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Benefits
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May 30, 2024
Ford Settles Union Worker's Retirement Credit Suit
Ford Motor Co. and a union retirement plan have agreed to settle an employee's proposed class action claiming the company improperly calculated retirement benefits owed to workers who were injured on the job, according to a filing Thursday in Michigan federal court.
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May 30, 2024
Morgan & Morgan Settles Ex-Paralegal's FMLA Suit
Morgan & Morgan PA reached a deal with a former paralegal ending her suit accusing the firm of interference and retaliation when she was unlawfully fired, she said, after requesting time off afforded by the Family and Medical Leave Act, the firm told a Florida federal judge Thursday.
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May 29, 2024
PBMs Urge Ohio Suit Stay For Supreme Court Ruling
Two pharmacy benefits managers want the Sixth Circuit to put its appeal on hold in an Ohio-led case accusing them of working together to drive up the cost of medications while the U.S. Supreme Court decides another case that also has to do with federal versus state jurisdiction.
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May 29, 2024
Benefits Trade Group Urges Changes To New York PBM Regs
A trade group representing large employers who sponsor employee benefit plans warned New York's insurance regulator that a proposal affecting pharmacy benefit managers — which act as intermediaries between pharmacies, drugmakers and insurers — will trigger litigation without changes before they're finalized to eliminate conflicts with federal benefits law.
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May 29, 2024
IBEW Local Wins Benefits Dispute With Power Plant Operator
A New York federal judge preserved a win for an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local Wednesday in a dispute with a power plant operator over who qualifies for a supplemental retirement benefit at the company, deeming the arbitrator's award reasonable.
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May 29, 2024
Chancery Pins Down Musk, Tesla On Pay Bid, Del. Jurisdiction
Delaware's chancellor has nailed Elon Musk, Tesla Inc. and their counsel to assurances that the company won't flee state corporate law jurisdiction and a potentially massive stockholder attorney fee dispute by rushing votes on a struck-down, $56 billion compensation plan for Musk and proposed reincorporation in Texas.
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May 29, 2024
9th Circ. Affirms Dismissal Of Doctor's Military Bias Suit
An Arizona hospital defeated a doctor's discrimination lawsuit for the second time, with the Ninth Circuit upholding an Arizona federal judge's decision to toss the doctor's claims that the hospital showed bias against his military status by not renewing his contract after he deployed.
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May 28, 2024
Chancery Finds Ex-CEO Owed $79M For Share Lockup Losses
The former CEO of a 3D building imaging company is owed more than $79 million in damages in his share value suit against the company, but not the more than $141 million he sought, the Delaware Chancery Court ruled Tuesday.
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May 28, 2024
Frontier, Ex-CEO Settle $21.8M Life Insurance Benefits Feud
Frontier Communications and Leonard Tow, its former CEO and the top executive of a predecessor, have privately settled a feud surrounding tens of millions in split-dollar life insurance policies, with both sides asking a Connecticut state court judge to withdraw a $21.8 million prejudgment remedy order issued last month.
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May 28, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Delaware Court of Chancery watchers shifted their focus last week from the courtroom to Dover's legislative hall, as proposed amendments to Delaware's corporate code were finally introduced to state lawmakers. Hearings, decisions and reversals involved Kraft-Heinz, AMC Entertainment and the merger of cryptocurrency companies BitGo and Galaxy. In case you missed it, here's the latest from Delaware's Chancery Court.
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May 28, 2024
Chicken Buyers Defend Additional $37M Atty Fee Ask
Direct chicken buyers who have inked more than $284 million in price-fixing settlements defended their counsel's request for more than $37 million in what would be their third payout in the massive case, saying the request is consistent with both precedent and past experience.
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May 28, 2024
Qualcomm Can't Knock Out 401(k) Forfeiture Suit
Qualcomm Inc. must face a proposed class action alleging it used ex-employees' forfeited 401(k) funds to reduce company plan contributions rather than cover participants' expenses, with a California federal judge finding Qualcomm might have violated federal benefits law even if it was following the plan's terms.
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May 28, 2024
Seeger Weiss Secures Latest Fee Bid In NFL Concussion Case
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday granted Seeger Weiss LLP's latest fee request for close to $1.9 million in attorney fees and costs for its ongoing work implementing an agreement settling former National Football League players' concussion-linked disability claims.
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May 28, 2024
Insurers Sue To Invalidate DOL ERISA Investment Advice Rule
The American Council of Life Insurers and other insurance groups accused the U.S. Department of Labor's recently finalized retirement investment advice regulations of exceeding DOL authority and violating federal administrative procedure laws in the second such suit filed in Texas court.
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May 24, 2024
Petition Watch: Forum Shopping, Monopolies & Gun Safety
Law360 looks at four U.S. Supreme Court petitions filed in the past two weeks, including the FDA's request that the justices curb an increase in forum shopping at the Fifth Circuit, and two veterinarians who want the justices to allow plaintiffs to pursue antitrust claims for actions allegedly leading to the creation of a monopoly.
