Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Benefits
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
-
How Justices' Disclosure Ruling May Change Corp. Filings
In the upcoming Macquarie Infrastructure v. Moab Partners case, the U.S. Supreme Court will resolve a circuit split over whether a company may be sued for private securities fraud if they fail to disclose certain financial information in public filings, which may change the way management analyzes industry risks and trends for investors, says Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
-
Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
-
Series
Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.
-
Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
-
What ESG Investing Ruling Means For Fiduciaries
A Texas federal court’s recent ruling — upholding a U.S. Department of Labor rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to consider ESG factors in certain investment decisions — provides welcome clarity for plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act that have long been buffeted by partisan noise and misinformation, say attorneys at Covington.
-
Opinion
Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.