significant amounts of investor money into funds managed by Madoff and his firm. Madoff has now been charged with running what may be the largest Ponzi scheme ever. Unbeknownst to investors in its funds, Austin Capital had invested approximately 7.5% of its funds in Madoff-managed investments. This was contrary to the duties the Company had to its investors of good faith and fair dealing and contrary to the representations Austin Capital had made regarding its processes for selecting fund managers. As a result of Defendants’ breaches and false statements, the Company investors made additional investments in the Company and/or held interests they would have redeemed.

On August 13, 2009, the case was transferred to the Southern District of New York under Multi-District Litigation in In Re: Rye Select Broad Market Prime Fund Securities & Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Litigation, case number 1:09-md-02075-TPG.

On October 23, 2009, Judge Thomas P. Griesa signed the Order consolidating several actions under MDL case number, 09md2075. The Operating Engineers Trust Funds, Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 705 Pension Fund were appointed lead Plaintiffs and the law firms of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP and Hagens Berman Sobel Shapiro LLP were appointed co-lead Counsel for Plaintiffs. The Clerk of the Court was directed to close the docket in 09 Civ. 3614 (TPG), 09 Civ. 7134 (TPG), and 09 Civ. 7135.

On October 6, 2010, the Plaintiffs filed a Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint. The Plaintiffs soon after filed a Consolidated Second Amended Class Action Complaint on December 10, 2010. The Defendants responded by filing a motion to dismiss on December 23, 2010.

On December 21, 2012, the Court issued an Opinion granting in part and denying in part Defendants' motion to dismiss. All of the securities fraud claims were dismissed. Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Reconsideration of this Opinion on January 4, 2013. The Court denied the Motion on April 16, as Plaintiffs were given leave to re-plead.

On April 10, 2014, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement. This Settlement was preliminarily approved by the Court on May 19.

On October 2, 2014, the Court issued an Order awarding attorneys' fees and expenses. This was followed by an Order granting final approval of the Settlement and dismissing this action with Prejudice.