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April 25, 2024
4 Takeaways From DOL's Final ERISA Investment Advice Regs
The U.S. Department of Labor’s finalized regulations broadening who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act will bring more investment advisers under the purview of federal benefits law, but the final version contains some important differences from what the DOL initially proposed. Here are four key takeaways.
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April 25, 2024
Mich. Justices Reject Park Ranger's Disability Benefits Appeal
Two Michigan Supreme Court justices on Thursday agreed with the rest of the bench not to rule on a park ranger's claims that state retirement law unconstitutionally prevents him from challenging his disability benefit denial, but called out a lower court's "circular" reasoning for finding him ineligible.
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April 25, 2024
WWE Shareholders Combine Chancery TKO Merger Suits
Delaware's Court of Chancery will decide this summer whether teams led by Block & Leviton, Bernstein Litowitz or Robbins Geller will represent World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. stockholders in a consolidated class suit against founder Vincent McMahon and others over the company's $21 billion merger with the Endeavor Group.
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April 25, 2024
Class Counsel Seeks $31M From $93M Lipitor Settlement
Attorneys representing a class of buyers in antitrust litigation against Pfizer over the cholesterol medication Lipitor have asked a New Jersey federal judge to approve their request for $31 million in fees after the two sides agreed to a $93 million settlement in February.
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April 25, 2024
Airplane Fuel Co. Seeks To Ax Union Healthcare Dispute
A company that fuels airplanes at major U.S. airports asked a New York federal judge to dismiss a $157,000 suit accusing it of underfunding a Teamsters healthcare plan, saying the plan trustees filed the suit too late and can't prove the company owes the money.
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April 24, 2024
Chancery Lets $344M Carlyle Tax-Payout Suit Move Ahead
A vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery on Wednesday refused to toss most claims in a stockholder suit led by a Pittsburgh pension fund targeting a $344 million tax-asset buyout at The Carlyle Group Inc., though she did trim the suit by a single count.
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April 24, 2024
Metals Firm To Pay $66M Over Retirement Coin Scam
A California federal judge has ordered a metals trading firm to pay $66 million and each of its owners to pay between $1 million and $3 million to settle claims that they defrauded hundreds of investors by convincing them to sell their retirement securities to buy gold and silver coins at inflated prices.
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April 24, 2024
Investors Can't Hit Reset In 737 Max Fraud Suit, Boeing Says
Investors claiming Boeing wiped out billions in stock value by misrepresenting the 737 Max's safety shouldn't be allowed to "effectively hit the reset button" and pursue an amended complaint that relies on statements already deemed inactionable, the aerospace giant argued Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Solar Co. Must Pay Workers, Union Benefit Funds
A Kalamazoo, Michigan-based solar company must follow an arbitration board's order to remit unpaid wages to two workers and unpaid contributions to a group of union benefit funds, a Michigan federal judge ruled Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Let Keystone Coal Escape Black Lung Payout
The Third Circuit on Wednesday denied Keystone Coal Mining Corp.'s request to revoke benefits awarded to a miner with pneumoconiosis under the Black Lung Benefits Act, rejecting its argument that the administrative law judge hearing the case did not properly consider all the evidence.
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April 24, 2024
Boston Pension Doubles Down On Bid To Lead NYCB Suit
Boston's municipal pension plan and its attorneys from Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP stood firm on their bid to lead a proposed securities class action against New York Community Bancorp, saying their chief rival for lead status bought their shares too late and is too sketchy to be a potential plaintiff.
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April 24, 2024
Anthem Faces Class Action Over Cancer Treatment Denials
Anthem Health Plans Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action in Connecticut alleging that it routinely denies requests for proton beam radiation therapy, a cancer treatment that the complaint asserts is recognized as "established, medically appropriate, safe and effective" but which the insurer deems experimental.
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April 24, 2024
7th Circ. Revives Suit Over Paper Co.'s ESOP Valuation
The Seventh Circuit reopened a suit claiming executives at a defunct paper company and financial advisers overvalued the business to persuade workers to put retirement savings into an employee stock ownership plan, saying a lower court viewed the allegations too narrowly when it tossed the case.
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April 24, 2024
Conn. Justices Say Notice Wasn't 'Filed' Until It Was Received
The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that a contractor filed notice with the state Workers' Compensation Commission to contest liability for a worker's alleged injury too late — the key word being "filed," as the justices concluded the notice was not actually filed until the commission received it, rather than when it was sent.
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April 24, 2024
Nev. Can't Shake Military Bias Suit Over Pensions, DOJ Says
The federal government's suit alleging Nevada and its public employees' retirement system overcharged service members for pension credits should remain in play, the U.S. Department of Justice said, arguing it put forward enough detail showing the state's policies harm military members.
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April 24, 2024
Healthcare Co. Reaches Deal To Exit Pension Plan Suit
A healthcare company struck a deal with a class of retirement plan participants to end their suit accusing it of stacking its $500 million pension plan with costly funds and failing to keep fees low, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court.
