Famous Footwear 2003 Annual Report Download - page 40

Company under the provisions hereof, such right shall be no greater than the right of any unsecured general creditor of the Company; no
such person shall have nor acquire any legal or equitable right, interest or claim in or to any property or assets of the Company. Any accounts
maintained under this Plan shall be hypothetical in nature and shall be maintained for bookkeeping purposes only. Neither the Plan nor any
account shall hold any actual funds or assets.
11. INALIENABILITY OF BENEFITS
The interests of the Participants and their Beneficiaries under the Plan may not in any way be voluntarily or involuntarily transferred,
alienated or assigned, nor subject to attachment, execution, garnishment or other such equitable or legal process. A Participant or Beneficiary
cannot waive the provisions of this Section 11.
12. CLAIMS PROCEDURE
Any Participant, Beneficiary or any other person claiming benefits, eligibility, participation or any other right or interest under this Plan may
file a written claim setting forth the basis of the claim with the Chief Executive Officer of the Company ("CEO"). A written notice of the
CEO's disposition of any such claim shall be furnished to the claimant within a reasonable time (not to exceed ninety (90) days) after the
claim is received by the CEO. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the CEO may have additional time (not to exceed ninety (90) days) to decide
the claim if special circumstances exist, provided that he advises the claimant, in writing and prior to the end of the initial ninety (90) day
period, of the special circumstances giving rise to the need for additional time and the date on which he expects to decide the claim. If the
claim is denied, in whole or in part, the notice of disposition shall include the specific reason for the denial, identify the specific provisions of
the Plan upon which the denial is based, describe any additional material or information necessary to perfect the claim, explain why that
material or information is necessary and describe the Plan's review procedures, including the timeframes thereunder for a claimant to file a
request for review and for the Committee to decide the claim. The notice shall also include a statement advising the claimant of his right to
bring a civil action if his claim is denied, in whole or in part, upon review.
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Within sixty (60) days after receiving the written notice of the CEO's disposition of the claim, the claimant may request, in writing, review
by the Committee of the CEO's decision regarding his claim. Upon written request, the claimant shall be entitled to a review meeting with
the Committee to present reasons why the claim should be allowed. The claimant or his authorized representative may submit a written
statement in support of his claim, together with such comments, information and material relating to the claim, as he deems necessary or
appropriate. The claimant or his duly authorized representative shall be provided, upon request and free of charge, reasonable access to, and
copies of, all documents, records and other information which are relevant to the claimant's claim and its review. If the claimant does not
request review within sixty (60) days after receiving written notice of the CEO's disposition of the claim, the claimant shall be deemed to
have accepted the CEO's written disposition.
The Committee shall make its decision on review and provide written notice thereof to the claimant within a reasonable time (not to exceed
sixty (60) days) after the claim is received by the Committee. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may have additional time (not to
exceed sixty (60) days) to decide the claim if special circumstances exist provided that the Committee advises the claimant, in writing, prior to
the end of the initial sixty (60) day period, of the special circumstances giving rise to the need for additional time and the date on which it
expects to decide the claim. In no event shall the Committee have more than one hundred twenty (120) days following its receipt of the
claimant's request for review to provide the claimant with written notice of its decision. The Committee shall have the right to request of and
receive from claimant such additional information, documents or other evidence as the Committee may reasonably require. In the event that
the Committee requests such additional information from the claimant, the period for making the benefit determination on review shall not
take into account the period beginning on the date on which the Committee notifies the claimant in writing of the need for additional
information and ending on the date on which the claimant responds to the request for additional information.
If the claim is denied upon review, in whole or in part, the notice of disposition shall include the specific reason for the denial, identify the
specific provision of the Plan upon which the denial is based, include a statement advising the claimant of his right to receive, upon written
request and free of charge, reasonable access to and copies of all documents, records and other information which are relevant to the
claimant's claim and include a statement advising the claimant of his right to bring a civil action under Section 502(a) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended if his claim is denied, in whole or in part, upon review.
For purposes of this Section, a document, record or information will be considered "relevant' if it (a) was relied upon by the CEO or
Committee, as applicable, in making the benefit decision, (b) was submitted, considered or generated in the course of making such decision,
even if it was not relied upon in making those decisions, or (c) demonstrates compliance with the administrative processes and safeguards
established by the Plan to insure that the terms of the Plan have been followed and applied consistently.
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To the extent permitted by law, a decision on review by the Committee shall be binding and conclusive upon all persons whomsoever.
Completion of the claims procedure described in this Section shall be a mandatory precondition that must be complied with prior to
commencement of a legal or equitable action in connection with the Plan by a person claiming rights under the Plan, or by another person
claiming rights through such a person. The Committee may, in its sole discretion, waive these procedures as a mandatory precondition to
such an action.
13. GOVERNING LAW