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Benefits
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August 02, 2024
Chancery Won't Force Open Paramount's Books On Skydance
A pension fund shareholder that sued Paramount Global for more information on its pending merger with Skydance Media may not have access to the entertainment company's corporate documents because the pension fund hasn't shown a "credible basis" to suspect wrongdoing, Delaware's Court of Chancery ruled Friday.
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August 02, 2024
Auto Parts Co. To Pay $2.9M To End 401(k) Class Action
Auto parts manufacturer Magna International agreed to pay $2.9 million to end a class action alleging it cost employees millions of dollars in retirement savings because it failed to remove flawed investment options from its retirement plan, workers told a Michigan federal court.
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August 02, 2024
3rd Circ. Backs Ex-NJ Firefighter's $50M Drug Fraud Sentence
The Third Circuit backed the eight-year prison sentence handed to a former New Jersey firefighter convicted for his role in a $50 million healthcare fraud scheme, rejecting his argument he was wrongly punished for taking his case to trial.
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August 02, 2024
4 ERISA Excessive Health Fee Suits To Watch
The Third Circuit will decide whether to revive a suit from MetLife workers alleging their pharmacy benefits were mismanaged, while suits proceed in district court against Wells Fargo and Johnson & Johnson alleging they violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act via high drug costs a pharmacy benefit manager charged workers. Here, Law360 looks at four cases involving claims that employers violated ERISA by charging high healthcare costs — including for prescription drugs — that attorneys are watching.
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August 02, 2024
Allstate Plan Participants Want $70M ERISA Case Kept In Play
Claims by a proposed class of current and former Allstate workers that the insurer cost them nearly $70 million by keeping poor-performing funds in their retirement plan should head to trial, the workers argued Friday while urging an Illinois federal court not to toss the suit.
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August 02, 2024
Ex-CFO Of Embattled PE Firm Sues In Del. For Legal Fees
The former chief financial officer of 777 Partners LLC has sued the private equity firm in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking advancement of his legal fees in connection with a fraud investigation and at least 20 civil lawsuits related to the company's business.
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August 02, 2024
4th Circ. Says Upcoming 50th Birthday Didn't Affect Benefits
An administrative law judge was right to find a worker who suffers from a series of mental health issues isn't owed Social Security disability benefits, the Fourth Circuit said, agreeing that the worker's upcoming 50th birthday didn't strengthen her claim.
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August 01, 2024
NJ Transit On Hook For $11.6M Injury Verdict, 2nd Circ. Says
The Second Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a jury's $11.6 million verdict accusing New Jersey Transit of negligently ordering a train engineer to continue operating in an overheated cab that caused him to suffer career-ending injuries, saying the state-owned company had a duty to maintain the cab's air conditioning system.
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August 01, 2024
Employers Urge Justices Take Up Withdrawal Liability Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court must resolve a circuit split over how to calculate the bills sent to companies that leave union pension plans, a group of employers has argued, fighting an argument by the trustees of an International Association of Machinists pension fund that the split is "tolerable."
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August 01, 2024
Pa. Workers' OT Claims Over Pensions Stand, Judge Says
Federal labor law doesn't preempt some claims from unionized hospital workers in Pennsylvania over incorrect overtime pay, a federal judge determined, saying interpretation of a labor contract laying out the calculation of wage rates and pension contributions isn't necessary to resolve those allegations.
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August 01, 2024
House Workforce Chair Wants Mental Health Parity Regs Axed
The Republican chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee told the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday it should not finalize regulations that aim to encourage employer compliance with a law requiring equitable mental health and substance use disorder treatments coverage, stating the rule burdens businesses.
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August 01, 2024
Chancery Denies Ex-InterMune CEO $6M Legal Fee Right
Delaware's Chancery Court rejected on Thursday a bid by former InterMune CEO W. Scott Harkonen to escape demands to repay nearly $6 million in legal fees covered by biotech venture InterMune Inc. and insurers during his unsuccessful defense against a 2009 wire fraud conviction, denying all claims for legal fee indemnification.
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August 01, 2024
GE Retirees Reach Deal To Resolve Pension Benefits Dispute
General Electric retirees announced Thursday they'd struck a deal with their former employer to resolve claims that GE improperly used a company spinoff to renounce responsibility for supplemental pension benefits reserved for senior executives, the plaintiff-side firm that represented the retirees said.
