http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline ERISA Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2020 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 27 requested a response brief be filed by a plan participant who prevailed in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a suit alleging that the University of Pennsylvania acted imprudently while administering a 403(b) defined contribution individual account employee pension benefit plan (University of Pennsylvania, et al. v. Jennifer Sweda, et al., No. 19-784., U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Following a Connecticut federal judge's Jan. 10 denial of a motion for reconsideration by plaintiffs in a lawsuit regarding Cigna Corp.'s conversion from a traditional defined-benefit pension plan to a cash-balance plan, the plaintiffs on Jan. 15 filed a notice of appeal to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking review of four rulings entered in the suit (Janice C. Amara, et al. v. Cigna Corp., et al., No. 3:01-cv-2361, D. Conn.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=0100000003:18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - In a Feb. 4 joint motion, a plaintiff class and a retirement plan request preliminary approval of a $1.82 million settlement of allegations that the plan's imposition of an actuarial charge represented an unlawful cutback of pension benefits (Aman Joseph Claudet Jr. v. Cytec Retirement Plan, et al., No. 17-10027, E.D. La.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - An effort by Raytheon Co. to obtain dismissal of allegations that it used unreasonable conversion factors when calculating pension benefits was unsuccessful on Jan. 17, when a federal judge in Massachusetts instead ruled in favor of a Raytheon retiree (Johnny Cruz v. Raytheon Company, No. 19-11425, D. Mass., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8417). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 3 reversed a district court's ruling that a service provider for a 401(k) plan is not a fiduciary after determining that the service provider is a fiduciary because the service provider exercises control over the setting of the guaranteed rate of return and the plan sponsor does not have the unimpeded ability to reject the rate set by the service provider (Frederick Rozo v. Principal Life Insurance Co. et al., No. 18-3310, 8th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3181). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - Plaintiffs in a class action alleging that Northrop Grumman Corp. breached its fiduciary duties in its management of the company's 401(k) retirement savings plan contend in a Jan. 13 motion for preliminary approval of a settlement filed in California federal court that an almost $12.4 million settlement is fair and reasonable to all class members (Clifton Marshall, et al. v. Northrop Grumman Corp., et al., No. 16-6794, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BALTIMORE - In a Jan. 28 judgment, a federal judge in Maryland deemed reasonable and appropriate a $4.6 million award of attorney fees in a case that pitted participants and beneficiaries of a 403(b) plan against the plan's sponsor, The Johns Hopkins University (Margaret E. Kelly, et al. v. The Johns Hopkins University, No. 16-2835, D. Md., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14772). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PASADENA, Calif. - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should reconsider its ruling that a district court did not abuse its discretion in denying class counsel's request for reimbursement of $964,212 in expert witness fees because the panel's decision conflicts with Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit precedent, the appellants say in a Jan. 21 petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc (Glenn Tibble, et al. v. Edison International, et al., No. 18-55974, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a Jan. 13 appellee brief filed in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, George Washington University (GW) says that a former GW employee's separation agreement with the school released her right to bring breach of fiduciary duty claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act against the university and that the district court properly found that the participant does not have standing to assert the claims (Melissa Stanley v. George Washington University, et al., No. 19-7079, D.C. Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Participants in two Georgetown University retirement plans who allege that the university made imprudent investments maintain that they timely filed an appeal of the dismissal of their complaint and contend in a Jan. 27 appellant brief that the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should remand their suit and direct the district court to allow them to amend their complaint (Darrell Wilcox, et al. v. Georgetown University, et al., No. 19-7065, D.C. Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2011%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' STATESVILLE, N.C. - A North Carolina federal judge on Feb. 3 refused to dismiss a breach of fiduciary duty case against a third-party health insurance administrator under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act over the administrator's alleged failure to pay a plan participant's medical expenses, which resulted in a loss to the plan when the expenses could not be claimed under a reinsurance policy (Technibilt Group Insurance Plan, et al. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, No. 19-79, W.D. N.C., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19668). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2012%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - A Georgia federal judge on Jan. 24 mostly denied a request to exclude expert testimony for plaintiffs pressing breach of fiduciary duty class claims against their company and 401(k) plan investment manager after finding that his opinions on the actions of a prudent fiduciary are helpful and supported by the expert's qualifications (Ronda A. Pledger, et al. v. Reliance Trust Co., et al., No. 1:15-cv-04444, N.D. Ga.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2013%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - An arbitrator did not abuse his discretion in granting summary judgment in favor of a multiemployer pension plan trust and against two car dealerships that assessed a withdrawal liability penalty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act because the arbitrator was authorized to enter summary judgment for the trust and because the arbitrator provided the dealerships with the opportunity to contest the trust's motion by submitting evidence during the arbitration proceedings, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Jan. 9 in affirming a district court's enforcement of the arbitration award in favor of the trust (Automotive Industries Pension Trust Fund et al., v. South City Motors Inc., Nos. 18-16170, 18-16173, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2014%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal on Jan. 23 reversed a district court's ruling in favor of a disability plan after determining that the disability claimant proved by a preponderance of the evidence that he was disabled from performing the duties of his regular occupation and that he was under the regular care of a physician for his disabling conditions (Jesse Bruton v. American United Life Insurance Corp., No. 19-3466, 6th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 2498). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2015%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 3 affirmed a district court's ruling in favor of a disability insurer after determining that the lower court did not abuse its discretion by limiting its review of a long-term disability (LTD) benefits claim to the administrative record before the court (Stephanie Dorris v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, No. 19-1701, 7th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3206). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2016%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - A district court did not err in entering summary judgment in favor of a disability claimant because the evidence supports a finding that the claimant is disabled from practicing as a dentist, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Jan. 31 (Kia Kaviani, D.M.D. v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., No. 19-11798, 11th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3006). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2017%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 27 affirmed a district court's ruling in favor of a disability insurer after determining the lower court did not err in finding that the disability insurer properly offset disability benefits payable under its policy by disability benefits received by the claimant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Marco Martinez v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, No. 18-2127, 1st Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 2507). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2018%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A disability insurer did not abuse its discretion in terminating a claimant's long-term disability (LTD) benefits because the evidence supports the insurer's finding that the claimant was not totally disabled from performing the duties of any occupation, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Jan. 16 (Dyel O. Talbot v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., et al., No. 18-15375, 9th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1657). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2019%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 15 denied a disability claimant's motion for rehearing en banc, refusing to reconsider its ruling that a district court did not err in applying an abuse-of-discretion standard of review in a disability suit because the plan administrator's conduct did not rise to the level of requiring a de novo review of the plan's denial of benefits (Olga Gorbacheva v. Abbott Laboratories Extended Disability Plan, et al., Nos. 18-15400, 18-16178, 9th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1376). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2020%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a Jan. 14 petition for writ of certiorari, insured parents urge the U.S. Supreme Court to review the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals' decision in favor of a life insurer to address the issue of whether insurers that issue policies governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act have a duty to draft unambiguous policies pursuant to the doctrine of contra proferentem (Rick and Sonya Caldwell v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, No. 19-884, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2021%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Review of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals' decision denying attorney fees to an insured who achieved some success on the merits is warranted because the decision creates confusion regarding attorney fee awards and conflicts with other circuits' rulings on fee awards, the insured contends in a Feb. 5 petition for writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court (Ariana M. v. Humana Health Plan of Texas, Incorporated, No. 19-980, U.S. Sup., 2020 U.S. S. Ct. BRIEFS LEXIS 419). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2022%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - An appellant who prevailed on allegations that her former employer violated The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) but nonetheless challenged several holdings related to her action was rebuffed Jan. 28 on appeal to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Carolyn Coultas v. Carlisle Brake & Friction Inc., No. 19-3420, 6th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 2965). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2023%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - "Incomprehensible" denial letters sent in reference to out-of-network lactation care form the basis for class certification, but allegations claiming that an insurer's "woefully inadequate" efforts constituted a uniform effort at evading Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) standards fail, a federal judge in California held Dec. 23 (Rachel Condry, et al. v. UnitedHealth Group Inc., et al., No. 17-183, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220287). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2024%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should reverse a district court's ruling that a deceased former employee's breach of contract and fraud cannot proceed based on the applicable statute of limitations because the employer's misrepresentation of the existence of a plan document for supplemental medical coverage benefits prevented the plaintiff from filing suit within the statute of limitations and from knowing whether her claim was governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the appellant maintains a Feb. 3 brief (Kathleen Rave v. L'Oreal USA Inc., No. 19-16054, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2025%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - An Illinois federal judge on Jan. 21 stripped plaintiffs suing their insurer over lactation services coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of their expert witness testimony for lack of reliability and then denied their bid for class certification for lack of common issues (Laura Briscoe, et al. v. Health Care Service Corporation, et al., No. 1:16-cv-10294, N.D. Ill., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9447). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2026%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by retirement plan participants whose claims that the plan fiduciaries breached their duty and failed to act on inside information when it came to the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) were dismissed (Eric O'Day, et al. v Ahmad Chatila, et al., No. 19-595, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2027%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - A Massachusetts federal judge on Jan. 24 dismissed a retirement plan participant's claim alleging violation of the anti-forfeiture provision under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and ordered the parties to submit supplemental briefing on the meaning of the phrase "actuarial equivalent" because ERISA does not actually define the term "actuarial equivalent" and the meaning of the term is not clear from the record (Scott Belknap, et al. v. Partners Healthcare System Inc., No. 19-11437, D. Mass.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2028%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - In a Jan. 31 class action complaint filed in Georgia federal court, pension plan participants and beneficiaries allege that the use of an outdated mortality table to calculate their retirement benefits was a breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Timothy Brown, et al. v. United Parcel Service of America Inc., et al., No. 20-460, N.D. Ga.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2029%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 7 affirmed a district court's ruling that the trustees of three employee benefit funds failed to prove that a union company's corporate affiliates are liable under collective bargaining agreements to contribute to the funds for work performed by the affiliates because the affiliates were not parties to the collective bargaining agreements and were not the union company's alter ego (Glen Johnson, et al. v. Charps Welding & Fabricating Inc., et al., Nos. 18-3007, 19-1206, 8th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3812). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-10%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2030%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 27 denied a petition for rehearing filed by a class of insurance agents who brought a misclassification lawsuit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Walid Jammal, et al. v. American Family Insurance Company, No. 19-248, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court in a per curiam opinion issued Jan. 14 vacated the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals' judgment in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act appeal concerning an employee stock option plan (ESOP) and remanded for the Second Circuit to determine the merits of claims concerning ERISA-based duty when it comes to inside information (Retirement Plans Committee of IBM, et al. v. Larry W. Jander, et al., No. 18-1165, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Beneficiaries of a pension trust that allegedly lost $750 million due disloyalty and imprudence by the trustee have concrete injuries and standing to sue despite contributions that were later made by the trustee to remedy the loss, their attorney told the U.S. Supreme Court in oral arguments on Jan. 13 (James J. Thole, et al. v. U.S. Bank, N.A., et al., No. 17-1712, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel's finding that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act allows for the reformation of a plan and recalculation of benefits as relief in a lawsuit where a retirement plan's terms were found to violate ERISA conflicts with controlling precedent, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) argues in a Jan. 6 petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc (Timothy D. Laurent, et al. v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, et al., No. 18-487, 2nd Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should grant review in a suit alleging that the University of Pennsylvania acted imprudently while administering a 403(b) defined contribution, individual account employee pension benefit plan because the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals' decision contradicts decisions by the high court and by four other courts of appeals, the university says in a Dec. 16 petition for writ of certiorari (University of Pennsylvania, et al. v. Jennifer Sweda, et al., No. n/a., U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 10 affirmed a district court's order that parties to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) must proceed with the grievance and arbitration procedure outlined in the CBA to resolve a dispute over the implementation of pension and welfare trust fund plans that comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Local 1982, International Longshoremen's Association v. Midwest Terminals of Toledo International Inc., No. 19-3319, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36502). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ORLANDO, Fla. - Although a retirement plan participant plaintiff asserts "new allegations and legal theories" in her latest putative class complaint against a health care organization, the filing suffers from the same deficiencies as two previous complaints that were already dismissed, a federal judge in Florida ruled Jan. 7 (Donna Sheedy, et al. v. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp., et al., No. 16-1893, M.D. Fla., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2131). