This page provides the answers to class members’ most frequently asked questions.
The information provided is in summary form and is not intended as a complete explanation of your rights. For full and complete information, you are directed to review carefully the Notice.
No, you are not being sued.
Plaintiffs filed a class action complaint against Defendants on behalf of the Plan and a class of Plan participants, alleging certain claims for breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Defendants have denied and continue to deny any and all of Plaintiffs’ claims and allegations in their entirety. Defendants deny they are liable to Plaintiffs or the Settlement Class Members and further deny that Plaintiffs, Settlement Class Members, or the Plan have suffered any harm or damage for which any Defendant could or should be held responsible. Defendants assert that at all times their conduct was lawful. Defendants contend that the Plan has been managed, operated, and administered at all relevant times in compliance with ERISA and applicable regulations and in the best interests of Evergy’s employees and Plan participants.
The Court decided that everyone who fits this description is a Class Member:
“All participants and beneficiaries of the Evergy, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan who invested in any of the American Century Target Date Funds (excluding the Defendants or any participant/beneficiary who is a fiduciary to the Plan) during the Class Period.”
The Class Period is defined as January 22, 2019, through the date of the Final Approval Order.
The Court has not decided this Class Action in favor of either side. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. By doing so, both sides avoid the cost and risk of a trial, and the affected Current and Former Participants will get a benefit that they would not have otherwise received if Plaintiffs had litigated the case and lost. The Class Representatives and their attorneys believe the Settlement is in the best interests of the Class Members and the Plan.
Under the Settlement, Defendants and/or their insurers will pay the Gross Settlement Amount of $2,600,000 into the Qualified Settlement Fund to resolve the claims of the Settlement Class and the Plan. The Net Settlement Amount (e.g., the Gross Settlement Amount less any Court-approved Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, Administrative Expenses, Case Contribution Awards, and taxes) will be allocated to Class Members according to a Plan of Allocation to be approved by the Court. Allocations to Current Participants who are entitled to a payment under the Plan of Allocation will be made into their existing accounts in the Plan. Former Participants, if entitled to a payment, will receive their payment in the form of a check.
All Settlement Class Members will fully release the Released Parties from all Released Claims. The Released Parties include (a) each Defendant; (b) Defendants’ insurers, co-insurers, and reinsurers; (c) Defendants’ direct and indirect past, present, and future affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, divisions, joint ventures, predecessors, successors, Successors-In-Interest, assigns, boards of trustees, boards of directors, officers, trustees, directors, partners, agents, managers, members, employees, and heirs (including any individuals who serve or served in any of the foregoing capacities, such as members of the boards of trustees or boards of directors that are associated with any of Defendants’ past, present, and future affiliates), and each Person that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with them; (d) the Plan and the Plan’s current and past fiduciaries (with the exception of the Independent Fiduciary), administrators, plan administrators, recordkeepers, service providers, consultants, attorneys, agents, trustees, advisors, insurers, and parties-in-interest; and (e) Defendants’ independent contractors, representatives, attorneys, administrators, insurers, fiduciaries, accountants, auditors, advisors, consultants, personal representatives, spouses, heirs, executors, administrators, associates, employee benefit plan fiduciaries (with the exception of the Independent Fiduciary), employee benefit plan administrators, service providers to the Plan (including their owners and employees), members of their immediate families, consultants, subcontractors, and all persons acting under, by, through, or in concert with any of them.
Generally, the release means that Settlement Class Members will not have the right to sue the Released Parties for conduct during the Class Period arising out of or relating to the allegations in the lawsuit or the Released Claims. The entire release language is set forth in the Settlement Agreement, which is available here.
Settlement Class Members do not have to submit claim forms to receive their allocated share of the Settlement Payment, which will be distributed automatically in the following manner if the Court approves the Settlement:
“Current Participants” are current Plan participants who have a positive balance in their Plan account as of the date Plan’s recordkeeper determines which of the Class Members are Current Participants and which Class Members are Former Participants. The Settlement Payments for Current Participants will be deposited directly into their Plan accounts and will be invested in accordance with the Current Participant’s current investment elections for new contributions as proportionately as reasonably practicable. If a Current Participant has no investment election in effect, then his or her Settlement recovery will be invested in the Plan’s Qualified Default Investment Alternative. For payments to Current Participants into their Plan accounts, no taxes will be withheld.
