Chitwood & Harley LLP Commences Securities Class Action Suit Against the St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc.

ATLANTA -- Chitwood & Harley LLP announces that it has filed a securities fraud class action complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota on behalf of all Travelers Property Casualty Corp. ("Travelers") Class A and Class B shareholders whose shares of Travelers were automatically exchanged for shares of The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc. on or about April 1, 2004 (NYSE: STA - News) ("St. Paul") (the "Class"). The lawsuit was filed against Travelers, St. Paul, St. Paul Travelers and its top executives, CEO Jay Fishman and CFO Jay Benet; St. Paul's former CFO Thomas Bradley; and Travelers' former CEO, Robert Lipps. A copy of the complaint is available from the court and will be posted on our website, www.classlaw.com, for the next month.

If you have questions about this case or wish to inquire about your rights in connection with this matter, you may contact us through our website, www.classlaw.com, by clicking on St. Paul Travelers, Inc., or by emailing or calling Nichole B. Adams, Esq. at [e-mail] or 1-888-873-3999, ext. 4873, who will, without obligation or cost, attempt to answer questions concerning this matter. You may also submit questions or transaction information to Chitwood & Harley online through our website, www.classlaw.com.

The action arises out of the merger ("the Merger") between Travelers and St. Paul pursuant to which Travelers shareholders received shares of St. Paul Travelers stock at a predetermined exchange ratio. The merger was approved based on representations contained in a joint Proxy Statement and Registration Statement issued on February 13, 2004. The Complaint alleges that both Travelers and St. Paul negligently failed to disclose in that document that St. Paul utilized a markedly different method for calculating insurance reserves than that utilized by Travelers and that applying Travelers' methodology, as was required, would result in the necessity of having to increase reserves on St. Paul's insurance policies by over $1 billion - approximately 12 percent of the value of St. Paul as determined by the merger consideration. On June 17, 2004, news regarding this issue began to trickle out to shareholders, and St. Paul Travelers stock began to decline, falling from $41.10 on that date to $35.66 on July 23, 2004, the date the size of the needed reserve adjustment - $1.6 billion - was first announced. Thus, in a matter of weeks, St. Paul Travelers shares declined in market value by an astounding $3.66 billion.

Defendants St. Paul and St. Paul Travelers (its successors in interest due to the Merger) are alleged to have violated Sections 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, which provides for liability without fault for any material misrepresentations in or omissions from the Registration Statement that harmed shareholders. The Complaint asserts that defendants Fishman and Bradley likewise violated Section 11 by failing to conduct a reasonable investigation into the adequacy of the disclosures in the Registration Statement concerning St. Paul's reserves. All defendants are also charged with violations of Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which prohibits the solicitation of proxies for a shareholder vote by means of a materially false or misleading proxy statement containing misrepresentations or omissions.

Any member of the class who desires to be appointed lead plaintiff in the class action must file a motion with the Court no later than October 15, 2004 on their own or through counsel of their own choice. Class members must meet certain legal requirements to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may also choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. We would be happy to answer any questions you have about whether you should move to be appointed lead plaintiff.

Chitwood & Harley LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, which resulted in one of the highest recoveries ever in a private securities class action, commented favorably on counsel's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel...have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented."