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Benefits
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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.
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May 23, 2024
UBH Urges 9th Circ. To Take Up Petition In Health Claim Fight
United Behavioral Health implored the Ninth Circuit to grant the insurance company's petition for appellate court intervention in a consolidated action alleging mismanagement of mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims, arguing a California federal court clearly erred by allowing further pleadings on a denial of benefits claim.
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May 23, 2024
Estate Sues Hanover For $13.4M Judgment In Death Suit
The Hanover Insurance Group has refused to pay a judgment of nearly $13.4 million to the family of a man who died in the care of a Connecticut group home, according to a lawsuit in state court.
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May 22, 2024
American Air Pilots Win Cert. Over 401(k)'s ESG Investments
A Texas federal judge on Wednesday certified a class of pilots accusing American Airlines of packing its $26 billion retirement plan with investments that focused too heavily on environmental, social and governance factors, like climate change, and too little on financial returns.
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May 22, 2024
Conn. Judge Doubts Restaurant's Insurance Beef Is Stale
Connecticut's chief intermediate appellate court judge appeared skeptical Wednesday of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.'s position that a restaurant is barred from suing over the denial of coverage for a worker's hand injury, suggesting that previous litigation over the worker's compensation policy has no bearing on the current suit.
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May 22, 2024
Robbins Geller, Motley Rice Seek To Rep Solar Co. Investors
Motley Rice LLC and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP want to represent investors of energy company Shoals Technologies Group Inc. in consolidated proposed class action claims taking aim at the company and its brass and underwriters for allegedly concealing costly issues with wires in its products.
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May 22, 2024
IT Co. Can't Sink Fired Worker's FMLA Retaliation Suit
A Florida federal judge declined to hand an information technology company an early win in a former worker's suit claiming he was fired after he took medical leave to treat anxiety, ruling that there are enough disputes over whether the company acted illegally to send the case to trial.
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May 22, 2024
Justices' CFPB Alliance May Save SEC Courts, Not Chevron
A four-justice concurrence to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme last week carries implications for other cases pending before the court that challenge the so-called administrative state, or the permanent cadre of regulatory agencies and career government enforcers who hold sway over vast swaths of American economic life.
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May 22, 2024
Carpenter Sues Union Healthcare Plan After Losing Coverage
A union healthcare plan violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act when it stopped working with a Bay Area insulation company whose union contract expired, a new proposed class action filed in California federal court alleges.
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May 22, 2024
1st Circ. Affirms UBS Win In Puerto Rico Pension Fight
The First Circuit said public pensioners in Puerto Rico can't advance their claims that UBS Financial Services illegally underwrote $3 billion in bonds, ruling that the island's financial restructuring plan transferred the right to those claims to a special committee.
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May 22, 2024
Energy Contractor Can't Get Quick Appeal In 401(k) Suit
A Texas federal judge refused to allow an energy contractor to immediately appeal a decision declining to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of stacking its retirement plan with underperforming funds, saying allowing the Fifth Circuit to weigh in now would only slow down the litigation.
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May 22, 2024
Nokia Can't Escape Suit Alleging Costly 401(k) Investments
Nokia must face a proposed class action alleging it failed to keep the costs of its employee 401(k) plan in check, a New Jersey federal judge said Wednesday, finding the plan participants leading the suit provided enough detail to back up their claims of costly investment options.
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May 22, 2024
Teva, Bristol-Myers Cite Bystolic Against Cancer Drug Case
Celgene and parent Bristol-Myers Squibb pointed a New Jersey federal judge to the dismissal, recently upheld by the Second Circuit, of an antitrust suit over delayed generic competition to AbbVie's hypertension treatment Bystolic to argue the same logic applies to their bid to duck antitrust claims over cancer therapies.
Expert Analysis
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How 2 Cases Could Undermine The Anti-ESG Movement
A decision from a federal court in Texas and another case currently making its way through Missouri federal court signal an emerging judicial recognition of the link between environmental, social and governance considerations and maximizing financial returns, say Amy Roy and Robert Skinner at Ropes & Gray.
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Considerations And Calculations For DOJ Clawback Program
The U.S. Department of Justice’s clawback pilot program announced earlier this year presents numerous questions for businesses, and both hypothetical and recent real-world examples capture how companies’ cost-benefit analyses about whether to claw back compensation in exchange for penalty reductions may differ, say Yogesh Bahl and Jonathan Hecht at Resolution Economics.
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SEC's Life Sciences Actions Utilize Novel Tools And Theories
Recent enforcement actions show that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is employing new forms of data analytics and noteworthy applications of insider trading laws in its scrutiny of fraud within the life sciences and health industries, say Edward Imperatore and Jina Choi at MoFo.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Wilderness Therapy Ruling May Deter Broad Policy Exclusions
A Utah federal court's recent ruling in M.A. v. United Healthcare that an insurance policy exclusion for the adolescent behavioral health treatment known as wilderness therapy was ambiguous shows that blanket rejections can go too far, and may preclude new rationales for claim denials, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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Cos. Must Show Discretion In Public Statements When Sued
A recent securities class action ruling in Massachusetts federal court against software company Pegasystems shows that a boilerplate public denial of a lawsuit's merits can form the basis for a claim that the statement was false or misleading, underscoring the need to use discretion when responding to pending claims, say Brian Kearney and Stephen Kastenberg at Ballard Spahr.
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Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.
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Avoiding The Ethical Pitfalls Of Crowdfunded Legal Fees
The crowdfunding of legal fees has become increasingly common, providing a new way for people to afford legal services, but attorneys who accept crowdsourced funds must remember several key ethical obligations to mitigate their risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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An Overview Of 6 PBM Bills Moving Through Congress
As legislators turn to pharmacy benefit manager reform as a potential next step in addressing the cost of prescription drugs, six congressional committees have recently advanced PBM-related legislation with generally high bipartisan support, suggesting that a final package is likely to advance through Congress, say Rachel Stauffer and Katie Waldo at McDermott+Consulting.
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10th Circ. ERISA Ruling Is Promising For Self-Funded Plans
Though some recent appellate decisions have seemingly narrowed application of Employee Retirement Income Security Act preemption, which generally helps protect self-funded health plans from state regulation, the Tenth Circuit's decision in PCMA v. Mulready takes a big step toward reaffirming preemption, say attorneys at Bass Berry.
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What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review
Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.