“Former Participants” are individuals who had an active Plan account on or after January 22, 2019, but do not have a Plan account with a positive balance as of the date Plan’s recordkeeper determines which of the Class Members are Current Participants and which Class Members are Former Participants. Former Participants will receive payment under the Settlement in the form of a check with taxes withheld (if applicable) and do not need to submit any paperwork to receive a payment under the Settlement. If, as of the date when distributions pursuant to this Settlement Agreement are made, a Current Participant no longer has an Active Account, they will receive their payment from the Settlement Administrator in the form of a check.
If your mailing address has changed, please contact the Settlement Administrator by mail or email to provide your current address and ensure your payment is sent there.
Evergy ERISA Settlement
P.O. Box 2005
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2005
The Court has appointed as Class Counsel lawyers from the law firms of Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP and Walcheske & Luzi LLC. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
In addition, the Court appointed Plaintiffs Derick L. Doll, Catherine M. Fluegel, and Joseph Nagle to serve as the Class Representatives. They are also Class Members. Subject to approval by the Court, Class Counsel has proposed that up to $10,000 may be paid to each of the Class Representatives in recognition of the time and effort they expended on behalf of the Class Members. The Court will determine the proper amount of any such award. The Court may award less than the requested amount.
If the Court approves the Settlement, you will be bound by it and will receive whatever benefits you are entitled to under its terms. You cannot exclude yourself from the Settlement, but you may notify the Court of your objection to the Settlement. (See Question No. 16.) If the Court approves the Settlement, it will do so under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(1) or (2), which does not permit Class Members to opt out of the Class.
You can object to the Settlement if you don’t like any part of it. If you object, you must give the reasons why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement. The Court will consider your views. Your objection to the Settlement must be postmarked no later than September 17, 2026, and must be sent only to the Court at the address below:
Clerk of the Western District of Missouri
Charles Evans Whittaker U.S. Courthouse
400 E. 9th Street
Kansas City, MO 64106
The objection must be in writing and include (a) the case name, Doll, et al. v. Evergy, Inc., et al., Case No. 4:25-cv-00043 SRB (W.D. Mo.); (b) your name; (c) your address; (d) a statement that you are a Class Member; (e) the specific grounds for the objection (including all arguments, citations, and evidence supporting the objection); (f) all documents or writings that you desire the Court to consider (including all copies of any documents relied upon in the objection); (g) your signature; and (h) a notice of intention to appear at the Fairness Hearing (if applicable). (If you are represented by counsel, you or your counsel must file your objection through the Court’s CM/ECF system.) The Court will consider all properly filed and timely objections from Class Members. If you wish to appear and be heard at the Fairness Hearing in addition to submitting a written objection to the settlement, you or your attorney must say so in your written objection or file and serve a notice of intent to appear at the Fairness Hearing by September 17, 2026.
A Fairness Hearing has been set for October 1, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. CT. The hearing will be conducted in person or virtually before the Honorable Stephen R. Bough at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Charles Evans Whittaker U.S. Courthouse, 400 E. 9th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106. At the hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will hear any comments, objections, and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed Settlement, including the amount requested by Class Counsel for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs and the Case Contribution Award. You do not need to attend this hearing. You also do not need to attend to have an objection considered by the Court (See next FAQ).
Note: The date, time, and location of the Fairness Hearing are subject to change by Court order, but any changes will be posted on this website.
No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to attend at your own expense. If you send an objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as any written objection you choose to make is filed and mailed on time and meets the other criteria described in the Settlement Agreement, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but you don’t have to.
If you are a Class Member, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the hearing concerning any part of the proposed Settlement. To do so, you must send a letter or other paper called a “Notice of Intent to Appear” to the Court and counsel. Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and your signature. Your “Notice of Intent to Appear” must be mailed to the Court at the address listed above and to counsel by September 17, 2026.
You may contact the Settlement Administrator by email at EvergyERISA@noticeadministrator.com, or call at 877-595-2238.