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July 31, 2024
Wells Fargo Let Workers' Prescription Costs Soar, Suit Says
A group of former Wells Fargo employees have accused the banking giant of mismanaging its prescription drug benefits program, costing its Employee Retirement Income Security Act plan and employees millions of dollars in premiums and medication costs, according to a proposed class action in Minnesota federal court.
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July 31, 2024
Gov't Fights Doctor's Bid For New Trial In NBA Fraud Case
Federal prosecutors are urging a New York district judge to reject a request for a retrial from a Seattle doctor found guilty for his role in a vast NBA fraudulent healthcare scheme, arguing that it properly admitted its evidence at trial, and it was more than enough to support the guilty verdict.
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July 31, 2024
Black Worker Says PBGC Didn't Promote Him Due To His Race
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. passed over a Black worker for a senior director role in favor of a less qualified white woman and retaliated against him for a previously filed race discrimination complaint, a lawsuit filed in D.C. federal court said.
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July 31, 2024
Honesty Worries Justify Gas Co. Worker Firing, 4th Circ. Says
The Fourth Circuit upheld a Baltimore gas company's win over a former mechanic's lawsuit alleging he was unlawfully terminated for taking medical leave because of a diabetes-related condition, ruling Wednesday that suspicions of dishonesty provided a credible reason for letting him go.
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July 31, 2024
Saul Ewing Adds 2 Employee Benefits Attys On East Coast
Saul Ewing LLP announced Wednesday that it has grown its employee benefits and executive compensation practice on the East Coast with two attorneys, one from Ivins Phillips & Barker and another from Hogan Lovells.
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July 31, 2024
Southern Co. Beats Retirees' Suit Over Mortality Data
Federal benefits law doesn't mandate specific actuarial assumptions in the calculation of pension payments, a Georgia federal judge ruled as he tossed a proposed class action alleging that a Southern Co. subsidiary's use of decades-old mortality tables shorted retirees by thousands of dollars.
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July 31, 2024
Guatemalan Worker Says Paint Co. Fired Him For Injury
A Guatemalan worker in the U.S. on a work visa is suing a Connecticut painting company in state court, saying it violated employment laws by failing to pay him his promised salary and firing him after a workplace injury prevented him from being able to do his job.
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July 31, 2024
Firms Must Justify $1.4M Fee Bid In State Street Settlement
A Massachusetts federal judge who oversaw a yearslong attorney overbilling scandal and slashed a fee bid in another case over alleged false and misleading statements ordered a pair of firms to tell him why they should get one-third of a $4.3 million settlement with State Street Corp.
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July 30, 2024
Fla. Insurance Co. Accused Of Causing Black Mold Death
A Florida insurance company was accused of wrongfully causing the death of a woman who died from black mold contamination in a state complaint brought by her sole descendant, who alleges the insurer didn't send a promised team to remediate the woman's home after it was damaged by Hurricane Ian.
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July 30, 2024
Atty Teams Wrestle In Chancery Over WWE Merger Suit Pick
Two legal tag teams have pitched competing bids to lead a Delaware Court of Chancery suit aimed at World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and its $21.4 million merger with Ultimate Fighting Championship, with one stressing the depth of its complaint and the other, in part, stressing depth of experience in pressing sexual misconduct claims.
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July 30, 2024
Florida Residents Urge 11th Circ. Keep Block On Gender Law
Transgender adults and children in Florida on Monday urged the Eleventh Circuit to reject the state's attempt to enforce a law restricting gender-affirming treatment for transgender minors and adults while the case is on appeal.
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July 30, 2024
Utility Co. Denied Injunction In Row Over Apprentice Workers
A Michigan federal judge has denied a utility construction and maintenance company's bid for an injunction against a joint labor-management committee supervising apprentice line workers in the company's antitrust suit, finding that the company is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its claim.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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9th Circ. Clarifies ERISA Preemption For Healthcare Industry
The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Bristol SL Holdings v. Cigna notably clarifies the broad scope of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's preemption of certain state law causes of action, standing to benefit payors and health plan administrators, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule
A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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Series
Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.
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How HHS Discrimination Rule Affects Gender-Affirming Care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new final rule, which reinterprets the Affordable Care Act's anti-discrimination provision, greatly clarifies protections for gender-affirming care and will require compliance considerations from sponsors and administrators of most group health plans, say attorneys at McDermott.