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May 24, 2024
Engineering Co. Mismanaged 401(k) Plan, Ex-Worker Says
An engineering company forced participants in its $5.1 billion retirement plan to pay lofty administrative fees by automatically enrolling them into expensive managed account programs, thereby breaching federal benefits law, according to a proposed class action filed in Virginia federal court Friday.
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May 24, 2024
Biden's Judicial Impact And What's Left On The Wish List
President Joe Biden secured confirmation of his 200th federal judge Wednesday and has transformed the judiciary by picking more women and people of color than any other president. But the upcoming election season could derail his hopes of confirming many more judges.
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May 24, 2024
ERISA Arbitration Backers See Hope In 2nd Circ. Dissent
A split Second Circuit panel backed workers — and joined three other circuits — when it rejected an attempt to force a proposed class action Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuit into individual arbitration, but employers are seizing on a dissent from the recent ruling to try to turn the tide.
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May 24, 2024
2nd Circ. Wary Of Deloitte Workers' 401(k) Suit Revival Bid
The Second Circuit appeared reluctant Friday to revive a proposed class action against Deloitte alleging workers' employee 401(k) plans were weighed down by excessive recordkeeping fees, with multiple judges on a panel pointing to a lack of specific cost comparisons to other plans in an amended complaint.
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May 23, 2024
'New' Facts Don't Permit Do-Over, Kraft-Heinz Tells Chancery
An institutional shareholder of The Kraft-Heinz Co. is not entitled to a "do-over" on an insider trading lawsuit that Delaware's Court of Chancery dismissed in 2021 because the supposed "new evidence" it offers isn't actually new and wouldn't have made any difference in the case, the company said Thursday.
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May 23, 2024
Apple Investor Again Seeks Green Light For $490M Settlement
An Apple Inc. investor has asked a California federal judge to revisit a $490 million settlement deal that would end claims the tech giant misled investors about iPhone sales in China, telling the court that it had addressed the judge's critique that parts of the relevant filings were "convoluted."
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May 23, 2024
Union Fund Trustees Fight DOL Mismanagement Suit
Two trustees of an embattled union life insurance fund have asked an Illinois federal judge to toss the U.S. Department of Labor's claims that they let a fellow trustee siphon about $2.6 million and amended the fund's rules to shield themselves from liability.
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May 23, 2024
Conn. To Expand Paid Sick Leave To Smaller Businesses
More employees in Connecticut will soon become eligible for paid sick leave after the state's governor gave his blessing on a bill that expands the state's time-off requirements to include smaller businesses.
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May 23, 2024
Humana Defeats ERISA Challenge To Retirement Plan Fees
Humana Inc. defeated a class action claiming it failed to make sure its $6.5 billion employee retirement plan was paying reasonable administrative and recordkeeping fees, with a Kentucky federal judge ruling Thursday there was nothing wrong with how the insurance company oversaw the plan.
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May 23, 2024
DOL Says 11th Circ. 'Alone' In ERISA Internal Remedy Stance
The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Eleventh Circuit to reinstate a lawsuit from former seafood company workers who claimed their employee stock ownership plan was overcharged in a $92 million deal, saying they didn't jump the gun by suing instead of pursuing claims internally.
Expert Analysis
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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How Mental Health Ruling Paves Road For Equal Coverage
The Tenth Circuit’s recent ruling in E.W. v. Health Net, which clarified the pleading requirements necessary to establish a Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act violation, is a win for plaintiffs as it opens the door to those who have been denied coverage for behavioral health treatment to prove a mental health parity violation, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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An Informed Guide To Mastering Retirement Plan Forfeitures
When considering how to allocate departing retirement plan participants’ forfeitures, sponsors should consider recently filed lawsuits that allege Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations for using such funds to offset employer contributions, as well as proposed IRS guidance concerning how and when they must be used, says Eric Gregory at Dickinson Wright.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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5 New Calif. Laws Employers Need To Know
Now is a good time for employers to evaluate personnel rules to keep pace with California’s newly adopted employee protections, which go into effect early next year and include laws regarding reproductive loss leave, cannabis use, workplace violence prevention and noncompete agreements, say attorneys at Farella Braun.
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DOL's Retirement Security Rule Muddies Definitional Waters
The latest proposal changing how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act defines "investment advice," which the White House framed as a narrowly tailored regulation, would implement a sweeping regulatory overhaul that changes how the retirement services industry interacts with plans, participants and account owners, says Michael Kreps at Groom Law Group.
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9th Circ. ERISA Ruling Informs DOL's New Fiduciary Proposal
The Ninth Circuit's reasoning in its recent Bugielski v. AT&T decision illustrates the importance of the U.S. Department of Labor's proposals to expand the reach of Employee Retirement Income Security Act third-party compensation disclosure rules and their effect on investment adviser fiduciaries, says Jeff Mamorsky at Cohen & Buckmann.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.
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Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information
As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.
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Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD
Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.
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AI Use May Trigger False Claims Act's Public Disclosure Bar
The likely use of publicly available artificial intelligence tools to detect government fraud by combing through large data sets will raise complex questions about a False Claims Act provision that prohibits the filing of claims based on previously disclosed information, say Nick Peterson and Spencer Brooks at Wiley Rein.