Law360, New York (September 25, 2013, 6:27 PM EDT) -- On July 24, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an ERISA opinion in Sun Capital Partners III LP v. New England Teamster and Trucking Industry Pension Fund that sent a ripple through the private equity community. The First Circuit held that a private equity fund can be a "trade or business" for purposes of the ERISA statute, which could result in the fund being liable for the unfunded pension liabilities of its portfolio company. While the decision did not directly result in liability for the private equity funds, the First Circuit's ruling concluded that common activities of fund investors satisfied one-half of the two prong test of determining that the fund and its portfolio company are a single employer for ERISA purposes....