Our ERISA litigation experience includes:

• Represent leading health care provider with respect to responding to a document request letter received from a plaintiff’s class action firm concerning the company’s 401(k) plan. This type of document request frequently leads to the filing of a class action complaint alleging that the plan’s fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties with respect to fees/expenses incurred by the plan and/or with respect to the fees of certain investment options included in the plan’s investment lineup. (2021-2022)
• Represent leading international window and door manufacturer in connection with ERISA pre-litigation matter involving allegations concerning certain distributions made under an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), subject to special rules under ERISA and the Code. The allegations stem from an amendment made to the plan that eliminated special tax treatment of certain distributions made to plan participants. Participants demanded payment for estimated back taxes and additional damages from the alleged loss of the opportunity to elect a more favorable distribution option. (2021-2022)
• Defending transportation company in a case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California by a board of trustees of a multiemployer welfare plan seeking alleged missed contributions. The complaint alleges violations under both ERISA and the National Labor Relations Act. (2021-2022)
• Represent the administrator of a construction startup company that filed for bankruptcy in connection with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into the company’s 401(k) plan. (2021-2022)
• Acosta v. Chimes District of Columbia, Inc., U.S. District Court, District of Maryland (2016-2019)
  Served as lead counsel in 11-day bench trial resulting in a complete defense verdict in favor of Chimes against allegations filed by the U.S. Secretary of Labor that the company breached its fiduciary duties by allowing service providers to charge excessive service fees to its health and welfare plan, and engaged in prohibited transactions by receiving commissions, kickbacks, and inappropriate reimbursements.
• Represented the executive branch of a state to avoid ERISA preemption litigation in connection with proposed state health care legislation primarily geared towards collecting health claims data from ERISA-covered group health benefit plans. (2019)
• Successfully defended the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan in a class action ERISA “stock drop” case (2008-2013).
• Acted as “monitoring counsel” for a subsidiary of a major international insurance group in numerous ERISA litigation matters (2008-2012).
• Defended one of the world’s largest multiple employer pension plans and its named fiduciaries in connection with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into potential ERISA violations. As part of the client’s efforts to recoup, and with its insurer’s approval, prosecuted multimillion-dollar ERISA litigation against the former plan administrator and others alleging that they engaged in prohibited transactions and charged the plan excessive and illegal fees in violation of ERISA, resulting in a significant monetary recoupment for the plan (2005-2008).
• General Electric Corporation v. Blue Cross of California, et al., United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (1991- 1993); AT&T v. Blue Cross of California, et al., United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (1994-1996); and Allied Signal Corporation v. Blue Cross of California, et al., United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (1997)
  Defended Blue Cross of California against claims filed under the civil RICO and ERISA statutes, as well as against numerous state common law claims. All three cases involved similar allegations made by General Electric, AT&T, and Allied Signal — that Blue Cross of California had conspired, together with a number of other Blue Cross entities throughout the country, to unlawfully convert ERISA plan assets for their own benefit. Coordinated and worked closely in each case with counsel for numerous other co­defendants (other Blue Cross entities throughout the country). Served as lead counsel in various aspects of the case for the defendants (consisting of about a dozen Blue Cross entities) in the AT&T litigation.
• The Pedre Company, Inc. v. Robins; United States District Court, Southern District of New York (1995)
  Represented plan accountants against allegations brought by an employer, the employer’ s pension plan, and a plan beneficiary alleging that the clients breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by causing the plan to forfeit its tax-exempt status. Reported Decision: 901 F. Supp 660 (S. D.N.Y. 1995).
• J. Daniel Hansen v. Ernesto Arechavala, et al.; United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois (1998-2000)
  Served as coordinating counsel for the Rodman & Renshaw, Inc. Board of Directors, Administrative Committee and Trustees of the Company’s 401(k) plan in connection with their defense of claims, filed by a representative of a purported class of 401(k) plan participants, that they had breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA in connection with a change in plan administrators.
• Jon Quint et al. v. Paul Freda, et al.; United States District Court, Southern District of New York (1998-2000)
  Defended a trustee of a multi-employer welfare benefit plan against claims of breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA.
• Landi, et al. v. Sakariasen; Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Richmond (1997-1998)
  Represented a company profit-sharing plan and its administrator in connection with claims to certain assets of the plan brought by the alleged wife of a deceased former employee. The complaint included allegations that the plan administrator had breached fiduciary duties under ERISA by not promptly disbursing plan assets allegedly belonging to the deceased ex-employee.
• Capintec, Inc et al., v. James McGimpsey, et al.; United States District Court, District of New Jersey (1997-1998)
  Represented the plan administrator and trustees of the Capintec, Inc. 401(k) plan in connection with claim that they breached fiduciary duties under ERISA by allowing an employee to abscond with assets of the 401(k) plan.
• Chao v. Slutsky, United States District Court, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York (2001-2008)
  Represented a plan administrator alleged to have breached its fiduciary duties by orchestrating and allowing union dues and association fees — which were alleged to be plan assets — to be paid to various unions and employer associations. The Secretary of Labor alleged that the unions and employer associations were sham entities that performed no useful function for plan participants and that, as a result, the union dues and association fees constituted plan assets that were illegally diverted for the benefit of non-participants.
• Sherman v. Unum Life Ins. Co. and TRC Companies, Inc., United States District Court, District of New Jersey (2002-2003)
  Represented the administrator of a company sponsored group life insurance plan in a dispute over the proper level of life insurance benefits due to a decedent’s estate.
• Amend, et al. v. PentaStar Communications, Inc., United States District Court, District of Colorado (2002-2004)
  Represented PentaStar’s former Vice President of Sales who (along with other corporate officers) was alleged to have breached fiduciary duties by failing to fund the company’s group medical plan and failing to notify participants of the lack of funding. The plaintiff group also sued for unpaid wages under various state laws. The court dismissed some of the claims on a motion to dismiss and dismissed the remaining claims on a motion for summary judgment.
• Terry Waldron, et al., v. William E. Dugan, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (2007-2008)
  Represented William E. Dugan who was alleged to have breached certain fiduciary duties in violation of ERISA as well as the bylaws of a labor organization.