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The ERISA Litigation Newsletter - May 2013

This month our articles focus on the availability of damages in complex ERISA class actions and withdrawal liability actions. Jackie Len first provides Proskauer's perspective on the implications for ERISA litigation arising...more

Monthly Benefits Update - April 2013

Health Care Reform: Guidance on Required Future Modifications to SBC, Other Issues - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of Labor (DOL), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new guidance...more

New Whistleblower Bounty Law On The Horizon In NY?

On March 22, 2013, the New York State Senate introduced the S4362 Proposal which, through a “bounty,” gives financial awards to whistleblowers who provide original information to the Department of Financial Services (DFS)...more

Court Rewrites Plan to Increase Benefits

The Supreme Court’s 2011 CIGNA v. Amara decision suggested that an employer’s pension plan could be rewritten to remedy the employer’s failure to fulfill its disclosure obligations under the Employee Retirement Income...more

SEC Enforcement Update - The SEC Speaks in 2013

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission held its annual SEC Speaks program in Washington, D.C. on February 22-23, 2013. In the postfinancial crisis, post-Dodd-Frank world, it is clear that the Commission and its staff are...more

Obligations To Pensioners In An Insolvency: Supreme Court Clarifies The Law

The Supreme Court of Canada overturned the Ontario Court of Appeal today in what is one of the most highly-anticipated cases for the pension and insolvency bars pending before the courts. In Indalex (Re) 2013 SCC 6, the court...more

Four Words the Fair Credit Reporting Act Has Class Action Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Repeating: "Show Me The Money!"

Over the past few years, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the federal law mandating, among other things, procedures and reporting requirements employers must follow when conducting background checks through a third party...more

Four Words the Fair Credit Reporting Act Has Class Action Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Repeating: “Show Me The Money!”

Over the past few years, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the federal law mandating, among other things, procedures and reporting requirements employers must follow when conducting background checks through a third...more

JOHN HIGGINS –V- GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF THE BANK OF IRELAND and THE HIGH COURT

Employment Law case against Bank of Ireland - JOHN HIGGINS –V- GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF THE BANK OF IRELAND and THE HIGH COURT

1. These proceedings arise from the alleged suspension (20th April, 2001) and subsequent dismissal (8th October, 2003) of the plaintiff by the defendant in his position as manager of the newly merged branches of the defendant...more

Beware of Hidden Pension Liabilities in Corporate Transactions

In a recent court case in British Columbia, employees who transferred employment as part of a corporate transaction were awarded monetary damages on account of lost pension benefits: Kerfoot v. Weyerhaeuser Company 2012 BCSC...more

The ERISA Litigation Newsletter - December 2012

In This Issue: - Editors' Overview - Supreme Court Revisits Meaning of 'Appropriate Equitable Relief' in US Airways v. McCutchen - Rulings, Filings, and Settlements of Interest ...more

Pension Fund Class Action to Proceed Against Bank of America and U.S. Bancorp

On December 6, Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Bank of America and U.S. Bancorp’s motions to dismiss a suit by the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit...more

Orrick Submits Amicus Brief on Behalf of SIFMA Urging Fifth Circuit to Reject Two-Step FLSA Certification Procedure

Orrick, on behalf of its client, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”), recently filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for writ of mandamus filed by Wells Fargo in the Fifth Circuit...more

Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest - November 9, 2012

In this issue: - SEC to Extend Filing Deadlines for Filers Affected by Hurricane Sandy - NFA Launches FCM Financial Information Platform - FINRA Amends Rules Relating to Research Analysts and Research...more

Rogers Towers: Recent Changes to Florida’s Wage Garnishment Exemption

Since the financial crisis of 2008, the economy has been improving, albeit at a slower pace than many would like, and the stock market has seen meaningful gains. However, unemployment is still relatively high and the...more

District Courts in the Fourth Circuit Run Full Speed Ahead with Equitable Estoppel Claims

Executive Summary: District Courts in Fourth Circuit allow ERISA claims to go forward premised on oral representations. Prior to Cigna v. Amara, 131 S. Ct. 1866 (2011), the law was clearly established: An employee...more

It is Always Good to Follow the Plan’s Claims Procedure in Denying a Claim

A recent Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision involved high ranking executives who participated in a company’s long-term incentive plan. Under the plan agreements, executives who did not continue employment for a three...more

Bankruptcy Alert: The KERP Is Back!

In a recent decision involving Global Aviation Holdings, Inc. and its affiliated debtors (collectively, the “Debtors”), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York (the "Bankruptcy Court") granted...more

Long Term Disability — Claims Manuals Entitled to Protective Order

Are claims manuals “confidential business information” or “trade secrets” entitled to a protective order restricting dissemination? YES Can the Plaintiff’s attorney keep the claims manual for use on another case? NO....more

Deleon II Further Expands Employers' Right to Charge Back Commission Advances

Deleon v. Verizon Wireless (Deleon II) is another pro-employer case that is in many ways a carbon copy of Steinhebel v. Los Angeles Times Communications, 126 Cal. App. 4th 696 (2005), one of my favorite cases (I argued it...more

Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Alert Newsletter -- July 2012: Recent Cases Illustrate Possibility of Substantial...

Since the Schramm v. Foster, 341 F.Supp.2d 53 (D. Md. 2004), transportation companies have been aware of the possibility of suits and verdict against transportation brokers. This is significant because many carriers also...more

PBGC Asks Bankruptcy Court to Treat Prior Sale of Interest in Debtor As Prohibited Attempt to Evade ERISA Pension Liability

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) filed an objection on June 14, 2012, in the Delaware bankruptcy court proceedings of RG Steel ("Debtor"), challenging a recent sale by RG Steel's parent entity ("Parent") of a...more

Employees Entitled to Pension Loss Due to Employer’s Failure to Provide Reasonable Notice of Termination Following Sale

The Kerfoot v. Weyerhaeuser Company Limited case deals with wrongful dismissal damage claims for the loss of pension and savings benefits by two former non-union managerial employees of Weyerhaeuser Company Limited (the...more

Ruling Highlights Importance of Fiduciary Process Surrounding 401(k) Plan Fees and Services

On March 31, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri awarded plaintiffs more than $35 million in a class action suit over certain breaches of duty related to 401(k) plan expenses. The case was...more

Tussey v ABB Inc.: A Lesson in Fiduciary Duty

On March 31, 2012, a federal district court in Missouri delivered to a large manufacturer and institutional fiduciary an expensive lesson in ERISA’s fiduciary obligations in Tussey v. ABB, Inc. The plaintiffs are current and...more