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Benefits
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October 09, 2024
Insurer Wins Ex-PwC Exec's Long-Term Disability Suit
An Illinois federal judge handed Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co. a win in a federal benefits lawsuit from a former PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP executive who alleged she was wrongly denied long-term disability benefits after fibromyalgia left her unable to continue working.
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October 09, 2024
Electronics Co. Hid Auto Segment Slump, Investor Claims
Electronic equipment manufacturing company Methode Electronics has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it concealed the full extent of sagging sales in its automotive division, in which General Motors was a top client.
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October 09, 2024
Mich. Justices Open To Atty Fee Bid In Legal Malpractice Case
The Michigan Supreme Court appeared receptive Wednesday to arguments from a lab-grown orchid company that it should be allowed to recover attorney fees incurred in an employment lawsuit the company claimed resulted from legal malpractice.
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October 09, 2024
Fla. University Inks $1.5M Deal In 401(k) Mismanagement Suit
A Florida university struck a $1.5 million deal with a class of employees that claimed the school weighed down its $400 million retirement plan with excessive recordkeeping fees and shoddy investment funds.
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October 08, 2024
Judge Tells VA To Quickly Develop Housing For LA Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and experts picked by a class of homeless, disabled military veterans were ordered by a California federal judge to collaborate on plans for veteran housing on a Los Angeles campus.
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October 08, 2024
Student Loan Cos. Settle Ex-Exec's Severance Dispute
Student loan companies Navient Corp. and Earnest LLC told the Ninth Circuit they had reached a settlement to end a former executive's lawsuit alleging he was wrongly denied severance benefits, just days before a dual-sided appeal in the case was set for panel arguments on Thursday.
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October 08, 2024
Airlines Say Chicago Sick Leave Law Would Impact Business
An organization representing the largest U.S. airlines urged an Illinois federal court to keep afloat its challenge to Chicago's new paid sick leave law, saying its claims that the statute would impact flight prices and routes are fact-intensive and should proceed to discovery.
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October 08, 2024
1st Circ. Eyes Revival Of Welch's Execs' Pension Fight
The First Circuit appeared receptive Tuesday to former Welch's executives who are seeking to revive a suit claiming they were shortchanged by a supplemental retirement plan, with two judges pointing out conflict-of-interest disputes on appeal that the lower court left unaddressed.
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October 08, 2024
Willkie Adds Faegre ERISA Litigation Co-Head With Duo Hire
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is expanding its Midwest team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigator and a Chapman and Cutler LLP finance expert as partners in its Chicago office.
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October 08, 2024
Colo. Freed From Union Protest Of Southwest Sick Leave Deal
Colorado isn't on the hook for claims by a union representing Southwest Airlines flight attendants related to a settlement between the state and airline about a sick leave law, a state court judge ruled, finding the union lacks standing to raise its allegations.
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October 07, 2024
Pepsi Employee Sues Over Health Plan's 'Tobacco Surcharge'
A Pepsi employee has hauled the snack and beverage multinational into New York federal court, alleging in a proposed class action that the company unlawfully imposes a "tobacco surcharge" on employees who use tobacco products while failing to adequately notify employees that they can instead join a company wellness program.
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October 07, 2024
High Court Doubts States Can Police Federal Rights Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised Monday to strike down an Alabama law requiring litigants to exhaust state administrative remedies before they file claims in state court accusing local officials of violating federal rights, with several justices suggesting the court already answered that question almost 40 years ago.
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October 07, 2024
7th Circ. Revives Wage Claim In Sales Rep's Bonus Suit
A sales associate adequately showed that he and the technology and consulting company employing him had an agreement under which he would receive a bonus after meeting a sales target, the Seventh Circuit ruled, sending his wage claim back to Illinois federal court.
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October 07, 2024
Aircraft Co. Says Insurers Owe $222M For Lost Jets In Russia
An aircraft lessor said its insurers and underwriters are on the hook for more than $222 million in losses stemming from two aircraft that have been stranded in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, telling a Connecticut state court the total loss of the aircraft warrants coverage.
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October 07, 2024
Justices Want SG's Take On Union Pension Withdrawal Case
The U.S. Supreme Court asked the federal government Monday to weigh in on an employer-side petition in a fight over what actuarial assumptions multi-employer pension funds are allowed to use under federal benefits law when determining an employer's withdrawal liability.
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October 07, 2024
High Court Skips Ex-NFL Player's Disability Benefits Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it will not take up a former NFL player's suit claiming the league's retirement plan blocked him from collecting proper disability benefits payments, despite his argument that the high court needed to step in and iron out a circuit split.
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October 07, 2024
Justices Seek Feds' Input On 10th Circ. PBM Preemption Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the federal government to weigh in on the state of Oklahoma's challenge to a Tenth Circuit decision that found parts of a law regulating pharmacy benefit managers were preempted by federal benefits laws and Medicare Part D.
