Benefits

  • August 28, 2024

    Auto Parts Co. Secures Initial OK For $2.9M 401(k) Deal

    A Michigan federal judge gave an initial green light Wednesday to a $2.9 million agreement to resolve a class action accusing auto parts manufacturer Magna International of failing to remove flawed investment options from its retirement plan and costing workers millions of dollars in retirement savings.

  • August 28, 2024

    Conn. Dental Practices Settle False Claims Case For $1.7M

    Three dental practices in Connecticut and their owners have paid a $1.7 million settlement after federal and state authorities accused them of using an illegal patient recruiting tactic and paying kickbacks that ripped off Medicaid.

  • August 28, 2024

    DOL Backs IBM Retirees' Bid To Revive Suit At 2nd Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Second Circuit to revive a proposed class action alleging IBM shorted retirees on pension payments through the use of outdated mortality data, stating the lower court's ruling tossing the case "flies in the face" of U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • August 27, 2024

    'Big Baby' Asks To Wrap Documentary Before Going To Prison

    Former Boston Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis asked a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday to delay the start of his 40-month prison sentence for his role in a scheme to submit fraudulent invoices to an NBA healthcare plan in order to finish filming a documentary about his life.

  • August 27, 2024

    Deutsche Bank, Rabo Beat Antitrust Suit Over Euro Bonds

    A New York federal judge has tossed an antitrust suit against Deutsche Bank AG and Rabo Securities USA, alleging they conspired to fix the price of European government-issued euro-dominated bonds sold throughout the U.S. between 2005 and 2016, saying the plaintiffs lack standing.

  • August 27, 2024

    Bank Seeks To End Claims It Mismanaged Treasury Program

    A bank is seeking to permanently dismiss a suit accusing it of misleading an investor about its oversight of a U.S. Department of Treasury contract, saying despite amending its case three times, the investor hasn't connected any sustained stock loss to contract issues.

  • August 27, 2024

    Judges Upend Alaska Airlines Loss, Blame Jury Instruction

    A Washington state appeals court on Tuesday threw out a jury verdict granting an Alaska Airlines flight attendant workers' compensation for catching COVID-19 while away from home for her job, in an opinion that said a jury instruction misstated a legal doctrine covering traveling workers.

  • August 27, 2024

    AT&T Tells Justices 9th Circ. Erred In Reviving 401(k) Suit

    AT&T urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that upended its defeat of a class action alleging the company mismanaged its employee 401(k) plan, saying Tuesday the appeals court deepened a circuit split that threatens to cause chaos for plan administrators.

  • August 27, 2024

    Salesforce To Pay $1.35M To 50K-Plus ERISA Class

    Salesforce will pay $1.35 million to more than 50,000 employees who accused the company, its board and its investment committee of violating the Employee Income Retirement and Security Act by picking expensive investment options and underperforming funds, according to a preliminary approval motion filed in California federal court.

  • August 27, 2024

    Grocery Co. Appeals Union Pension Fund's Win To 7th Circ.

    A grocery retailer will appeal its Illinois federal court loss to the Seventh Circuit in a dispute over union pension fund withdrawal liability, after the court in July backed an arbitrator's decision that upheld the union's calculation of what was owed as compliant with federal benefits law.

  • August 27, 2024

    Travel Co. Inks $1.7M Deal To End 401(k) Mismanagement Suit

    A travel company has agreed to pay $1.7 million to end a Nevada federal lawsuit alleging it loaded down its workers' $370 million 401(k) plan with excessive recordkeeping fees and costly investment funds in violation of its fiduciary duties under federal benefits law.

  • August 27, 2024

    Hospital CEO Says President Lied About Co.'s Financial State

    The former CEO of a Nevada-based psychiatric hospital company claims the company's president knowingly transferred contracts to his own business so he could later claim the hospital company didn't have the money to honor the CEO's agreements, according to a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.

  • August 27, 2024

    11th Circ. Allows Fla. Law Banning Trans Care To Take Effect

    The Eleventh Circuit has said a Florida law can take effect that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restricts it for adults, granting the state's bid to scrap an injunction barring the law while it appeals a lower court ruling that found the statute unconstitutional.

  • August 27, 2024

    6th Circ. Reverses Geico's Win In Agents' Benefits Suit

    The Sixth Circuit upended Geico's win in a lawsuit from insurance agents accusing it of misclassifying them as independent contractors and forcing them to lose out on benefits, saying more evidence is needed to determine if the insurer relied on unauthentic documents to get the suit tossed.

