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Benefits
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August 07, 2025
Mass. High Court Affirms $1M Pension Loss For OT Fraud
The forfeiture of $1 million in pension and health benefits following a Massachusetts state trooper's conviction in an overtime fraud scheme is not so grossly disproportionate to the offense that it violates the state constitution's prohibition on excessive fines, Massachusetts' highest court concluded on Thursday.
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August 07, 2025
Defense Cos. Get Forfeiture Claims Cut From 401(k) Suit
A Kansas federal judge largely declined to toss two ex-workers' claims that defense contractors improperly retained costly investment options in their retirement plans but threw out allegations that the companies violated federal benefits law by using forfeited plan funds to cover their contribution obligations.
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August 06, 2025
6th Circ. Rips 'Stalking Horse' Ploy In Drug Negotiation Suit
The pharmaceutical industry will feel the sting of a Wednesday loss in a wide-ranging war over Medicare's power to negotiate drug prices, as the Sixth Circuit tossed a suit and accused one major company of utilizing a "stalking horse" to sue in a more favorable forum.
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August 06, 2025
6th Circ. Orders Redo Of Pension Fund Withdrawal Liability
The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday said a pension fund's actuary must redo his estimate of a Michigan-based paving company's withdrawal liability, likening the actuary to an oddsmaker giving a bad estimate of how many points a college basketball team will give up in a game because he is "just rude."
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August 06, 2025
Compelling ERISA Arbitration No Sure Thing, 9th Circ. Shows
The Ninth Circuit aligned with several other federal appeals courts when it recently struck down a clause in a food service company's employee health plan that barred class or representative actions, marking the latest in a series of setbacks for employers looking to push federal benefits suits into solo arbitration.
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August 06, 2025
Masimo Drops Founder Joe Kiani From 'Empty Voting' Suit
Masimo Corp. has agreed to free its founder, Joe Kiani, from the medical technology company's suit alleging he manipulated a shareholder vote through an "empty voting" scheme, pointing to "the interest of judicial efficiency and economy."
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August 06, 2025
Texas Hospital Should Face Retirement Plan Suit, Judge Says
A Houston hospital shouldn't dodge a proposed class action claiming it failed to remove a J.P. Morgan fund from its $2.8 billion employee retirement plan despite the investment option's consistent underperformance, a Texas federal magistrate judge recommended Wednesday, saying the allegations are solid enough to stay in court.
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August 06, 2025
Wells Fargo Worker To Pay $3M To Settle ESOP Class Claims
A Wells Fargo employee will pay $3 million to resolve claims against her in a class action alleging owners of an electrical component company and managers of its employee stock ownership plan undervalued the plan's shares when the program shut down, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court.
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August 06, 2025
Rising Star: Cohen Milstein's Ryan Wheeler
Ryan Wheeler of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC has recovered millions of dollars for his clients in benefits cases, like one claiming that Citgo shorted retirees in pension payments, and another saying that an Illinois casino used an employee stock ownership plan to craft a shady company sale, earning him a spot among the benefits law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 06, 2025
LA Seeks To Nix Attys In Ex-Cop's Military Leave Bias Suit
Attorneys for a former Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant improperly obtained and tried to use a privileged email between a city attorney and a current LAPD lieutenant in a military bias suit, the city said, urging a California federal court to disqualify them from the case.
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August 05, 2025
Wash. Judge Questions Injunctions' Scope In Head Start Case
A Washington federal judge asked attorneys Tuesday to explain how the U.S. Supreme Court's decision concerning nationwide injunctions might impact efforts by a group of Head Start associations to halt federal directives restricting noncitizen access to the program and use of funds for diversity initiatives.
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August 05, 2025
OptumRx Urges Panel To DQ Motley Rice In LA Opioid Suit
OptumRx told a California appellate panel Tuesday that Motley Rice should be disqualified from representing Los Angeles County in a lawsuit alleging it colluded with drugmakers to fuel the opioid crisis, saying the firm violated state law by using confidential information obtained in the case in other lawsuits it's handling against Optum.
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August 05, 2025
UBH Patients Score Partial Win In Mental Health Claims Fight
A California federal judge handed a partial win Tuesday to a class of participants in employee health benefit plans who sought coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatments from United Behavioral Health, holding the company's overly restrictive guidelines breached fiduciary duties under federal benefits law.
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August 05, 2025
Law Profs Urge 11th Circ. To Toss Judge-Shopping Sanctions
A group of seven law school professors is urging the Eleventh Circuit to toss a sanctions ruling against three attorneys for judge shopping, arguing that federal law does not forbid the practice and citing the "potentially chilling effect the order will have on counsel, especially those involved in pro bono representation."
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August 05, 2025
White & Case Lands Baker Botts Benefits Chair
The firmwide executive compensation and employee benefits chair at Baker Botts LLP became the 20th U.S. lateral partner to join White & Case LLP this year, according to a Tuesday announcement.