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October 04, 2024
Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases in its October 2024 term that could further refine the new administrative law landscape, establish constitutional rights to gender-affirming care for transgender minors and affect how the federal government regulates water, air and weapons. Here, Law360 looks at five of the most important cases on the Supreme Court's docket so far.
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October 04, 2024
DOL Urges 11th Circ. To Back Arbitration Denial In ESOP Row
The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Eleventh Circuit to reject arbitration in a proposed class action alleging a legal technology firm undervalued company shares when it shut down its employee stock ownership plan, arguing that the arbitration provision clashed with federal benefits law.
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October 04, 2024
Pool Equipment-Maker Sinks Shareholder Suit, For Now
A New Jersey federal judge Wednesday dismissed a proposed investor class action against pool supply company Hayward Holdings Inc. over claims that the company concealed it was struggling with ballooning inventory and lowered demand, saying the investors do not sufficiently explain why the alleged misstatements cited in the complaint are actionable.
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October 04, 2024
High Court Bar's Future: Jenner & Block's Adam Unikowsky
In many ways, Adam G. Unikowsky of Jenner & Block LLP has traveled a tried-and-true path — Harvard, elite clerkships, BigLaw — to the upper echelons of U.S. Supreme Court advocacy. But his route to the forefront of the bar's next generation has been less conventional than it might appear, and he spoke with Law360 about how he's climbed so high — and how he excels by avoiding rhetoric that "judges really, really hate."
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October 04, 2024
4 Benefits Appellate Arguments To Watch In October
The Fourth Circuit will consider a drugmaker's challenge to a West Virginia state law restricting access to the abortion drug mifepristone and Ohio pension funds are seeking to revive an investor class action at the Second Circuit, while the First and Ninth Circuits will take up executive compensation disputes. Here are four appellate arguments in October involving employee benefits that attorneys may want to keep on their radar.
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October 04, 2024
Up First At High Court: Civil Rights, Ghost Guns, Atty Fees
The U.S. Supreme Court reconvenes Monday to start a brand-new term, with the justices first hearing arguments related to prerequisites for litigating federal rights in state courts, ghost gun regulations, and whether a death row inmate is entitled to a new trial after a state admits that prosecutorial misconduct might have led to his conviction.
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October 04, 2024
Justices Take Up Cornell University Workers' ERISA Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear Cornell University employees' push to revive a class action alleging their retirement plan was mismanaged, giving the high court a chance to weigh in on the pleading standards for a prohibited transaction claim under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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October 03, 2024
Texas Transgender Health Rule Suit Paused For Gov't Appeal
A Texas federal judge said he'd stay a lawsuit from Texas and Montana challenging new federal protections for transgender healthcare while the Biden administration appeals the court's July order freezing the new rule.
Expert Analysis
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2 Rulings Show How Courts Assess Health Benefit Denials
Two recent decisions from federal appeals courts offer important insights into how courts are assessing denials of health benefit claims brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, including guidance on how plan administrators should evaluate claims and what documents must be disclosed, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Opinion
This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Mental Health Parity Rules: Tips For Plans And Issuers
Following federal agencies' release of final mental health parity rules, plan sponsors and health insurance issuers should develop protocols for preparing compliant nonquantitative treatment limitation comparative analyses, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Series
Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.
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Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys
Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.
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Opinion
FTC's Report Criticizing Drug Middlemen Is Flawed
The Federal Trade Commission's July report, which claims that pharmacy benefit managers are inflating drug costs, does not offer a credible analysis of PBMs, and its methodology lacks rigor, says Jay Ezrielev at Elevecon.
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Series
Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.
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Plan Sponsors Must Prep For New Mental Health, Drug Rules
To comply with newly published health insurance rules requiring parity between access to mental health and substance use services compared to medical and surgical services, employers with self-insured plans will need to update third-party administrator agreements and collect data, among other compliance steps, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.
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How Cos. Can Protect Supply Chains During The Port Strike
With dock workers at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts launching a strike that will likely cause severe supply chain disruptions, there are several steps exporters and importers can take to protect their businesses and mitigate increased costs, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession
About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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FTC Focus: How Scrutiny Of PBMs And Insulin May Play Out
Should Express Scripts' recent judicial challenge to the Federal Trade Commission succeed, any new targets could add litigation and choice of forum to their playbooks, and potential FTC court action on insulin could be forced to parallel venues as the issues between the commission and PBMs evolve, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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Opinion
AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys
The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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Series
Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.
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SEC Settlement Holds Important Pay-To-Play Lessons
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent fine of an investment adviser, whose new hire made a campaign contribution within a crucial lookback period, is a seasonable reminder for public fund managers to ensure their processes thoroughly screen all associates for even minor violations of the SEC’s strict pay-to-play rule, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners
Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.