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 10 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the Arkansas attorney general, who argues that the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred when it found that a state law regulating drug reimbursement rates for pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) is preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Leslie Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, No. 18-540, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should review the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals' decision that two Hawaii statutes that prohibit a health insurer's subrogation rights are not preempted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and provide the relevant rule of decision because the Ninth Circuit's decision is incompatible with relevant decisions issued by the high court, the health insurer contends in a Dec. 10 petition for writ of certiorari (Hawaii Management Alliance Association v. Randy Rudel, No. 19-752, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A panel of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 2 vacated a New York federal judge's decision to vacate an arbitration award, concluding that a trust fund cannot select an interest rate assumption and retroactively apply the assumption when calculating withdrawal liability (The National Retirement Fund, et al. v. Metz Culinary Management Inc., No. 17-1211, 2nd Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 7 vacated and remanded a disability claimant's suit seeking long-term disability benefits after determining that a district court erred in failing to consider letters from the claimant's treating physicians who were not provided with the opportunity to rebut the opinion of one of the insurer's examining physicians (Lea Wagenstein v. Cigna Life Insurance Co., et al., No. 18-55955, 9th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 482). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2011%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - A district court properly entered judgment for a disability insurer because the insurer did not wrongfully terminate a claimant's long-term disability benefits based on its determination that the claimant's mental illness was not caused by a physical disability, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Dec. 16 (Diane Miller v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co., No. 19-1096, 8th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 37168). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2012%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A district court did not err in applying an abuse-of-discretion standard of review in a disability suit because the plan administrator's conduct did not rise to the level of requiring a de novo review of the plan's denial of benefits, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Dec. 10 in affirming the lower court's finding that the plan did not abuse its discretion in terminating the disability claimant's benefits (Olga Gorbacheva v. Abbott Laboratories Extended Disability Plan, et al., Nos. 18-15400, 18-16178, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36542). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2013%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 6 affirmed a district court's ruling that a disability insurer did not abuse its discretion in finding that a claimant was not disabled from performing the duties of her own occupation as an attorney because the objective medical evidence clearly supports the insurer's finding (Anne Wittmann v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, No. 19-30254, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36311). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2014%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 23 affirmed a district court's ruling that the denial of a claim for short-term disability (STD) benefits was not unreasonable after determining that the claimant failed to present a valid basis for reversal (Jacqueline E. Presi v. Ascension Health Alliance, doing business as Ascension, et al., No. 19-1792, 8th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38198). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2015%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 11 dismissed a disability plan's appeal for lack of jurisdiction after determining that the district court's ruling was not a final decision because the merits of the disability claim have yet to be resolved (Sherry Laake v. Benefits Committee, Western & Southern Financial Group Company Flexible Benefits Plan, et al., No. 19-3233, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36634). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2016%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A disability claimant is not entitled to benefits under his former employer's disability plan because the claimant failed to show that he sustained a 20 percent or more reduction in income as a result of a disability or that there was a causal connection between his disability and the termination of his employment, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed Dec. 13 (Joseph Sevely v. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Long Term Disability Plan, et al., No. 18-3247, 2nd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36854). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2017%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BALTIMORE - A federal judge in Maryland on Jan. 8 granted final approval of a $14 million settlement to be paid by The Johns Hopkins University to end claims by participants and beneficiaries of the 403(b) plan that the university charged unreasonable fees and maintained high-cost and underperforming investment options (Margaret E. Kelly, et al. v. The Johns Hopkins University, No. 16-2835, D. Md.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2018%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 3 denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc filed by employers ordered to continue providing health insurance benefits for retirees and their families (Harold Stone, et al. v. Signode Industrial Group LLC, et al., No. 19-1601, 7th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 132). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2019%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A district court did not err in finding that an applicant did not qualify for early retirement benefits because the retirement trusts at issue required that the applicant refrain from engaging in employment as a sheet metal worker, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Dec. 11, noting that the trusts reasonably determined that the applicant's employment as a welder constituted employment as a sheet metal worker (Eugene Knudson v. Oregon Sheet Metal Workers Master Retirement Fund Trust, et al., No. 18-35857, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36678). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2020%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A class of insurance agents whose petition for a writ of certiorari concerning the correct standard of review in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case in which they allege misclassification was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court filed a petition for rehearing on Jan. 2, asking the justices to consider holding the petition pending a decision in Monasky v. Taglieri, No. 18-935 (cert. granted June 10, 2019) (Walid Jammal, et al. v. American Family Insurance Company, No. 19-248, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2021%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PASADENA, Calif. - A district court properly concluded that a former employee was not entitled to severance benefits because the employer's reasons for terminating the employee fall within the severance plan's definition of cause, making the employee ineligible for benefits, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Dec. 13 (Michael White v. The Senior Leaders Severance Pay Plan of Danaher Corp., et al., No. 18-55891, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36918). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2022%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A woman adequately alleges that her insurer denies coverage for liposuction treatments for lipedema, despite covering surgeries needed to reduce pain and improve functionality in other settings, a federal judge in California said in declining to dismiss her case Dec. 10 (Michala Kazda v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., No. 19-2512, N.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2023%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A federal judge in New York on Dec. 18 denied a motion for reconsideration, saying that a certified class did not include patients who assigned their Employee Retirement Income Security Act rights to health care providers and that the issue involved predominance more than commonality (The Medical Society of the State of New York, et al. v. UnitedHealth Group Inc., et al., No. 16-5265, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2024%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A district court did not err in entering judgment in favor of a life insurer because the insurer's decision to deny a claim for accidental death benefits was supported by substantial evidence, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Dec. 9 (Christi Hillebrandt v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., No. 19-30348, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36552). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2025%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DALLAS - A health care provider that sued its patients' insurer to recover benefits on their behalf under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act was granted a motion to compel certain communications between the insurer and the patients' plan on Jan. 3, as a Texas federal judge held that the attorney-client privilege could not be invoked against the plaintiff, as the plan beneficiaries' assignee, for plan administration documents (Advanced Physicians S.C. v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Co., et al., No. 3:16-cv-02355, N.D. Texas). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2026%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - A district court did not err in denying a request to amend a complaint in a dispute arising out of an employer's claim that an insurer changed the terms of an employee benefit plan without the employer's knowledge because amending the complaint to add breach of fiduciary claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act would be futile as the claims are barred by ERISA's six-year period of repose, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Jan. 9 (AGI Consulting LLC v. American National Insurance Co., No. 19-6060, 10th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 646). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2027%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - A Massachusetts federal judge on Jan. 9 denied class certification to participants in General Electric Co.'s (GE) retirement savings plan because they failed to identify individual attorneys as proposed class counsel (In re: G.E. ERISA Litigation, No. 17-12123, D. Mass.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2028%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - Following notice of a settlement in principle between Wawa Inc. and plaintiffs who allege that Wawa breached its fiduciary duty by amending its employee stock ownership plan, a Pennsylvania federal judge on Dec. 27 stayed the suit until March 30 to allow the parties to move for approval of the settlement (John J. Cunningham, et al. v. Wawa, Inc., et al., No. 18-3355, E.D. Pa.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2029%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a 401(k) plan trustee that sought a high court opinion on who bears the burden of proof on loss causation in its Employee Retirement Income Security Act dispute with plan participants (Putnam Investments LLC, et al. v. John Brotherston, et al., No. 18-926, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2030%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - A motion for preliminary approval of a settlement involving the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retirement plan was allowed in part Jan. 7 by a federal judge in Massachusetts, who indicated in a handwritten note that attorney fees in the case will be less than what was originally sought by the parties (David B. Tracey, et al. v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, et al., No. 16-11620, D. Mass.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2031%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Plaintiffs who allege that an employer violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by engaging in self-dealing in its administration of a 401(k) retirement plan on Dec. 26 filed a motion for preliminary approval of an almost $21 million settlement, urging a New York federal court to approve the settlement. which they say is fair and reasonable to all class members (In re M&T Bank Corporation ERISA Litigation, No. 16-375, W.