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Benefits
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July 05, 2024
Black & Decker Can't Ax Suit Challenging BlackRock Funds
A Connecticut federal judge said Black & Decker can't escape a suit claiming it failed to trim underperforming BlackRock investment funds from its 20,000-member $2.2 billion retirement plan, ruling that the retirees behind the suit put forward enough evidence of potential imprudence to dodge dismissal.
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July 05, 2024
4 Benefits Policy Moves To Watch In 2024's 2nd Half
The U.S. Department of Labor and other agencies are expected to issue a final rule implementing a mental health parity-in-coverage statute, and DOL regulations expanding who qualifies as a fiduciary under federal benefits law are set to take effect in the fall. Here are four policy developments benefits attorneys are watching out for in the second half of 2024.
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July 05, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Ponzi Scheme, Merck Vaccine Heat Up July
The Third Circuit's July argument schedule is sizzling with several high-stakes cases, including two whistleblowers attempting to make drugmaker Merck answer for allegedly inducing the U.S. government to pay for substandard mumps vaccines.
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July 03, 2024
HHS Scores Early Win In Boehringer's Medicare Pricing Suit
A Connecticut federal judge on Wednesday sided with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boehringer Ingelheim's challenge to a new Medicare drug price negotiation program, rejecting the pharmaceutical company's claim that the program is unconstitutional.
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July 03, 2024
Humana Drops 6th Circ. Remand Bid In Ohio Collusion Suit
Humana is being dismissed from Ohio's lawsuit accusing pharmacy benefit managers and insurers of conspiring to inflate prescription prices through international subsidiaries after the company reached a settlement agreement in June.
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July 03, 2024
Broiler Chicken Buyers' Attys Get $51.6M Fees In Antitrust Suit
An Illinois federal judge overseeing sprawling antitrust litigation against broiler chicken producers awarded class counsel more than $51.6 million in attorney fees in a $181 million deal for chicken buyers after the initial $57 million award was tossed by the Seventh Circuit last year, according to an order Wednesday.
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July 03, 2024
Ex-Conn. Goodwill Exec Says Whistleblowing Ended His Job
The former top executive at Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut Inc. has launched a state court lawsuit alleging he was fired for complaining about the nonprofit's governance, questioning statements on its IRS filings and expressing doubts about a proposed merger.
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July 03, 2024
NYC Pensions Defeat Challenge To Fossil Fuel Divestments
A trio of New York City pension plans on Wednesday beat a lawsuit claiming they'd damaged public employees' retirement funds by removing $3.9 billion from investments in fossil fuels, with a New York state judge ruling the workers hadn't shown they'd been harmed by the divestments.
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July 03, 2024
Red States Get ACA Trans Discrimination Rule Blocked
Federal judges in Mississippi and Texas granted conservatives states' requests Wednesday to freeze a new rule protecting access to healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community, with both judges ruling that states are likely to succeed in showing that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overstepped when it created the regulations.
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July 03, 2024
Veterans Ask High Court To Revive PTSD Benefits Claims
Two military veterans urged the U.S. Supreme Court to remand Federal Circuit rulings that denied their benefits claims for post-traumatic stress disorder, saying the lower courts failed to properly review whether they deserved the benefit of the doubt.
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July 03, 2024
5 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch For In July
Republican state attorneys general will try to convince the Fifth Circuit to knock down a U.S. Department of Labor rule covering how retirement plan managers can consider environmental and social factors when picking investments, while Kellogg workers will challenge class action waivers at the Sixth Circuit. Here are five argument sessions coming up this month that benefits attorneys should keep an eye on.
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July 03, 2024
Calif. Watchdog Notches $14.4M Deal In Microsoft Leave Fight
Microsoft agreed to shell out $14.4 million to end a California Civil Rights Department's lawsuit claiming that it discriminated against employees who take protected employment leaves, the department announced Wednesday.
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July 03, 2024
Morgan Lewis Benefit Plan Exits Atty's ERISA Suit
An attorney at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP agreed to drop claims against her employee benefit plan in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit in Pennsylvania federal court alleging her long-term disability benefits were abruptly terminated after applying criteria irrelevant to her work.
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July 03, 2024
Cerevel Investors Allege Insider Trades Pre-$8.7B AbbVie Deal
A pension fund shareholder of Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings Inc. has sued the biopharmaceutical company in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking documents to investigate potential fiduciary duty breaches and possible insider trading shortly before the company announced its pending $8.7 billion merger with AbbVie Inc.