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April 23, 2024
Citi Says 401(k) Suit No Different From Others That Were Axed
Citigroup Inc. has urged a Connecticut federal judge to permanently toss a proposed class action brought by former employees who claim the company mismanaged their 401(k) plans, arguing that decisions made in other courts dismissing similar challenges support the suit's dismissal.
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April 23, 2024
4 Things Attys Should Know About NJ's $56B Spending Plan
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has crafted a spending plan that furthers his vision of the state as an innovator in offshore wind and artificial intelligence, while drawing pushback for a proposed corporate transit fee and warehouse tax.
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April 23, 2024
Trump's Stake In Truth Social Swells An Additional $1.2B
The value of Donald Trump's stake in his newly public social media company soared by nearly $1.2 billion on Tuesday as the former president became eligible to receive bonus shares that were conditioned on the company's stock performance.
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April 23, 2024
Levi & Korsinsky To Head Combined Paycom Investor Actions
An Oklahoma federal judge selected Levi & Korsinsky LLP to lead a consolidated proposed investor class action against human resources technology company Paycom Software Inc. over the company's alleged failure to disclose that the success of its self-service payroll software was hindering the growth of the company's other services and revenue.
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April 23, 2024
GoodRx Hid Revenue Reliance On Kroger, Suit Claims
GoodRx Holdings Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it concealed from investors the indispensability of its relationship with Kroger, leading to share declines when GoodRx announced revenue would be severely impacted because the grocery chain would no longer be accepting its discount codes.
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April 23, 2024
Drugmakers Hit With RICO Suit Over Insulin Price Hikes
The world's three largest insulin manufacturers engineered an enormous increase in the price of the lifesaving diabetes medication through an "unfair and deceptive conspiracy" with household-name pharmacies, letting all involved reap extraordinary profits for 20 years, according to a lawsuit in Connecticut federal court.
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April 23, 2024
Apple Settles Labor Fight Over COVID-19 Policy At Okla. Store
An Apple Store in Oklahoma City has agreed to restore the sick time of workers who took off for COVID-19 since last August, pursuant to a recently announced settlement of an unfair labor practice charge filed by the workers' union.
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April 23, 2024
DC Circ. Backs Georgetown's Defeat Of ERISA Suit
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld Georgetown University's win in a suit claiming the school packed its employee retirement plans with costly and poorly performing investment options, finding a lower court was correct in ruling that the workers failed to fix the faults in their case.
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April 23, 2024
DOL's Final Investment Advice Regs Expand ERISA's Reach
The U.S. Department of Labor issued final regulations Tuesday broadening who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, backing off some changes included in a proposal the agency released in October.
Expert Analysis
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Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities
Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
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In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023
Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
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Lessons Learned From 2023's Top ADA Decisions
This year saw the courts delving into the complexities of employee accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act in the post-pandemic workplace, going beyond bright-line rules with fact-intensive inquiries that are likely to create uncertainty for employers, says Linda Dwoskin at Dechert.
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How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season
Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Series
Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
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A Review Of 2023's Most Notable Securities Litigation
There is much to be learned from the most prominent private securities cases of 2023, specifically the Tesla trial, the U.S. Supreme Court's Slack decision and the resolution of Goldman Sachs litigation, but one lesson running through all of them is that there can be rewards at the end of the line for defendants willing to go the distance, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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FDA's Recent Litigation Records Are Strong, But Imperfect
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notched its share of litigation wins in recent years thanks to a number of key advantages, but the FDA has been less successful in certain highly visible arenas, Jonathan Berman and Colleen Heisey at Jones Day.
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ESG Investing Caught In Culture War Crosshairs In 2023
As 2023 draws to a close, ESG investing remains a raging battleground in the U.S. culture wars, as illustrated by the array of legislative efforts across the country aimed variously at restricting or promoting the use of ESG investing — but it remains to be seen what practical impact, if any, these laws will have, say Amy Roy and Robert Skinner at Ropes & Gray.
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Benefits Limitations Period Ruling Carries ERISA Implications
The First Circuit's recent decision in Smith v. Prudential — over enforcing a benefits claim limitations period that expires before the claim accrued — has ramifications for Employee Income Security Act cases, where limitations issues can arise in the termination of ongoing benefit payments rather than an initial application for benefits, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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When Patients Have Standing For Hospital Antitrust Suits
Brown v. Hartford Healthcare Corp., recently decided by a Connecticut state court, provides a useful examination of how antitrust standing issues may be analyzed when patients directly sue a healthcare system for anti-competitive conduct, says Charles Honart at Stevens & Lee.
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What 3rd Circ. Gets Wrong About Arbitration Enforcement
The Third Circuit and other courts should correct their current law, exemplified by the Third Circuit's recent decision in Henry v. Wilmington Trust, requiring a motion to dismiss based on an arbitration clause because it conflicts with the Federal Arbitration Act, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and — with regard to the improper-venue approach — U.S. Supreme Court precedent, says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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Series
Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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The SEC's Cooled Down But Still Spicy Private Fund Rules
Timothy Spangler and Lindsay Trapp at Dechert consider recently finalized U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules, which significantly alter the scope of obligations private fund advisers must meet under the Investment Advisers Act, noting the absence of several contentious proposals and litigation that could result in implementation delays.