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2032%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - A class of more than 30,000 participants in and beneficiaries of the University of Southern California's (USC) two retirement plans were certified Dec. 20 by a federal judge in California in a lawsuit alleging failure to properly oversee and screen investments offered by the plans and excessive administrative expenses (Allen L. Munro, et al. v. University of Southern California, et al., No. 16-6191, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2033%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MINNEAPOLIS - Plaintiffs in a class action suit alleging that a number of defendants breached their fiduciary duties by increasing the cost of the EpiPen prescription maintain in a Dec. 16 motion filed in Minnesota federal court that the certification of four classes is appropriate because the classes are ascertainable and the commonality and typicality requirements have been met (In re: EpiPen ERISA Litigation, No. 17-1884, D. Minn.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2034%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should refuse review of a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision affirming the dismissal of a breach of fiduciary duty and loyalty lawsuit brought against SunEdison Inc.'s board of directors and investment committee by former employees who participated in the company's defined contribution retirement plan because the Second Circuit correctly applied precedent set by the high court, the defendants maintain in a Dec. 6 respondent brief (Eric O'Day, et al. v Ahmad Chatila, et al., No. 19-595, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-9%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2035%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PASADENA, Calif. - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 6 affirmed a district court's denial of class counsel's request for reimbursement of $964,212 in expert witness fees after determining that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the request because the plaintiffs only prevailed one of their 10 claims (Glenn Tibble, et al. v. Edison International, et al., No. 18-55974, 9th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 346). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%201%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Plan disclosures sent to a plan participant more than three years before that participant filed suit alleging imprudent investment allocations provided actual knowledge under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred when it reversed a trial court's summary judgment ruling for the plan fiduciaries, the attorney representing those fiduciaries argued Dec. 4 before the U.S. Supreme Court (Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee, et al. v. Christopher M. Sulyma, No. 18-1116, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%202%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - In a Nov. 13 unpublished decision, a panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals left intact a California federal judge's decision that placed a lien on the personal individual retirement account (IRA) of an appellant accused of breaching her fiduciary duty to her brother's Living Trust (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Araceli Maloney, Nos. 18-55785, 18-55989 and 18-56174, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33857). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%203%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - The parties in a lawsuit in a Colorado federal court accusing Oracle Co. of making imprudent investments related to its 401(k) plan announced, as the trial was set to commence on Dec. 3, that a preliminary settlement has been reached (Deborah Troudt, et al. v. Oracle Corporation, et al., No. 16-175, D. Colo.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%204%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a trio of amicus briefs filed Nov. 18 and Nov. 19, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to affirm findings by the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a concrete injury must occur to maintain an action for breach of fiduciary over the administration of a defined-benefit retirement plan (James J. Thole, et al. v. U.S. Bank, N.A., et al., No. 17-1712, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%205%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Seven months after it was invited to share its views, the U.S. government on Nov. 27 weighed in on a dispute over the standard for establishing loss causation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that it should deny certiorari (Putnam Investments LLC, et al. v. John Brotherston, et al., No. 18-926, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%206%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a employee accusing his former employer of violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by continuing to offer stock of the employer's former parent company as a retirement investment option (Alexander Y. Usenko v. MEMC LLC, et al., No. 19-460, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%207%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - A Massachusetts federal judge on Dec. 5 approved a $6.8 million class action settlement in a suit alleging that a retirement plan was mismanaged after finding that the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate to the class members (Melissa Velazquez, et al. v. Massachusetts Financial Services Co., d/b/a MFS Investment Management, et al., No. 17-11249, D. Mass.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%208%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 25 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a 401(k) plan participant who asked the high court to close a "huge loophole" created by the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals when it held in March 2019 that participants in a retirement plan may not seek disgorged profits for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act when the alleged wrongdoer is a nonfiduciary party in interest (John Teets v. Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, No. 19-382, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%209%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Both sides of a lawsuit in which pension plan participants sued PepsiCo Inc. under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice on Nov. 