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July 03, 2024
After Chevron Deference: What Lawyers Need To Know
This term, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, a precedent established 40 years ago that said when judges could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking. Here, catch up with Law360's coverage of what is likely to happen next.
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July 02, 2024
11th Circ. Reverses $500K Insurer Benefit In Climber's Death
The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday reversed a lower court decision saying Reliance Standard Life Insurance had to pay $500,000 in benefits to the sons of a mountaineer who died ascending a peak in Pakistan, ruling that the life insurer wasn't unreasonable in determining that the climber didn't die by accident.
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July 02, 2024
Steel Co. Escapes 401(k) Mismanagement Suit, For Now
A Florida federal judge tossed a suit claiming a steel manufacturer saddled its $655 million retirement plan with pricey investment funds and fees, ruling Tuesday the plan participant behind the claims needed to formally show the court that he brought his concerns to the plan's committee before filing suit.
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July 02, 2024
Pharma Co. Scores Exit In Investor Suit Over Primate Imports
A Massachusetts federal judge tossed every claim in a proposed class action claiming that pharmaceutical company Charles River Laboratories and its executives concealed their involvement in the illegal importation of nonhuman primates for research, ruling that the disputed statements are not false or misleading.
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July 02, 2024
DOL Sends Final Rule On Mental Health Parity To White House
The U.S. Department of Labor transmitted a final rule to the White House for review designed to boost employer health plans' compliance with a law requiring equal coverage of mental health and substance use disorder treatments compared to physical care, according to a regulatory filing posted online.
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July 02, 2024
Amway Parent Inks $1.5M Deal To End Retirees' 401(k) Suit
Amway's parent company will pay over $1.5 million to resolve a class action claiming it loaded its employee 401(k) plan with shoddy investments and excessive fees, plan participants leading the suit told a Michigan federal court.
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July 02, 2024
Butterball Must Face NC Worker's Assault Suit In State Court
The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a lawsuit accusing turkey processor Butterball of failing to stop a worker's assault can't be resolved administratively because the injuries didn't occur in the course of the employee's work.
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July 01, 2024
Aerospace Co. Escapes 401(k) Mismanagement Suit, For Now
A California federal judge tossed a suit alleging an aerospace technology company failed to swap out an underperforming suite of investment funds from its $930 million retirement plan, ruling the workers behind the case needed to show how the company went wrong in its decision-making processes.
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July 01, 2024
GoDaddy Shareholders Balk At Further Chancery Delay
A special litigation committee that GoDaddy Inc. created in September 2023 in response to shareholder litigation over an $850 million tax asset buyout has 30 days to convince a Delaware Chancery Court judge that it is conducting a good-faith investigation and cooperating with the suing shareholders.
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July 01, 2024
VC Co.'s Ex-Marketing Chief Wins $1.4M Damages In Retrial
A jury awarded $1.4 million in damages for unpaid bonuses to a former marketing director for a biotechnology-focused venture capital company after a retrial on the damages award, unanimously granting the ex-executive almost the same amount as an earlier award that a New York federal judge opposed.
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July 01, 2024
Car Loan Co. Cuts $1.25M Deal To End ESOP Valuation Suit
A car loan provider will pay $1.25 million to resolve a suit claiming it breached federal benefits law when it revalued its stock early in the pandemic and forced retirees to sell their shares at a lower value, a former plan participant told a California federal court.
Expert Analysis
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What 3rd Circ. Gets Wrong About Arbitration Enforcement
The Third Circuit and other courts should correct their current law, exemplified by the Third Circuit's recent decision in Henry v. Wilmington Trust, requiring a motion to dismiss based on an arbitration clause because it conflicts with the Federal Arbitration Act, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and — with regard to the improper-venue approach — U.S. Supreme Court precedent, says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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Series
Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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The SEC's Cooled Down But Still Spicy Private Fund Rules
Timothy Spangler and Lindsay Trapp at Dechert consider recently finalized U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules, which significantly alter the scope of obligations private fund advisers must meet under the Investment Advisers Act, noting the absence of several contentious proposals and litigation that could result in implementation delays.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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Pa. City Ch. 9 Ruling Raises Municipal Financing Concerns
A Pennsylvania district court’s recent ruling in a Chapter 9 case filed by the city of Chester, Pennsylvania, strengthens the foundations of the municipal bond market, but also demonstrates that bankruptcy courts continue to struggle with some of the features of municipal revenue bonds and issue rulings that contradict market expectations, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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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.