  • August 27, 2024

    Vt. High Court Affirms Denial Of Benefits To Marijuana Patient

    The Vermont Supreme Court has affirmed an administrative law judge's decision not to issue a declaratory ruling whether off-duty medical cannabis use counts as misconduct for the purposes of terminating and denying benefits to a former transportation company employee.

  • August 26, 2024

    Banks' $20M Platinum Traders Antitrust Deal Gets Initial OK

    A New York federal judge preliminarily approved Saturday a $20 million deal to resolve a nearly decade-old putative class action alleging Goldman Sachs, German industrial company BASF and two other banks fixed platinum and palladium prices.

  • August 26, 2024

    Funds Say Norfolk Southern Can't Ditch Derailment Fraud Suit

    Pension funds have told a Georgia federal judge that they've laid out in exacting detail their allegations that Norfolk Southern eroded safety standards by embarking on risky cost-cutting moves and slashing its workforce, culminating in last year's fiery derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and ultimately backfiring on investors.

  • August 26, 2024

    Siemens Misused 401(k) Plan Funds, ERISA Class Claim Says

    The global technology and manufacturing giant Siemens Corp. wrongfully used forfeited 401(k) retirement plan assets to reduce the company's contributions instead of using the money to pay plan expenses, according to a proposed class action filed Friday in New Jersey federal court.

  • August 26, 2024

    Former X Worker Seeks Class Certification In Bonus Suit

    A former X Corp. employee asked a California federal court to greenlight an approximately 2,200-member class in his lawsuit alleging the company reneged on promised bonuses after Elon Musk took over the social media company formerly known as Twitter.

  • August 26, 2024

    Insurer Wants Out Of Pa. Wig Widow's $4.5M Benefit Dispute

    Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. asked a Pennsylvania state court to let it bow out of a dispute between a Pittsburgh wig and healthcare magnate's widow and his family partnership, arguing Monday that the court, not the insurer, had to choose between competing claims for a $4.5 million policy payout.

  • August 26, 2024

    Paul Hastings Recruits Executive Comp Atty From Kirkland

    Paul Hastings LLP announced Monday it has landed an executive compensation lawyer from Kirkland & Ellis LLP as a partner for its Chicago office.

  • August 23, 2024

    Prime Healthcare's 401(k) Was In Good Hands, Judge Rules

    Prime Healthcare Services Inc. beat a proposed class action in a bench trial over claims it allowed its employee 401(k) plan to be saddled with poor-performing investments and high costs, after a California federal judge ruled that the plan was prudently managed.

  • August 23, 2024

    NJ Ups Fee Cap In Workers' Comp Cases, Boosts Judges' Pay

    New Jersey Senate President and current acting Gov. Nick Scutari, a practicing attorney, signed two bills into law increasing pay for Superior Court presiding judges and county prosecutors, and increasing the cap on how much attorneys can collect in fees in workers' compensation cases.

  • August 23, 2024

    MLB Says Exec's Retirement Benefit Beef 2 Decades Too Late

    Major League Baseball has struck back at one of its former executives who alleges he is owed $5.9 million, saying his suit makes no argument that would support his claim the league erroneously calculated his retirement benefits.

  • August 23, 2024

    1st Circ. Says Longshoremen Local Still On Hook For $1.7M

    The International Longshoreman's Association pension fund is entitled to collect nearly $1.7 million in unpaid contributions and attorney fees from a union local in San Juan, Puerto Rico, following a merger with another local that had been in arrears, the First Circuit has ruled.

Expert Analysis

  • High Court's Abortion Pill Ruling Shuts Out Future Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine maintains the status quo for mifepristone access and rejects the plaintiffs' standing theories so thoroughly that future challenges from states or other plaintiffs are unlikely to be viable, say Jaime Santos and Annaka Nava at Goodwin.

  • Emerging Trends In ESG-Focused Securities Litigation

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    Based on a combination of shareholder pressure, increasing regulatory scrutiny and proposed rulemaking, there has been a proliferation of litigation over public company disclosures and actions regarding environmental, social, and governance factors — and the overall volume of such class actions will likely increase in the coming years, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.

  • 9th Circ. Clarifies ERISA Preemption For Healthcare Industry

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Bristol SL Holdings v. Cigna notably clarifies the broad scope of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's preemption of certain state law causes of action, standing to benefit payors and health plan administrators, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

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    Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

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    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule

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    A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.

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