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (William DuBuske, et al. v. PepsiCo Inc., et al., No. 18-cv-11618, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2010%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A group of law professors who write and teach about pension and employee benefits law filed an amicus curiae brief on Dec. 2 in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, urging the appellate court to reverse a district court's ruling in a suit filed by plaintiffs who claim that New York University (NYU) made imprudent investments in a 403(b) employee benefit plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act because the plaintiffs plausibly stated a claim for breach of fiduciary duty (Dr. Alan Sacerdote, et al. v. New York University, No. 18-2707, 2nd Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2011%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - A district court properly granted a motion for class certification in a breach of fiduciary suit against Wawa Inc. because the plaintiffs, who allege that Wawa breached its fiduciary duty by amending its employee stock ownership plan, satisfied the commonality and typicality requirements necessary for class certification, the plaintiffs say in a Dec. 4 appellee brief filed in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (John J. Cunningham, et al. v. Wawa Inc., No. 19-2930, 3rd Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2012%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel Dec. 2 granted an employer's motion for extension of time to file a petition for rehearing, a motion filed less than a week after the appellate panel affirmed a district court's permanent injunction ordering the continuation of health insurance benefits for retirees and their families, finding that a 2002 agreement "unambiguously provided retirees vested lifetime health-care benefits" (Harold Stone, et al. v. Signode Industrial Group LLC, et al., No. 19-1601, 7th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34501). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2013%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A Chevron USA Inc. employee whose position was selected for elimination as part of cutbacks but who was fired for poor performance one day before the layoffs were announced failed to show that the reason for his firing was pretextual, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Nov. 22, affirming a trial court's summary judgment ruling for the employer on Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims (Nikesh Shah v. Chevron USA, Incorporated, No. 18-20817, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35013). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2014%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A former professional basketball player who sued more than 16 years after receiving his final retirement payment under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act seeking pension benefits he claimed he was still owed filed his action 10 years too late, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Nov. 12 in a summary order (Zaid Abdul-Aziz, et al. v. National Basketball Association, Players' Pension Plan, No. 19-782, 2nd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33652). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2015%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Alabama Supreme Court on Nov. 22 affirmed a trial court's ruling that a surviving spouse breached a prenuptial agreement by retaining the proceeds of her late husband's 401(k) and pension plans even though she did not execute a valid spousal waiver of her rights to the plans' proceeds as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Beulah Jean James Moore v. Billy Edward Moore, No. 1180482, Ala. Sup., 2019 Ala. LEXIS 128). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2016%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 18 refused to review a Pennsylvania Supreme Court's ruling that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act does not preempt the terms of a property settlement agreement (PSA) filed as part of divorce proceedings that occurred before the man died in which the parties agreed to retain their respective pension benefits (Colleen A. Easterday v. The Estate of Michael J. Easterday, No. 19-354, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2017%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Trustees of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) pension plan argue in a Nov. 21 brief that there is evidence of a Bermuda reinsurer's contacts with the United States and that discovery will reveal additional evidence to support personal jurisdiction by a District of Columbia federal court over alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act regarding the failure to make $934 million in withdrawal liability payments (Michael H. Holland, et al. v. Cardem Insurance Company Ltd., No. 19-02362, D. D.C.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2018%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Florida federal judge on Nov. 22 granted a motion for partial summary judgment filed by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. (PBGC) after determining that the owner of a dissolved company and his related companies are liable for failing to inform the PBGC of the dissolution of the company and the subsequent termination of the dissolved company's pension plan (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. v. 20 SE 3rd St, LLC, et al., No. 18-81009, S.D. Fla., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 203036). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2019%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 3 granted a request to publish a prior memorandum opinion affirming a district court's summary judgment ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action based on its finding that an amendment to the pension plan violates the plain terms of the plan regarding employer contributions received on behalf of electricians who travel within the electrical construction industry (Richard Lehman, et al. v. Warner Nelson, et al., No. 18-35321, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35871). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2020%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 22 reversed a district court's ruling that two limited partnership private equity funds were under common control of a bankrupt subsidiary and, therefore, were liable to pay that firm's pro rata share of unfunded vested benefits, totaling $4.5 million, which it owed to a multiemployer pension fund from which it withdrew because the factors in a multifactored partnership test were not met (Sun Capital Partners III LP, et al. v. New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund, Nos. 16-1376, 19-1002, 1st Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34983). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2021%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should review the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals' ruling that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act preempts an Arkansas law regulating drug reimbursement rates for pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) because the ruling was incorrect and contrary to Supreme Court precedent, the U.S. government says in a Dec. 4 amicus curiae brief (Leslie Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, No. 18-540, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2022%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 8 affirmed two decisions by a district court after determining that the lower court did not err in entering judgment for a health insurer that denied 106 days of an insured's partial hospitalization treatment and did not err in denying the insured's request for attorney fees (Ariana M. v. Humana Health Plan of Texas, Incorporated, No. 18-20700, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33707). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2023%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 18 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a member and beneficiary of a self-funded employee benefit plan seeking review of a ruling that the terms of the plan contained in the summary plan description (SPD) permitted the plan to seek reimbursement of health benefits paid to a member for injuries caused by another after that party's insurer settled because the ruling is not consistent with precedent previously established by the high court (Robert Hoch v. MBI Energy Services, No. 19-444, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2024%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' GAINESVILLE, Ga. - A federal judge in Georgia on Nov. 19 granted final approval of a settlement that calls for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (MetLife) to pay $80 million in connection with allegations that it violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Laura A. Owens, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., No. 14-74, N.D. Ga.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2025%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 6 found that an appellant's failure to administratively exhaust her breach of fiduciary claim against Aetna Life Insurance Co. is fatal to her subsequent action against the insurer under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Lisa Jones v. Aerna Life Insurance Company, et al., No. 18-1851, 8th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36267). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2026%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - A disability insurer's denial of long-term disability benefits was not wrong because the disability claimant failed to prove that he was disabled from his own occupation throughout the entire elimination period as required by the disability policy, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Nov. 22 in affirming a district court's judgment in favor of the insurer (Keyton Benson v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co., No. 18-14835, 11th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34810). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2027%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PASADENA, Calif. - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 19 remanded a long-term disability (LTD) benefits claim to the plan administrator after determining that the plan administrator abused its discretion in denying benefits based on the one-week waiting period required by the plan (Michael Alves v. Hewlett-Packard Comprehensive Welfare Benefits Plan, et al., No. 18-55819, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34362). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2028%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a Nov. 13 appellant brief filed with the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a former George Washington University (GW) employee argues that her separation agreement with the school "explicitly" carves out from a general release of liability any claim relating to "vested benefits under employee benefit plans" (Melissa Stanley v. George Washington University, et al., No. 19-7079, D.C. Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2029%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - Expert witnesses for both sides can testify at trial on what are reasonable record-keeping and administrative fees for overseeing an employee 401(k) plan because their methods are reliable enough to allow their opinions, a Colorado federal judge held Nov. 26 (Lorraine M. Ramos, et al. v. Banner Health, et al., No. 1:15-cv-2556, D. Colo., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205155). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2030%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act, case filed by a certified class of insurance agents who were seeking to challenge the standard of review applied by the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to findings that the agents were misclassified as independent contractors by an insurer (Walid Jammal, et al. v. American Family Insurance Company, No. 19-248, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2031%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Individual employees and their union suing a gas company for allegedly eliminating their sick time banked under previous collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and age bias in violation of Tennessee law have not stated claims against the named defendant due to their failure to establish a basis for successor liability or veil piercing, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled Nov. 26 (Darrell Pridy, et al. v. Duke Energy Corporation, No. 19-468, M.D. Tenn., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205188). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2032%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OTTAWA, Ill. - In a Dec. 2 ruling, the Third District Illinois Appellate Court reversed and remanded dismissal of allegations that a construction company violated a state wage law when it failed to pay workers certain fringe benefits (People of the State of Illinois v. Lion Construction LLC, No. 3-18-0080, Ill. App., 3rd Dist., 2019 IL App [3d] 180080). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=18-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20ERISA%2033%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - In a Nov. 20 unpublished ruling, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected as "meritless" arguments for reversing a Texas federal judge's decision to award an appellee attorney fees incurred in its successful defense to allegations of negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, civil conspiracy and fraudulent concealment (Alicia Cluck v. MetroCare Services - Austin L.P., No. 19-50327, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34739).