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August 05, 2025
Rising Star: Proskauer's Justin S. Alex
Proskauer Rose LLP partner Justin S. Alex has tackled the benefits aspects of a slew of major sports industry deals over the past 15 years, including the sales of three NFL teams, earning him a spot among the benefits law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 05, 2025
Ex-Officer Says LAPD Withheld Info In Military Leave Bias Suit
A former Los Angeles Police Department officer claiming he was passed over for a promotion because of his military status said he has not received the records he requested containing information about similarly situated employees.Â
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August 05, 2025
Teva Settles Claims Over Delayed Generic Asthma Inhalers
Teva Pharmaceuticals has settled a 2023 lawsuit by a coalition of union healthcare funds accusing the company of thwarting the introduction of a generic version of its QVAR inhalers to the market, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court.
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August 05, 2025
IRS Floats Update To System For Fringe Benefits
The Internal Revenue Service floated rules Tuesday that would change its system of business classification for employees hoping to exclude fringe benefits and employee discounts from their gross income at tax time.
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August 05, 2025
Alaska Airlines Can't Nix Flight Attendant's Surgery Win
A Washington state appeals court won't disturb a jury's finding that a flight attendant was entitled to coverage of a spine surgery for an injury she sustained while working for Alaska Airlines, saying the trial court judge rightly rejected the airline's proposed jury instruction for its confusion.
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August 04, 2025
11th Circ. Says Bakery Co. Can't Dodge $15.6M Pension Bill
The Eleventh Circuit backed a pension fund's calculations that a wholesale bakery company may have to pay as much as $15.6 million after exiting the benefits plan, ruling it properly applied a credit outlined in the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act.
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August 04, 2025
Consumers Want Fees Of $49M From $203M In Chicken Deals
Broiler chicken consumers asked an Illinois federal judge on Monday for about $49 million in attorney fees from two rounds of price-fixing deals they've struck with major producers, matching the settlement percentage to which a Seventh Circuit panel last month found class counsel was entitled.
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August 04, 2025
Nurse Agrees To Repay $614K For False Claims In Conn.
A nurse who owned a medication management business and two Connecticut residential care homes agreed on Monday to settle state and federal False Claims Act allegations for $614,000, ending allegations that he billed Medicare and Medicaid impossible daily hours and for clients that were hospitalized or dead.
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August 04, 2025
9th Circ. Rejects Most Of Sodexo's ERISA Arbitration Push
The Ninth Circuit said Monday that employers can't unilaterally change Employee Retirement Income Security Act-governed plans to require arbitration, backing the bulk of a trial court ruling that refused to throw out of court a nicotine fee lawsuit against food service company Sodexo.
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August 04, 2025
Hair Care Brand Olaplex Settles IPO Investors' Suit For $47.5M
Olaplex Holdings Inc. has reached a $47.5 million settlement with investors to resolve a proposed class action alleging that the hair care brand's initial public offering documents did not disclose that the European Union had banned a controversial ingredient called lilial, which would affect Olaplex's main product offering.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw
Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.
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How Del. Supreme Court, Legislature Have Clarified 'Control'
The Delaware Supreme Court's January decision in In re: Oracle and the General Assembly's passage of amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law this week, when taken together, help make the controlling-stockholder analysis clearer and more predictable for companies with large stockholders, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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Retirement Plan Suits Show Value Of Cybersecurity Policies
Several data breach class actions that were recently filed against retirement plan administrator The Pension Specialists in Illinois federal court are a reminder that developing and following a good written cybersecurity policy provides a blueprint for compliance and may prevent lawsuits, says Carol Buckmann at Cohen & Buckmann.
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Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist
Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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Recent Cases Highlight Latest AI-Related Civil Litigation Risks
Ongoing lawsuits in federal district courts reveal potential risks that companies using artificial intelligence may face from civil litigants, including health insurance coverage cases involving contractual and equitable claims, and myriad cases concerning securities disclosure claims, say attorneys at Katten.
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Opinion
We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment
As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.
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Series
Performing Stand-Up Comedy Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Whether I’m delivering a punchline on stage or a closing argument in court, balancing stand-up comedy performances and my legal career has demonstrated that the keys to success in both endeavors include reading the room, landing the right timing and making an impact, says attorney Rebecca Palmer.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From SEC To BigLaw
As I adjusted to the multifaceted workflow of a BigLaw firm after leaving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, working side by side with new colleagues on complex matters proved the fastest way to build a deep rapport and demonstrate my value, says Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block.
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Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession
For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.
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Opinion
It's Time To Fix The SEC's Pay-To-Play Rule
Nearly 15 years after its adoption, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's pay-to-play rule is not working as intended — a notion recently echoed by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce — and the commission should reconsider the strict liability standard, raise the campaign contribution limits and remove the look-back provision, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy
This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.
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A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.
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What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit
The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling created a twilight zone between express statutory delegations that trigger agency deference and implicit ones that do not, but the Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Moctezuma-Reyes v. Garland crafted a two-part test for resolving cases within this gray area, say attorneys at Wiley.
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7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments
Excerpt from
As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.