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Benefits

  • June 06, 2025

    Aetna Seeks Quick Appeal In $20M Air Ambulance Billing Case

    Aetna is seeking an immediate midstream appeal of an order in Connecticut federal court forcing it to face $20 million in emergency billing claims by six air ambulance companies, saying a quick decision could help settle a circuit split and stop copycat cases.

  • June 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Boost Interest Rate For Worker's FMLA Win

    The Ninth Circuit declined to upend an order applying the federal rate instead of a higher Washington state rate when calculating prejudgment interest that a federal jury awarded to a worker in his lawsuit accusing a manufacturer of firing him for taking leave, saying his federal claim guided his litigation strategy.

  • June 06, 2025

    Colgate Strikes Deal To End Lengthy Battle Over Pension Pay

    Colgate-Palmolive Co. has agreed to settle a long-running class action from pensioners who claimed the company underpaid them $300 million in miscalculated retirement benefits, after the Second Circuit twice knocked down bids from the company to overturn judgments in the workers' favor.

  • June 06, 2025

    Attys Seek $23M Cut Of $69M UnitedHealth 401(k) Settlement

    Lawyers for a UnitedHealth Group employee who struck a $69 million deal to settle a class action claiming the company mismanaged its 401(k) plan asked a Minnesota federal judge to approve $23 million in attorney fees, arguing the amount aligns with those approved in other cases.

  • June 05, 2025

    'Sparse' OPM Record On Mass Firings Backs Win, Unions Say

    A "sparse and self-serving" record provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management still shows the agency unlawfully directed federal agencies to fire probationary employees en masse, so a California federal court can reach a final decision now and "unwind" those terminations, a coalition including unions and advocacy groups said Thursday.

  • June 05, 2025

    9th Circ. Broadens Test For ERISA Claim Releases

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday reversed a finding that releases signed by two former microchip manufacturer employees bar them from leading a class action over claims the company illegally revoked its severance program, finding that the court should consider whether the company breached its fiduciary duty in obtaining the releases.

  • June 05, 2025

    Red States Double Down On Bid To Stymie Trans Health Rule

    More than a dozen Republican attorneys general challenging a Biden-era rule that protected gender-affirming care under the Affordable Care Act said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can't keep the rule on the books just because the new administration is unlikely to enforce it.

  • June 05, 2025

    4 AGs Urge FDA To Lift Abortion Pill Restrictions

    Attorneys general from California, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey on Thursday urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lift restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, saying they aren't necessary under statutory requirements for an FDA drug safety program.

  • June 05, 2025

    Liberty Mutual Must Face Retirement Plan Class Action

    Liberty Mutual can't knock out a class action claiming it saddled its employee 401(k) plan with high fees and deficient investment options, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday, saying workers had demonstrated the company's actions cost them money.

  • June 05, 2025

    NJ Judge Trims Pool Equipment Maker Shareholder Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge has dismissed some claims in a proposed investor class action alleging pool supply company Hayward Holdings Inc. concealed it was struggling with ballooning inventory and lowered demand, but ruled that some of the claims, including the claims against the company's consortium, can continue.

  • June 05, 2025

    Attorney's FMLA Suit Against Va. City Headed To Trial

    A former Virginia city assistant attorney's Family and Medical Leave Act suit against the chief city prosecutor will head to trial, a federal judge said Thursday, ruling that there is an open question over whether firing the attorney was a pretext to not grant a leave request.

  • June 05, 2025

    CVS Sued Over Health Plan's Tobacco, Spousal Surcharges

    A CVS employee brought the pharmacy retailer into California state court Wednesday alleging in a proposed class action it discriminatorily imposes illegal surcharges to its health insurance participants who use tobacco or want to add their spouses to their plans as dependents, in violation of state and federal benefits laws.

  • June 05, 2025

    Walgreens Says No Standing In Suit Over Tobacco Surcharge

    Walgreens is urging an Illinois federal court to throw out a suit from an employee alleging it illegally imposes a tobacco surcharge on employees in its healthcare program, saying the program complies with federal regulations, and the employee has no standing because she declined to participate in the program.

  • June 05, 2025

    DOL Benefits Arm Needs Turnaround, Nominee Tells Senators

    President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits division told a Senate panel Thursday to prepare for an overhaul of the subagency if he's confirmed, vowing to change the direction of enforcement, regulation and more.

  • June 05, 2025

    Justices Fault Wis. For Denying Tax Break To Charities

    Wisconsin discriminated against a group of Catholic charities when it denied them an unemployment tax exemption, the U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday, rejecting the state's argument that the charities were not operated primarily for religious purposes.

  • June 04, 2025

    Calif. Won't Get Insulin Pricing Case Sent Back To State Court

    The New Jersey federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation accusing Express Scripts, CVS Caremark and other pharmacy benefit managers of conspiring to fix the prices of insulin on Wednesday refused to ship a case brought by the state of California back to state court.

  • June 04, 2025

    3 Ways DOL Benefits Chief Nominee May Affect ERISA Cases

    A key committee will decide Thursday whether to send President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Labor’s employee benefits arm ahead for a full Senate vote, setting the stage for what attorneys expect will be an employer-friendly shift in policies. Here are three ways Daniel Aronowitz could change benefits litigation if confirmed.

  • June 04, 2025

    Heart Device Maker iRhythm Gets Investor Claims Trimmed

    A California federal judge has trimmed a class action accusing digital healthcare company iRhythm Technologies of making false and misleading statements about its heart-event monitoring device, finding that the suit does not plausibly plead knowledge of wrongdoing for most individual defendants, among other things.

  • June 04, 2025

    Judge Halts Fla. Law Over Medicaid Ballot Initiative Concerns

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday blocked state officials from enforcing part of a new law that opponents say threatens to criminalize those collecting signatures for a 2026 ballot initiative to expand Medicaid access.

  • June 04, 2025

    NJ Man Cops To Dodging $2M Tax Bill On Real Estate

    A New Jersey man linked to an intricate pension plan scheme involving refunds from the Dutch government pled guilty to evading more than $2.4 million in U.S. taxes by concealing ownership of more than $5.5 million in real estate, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday. 

  • June 04, 2025

    DC Judge Weighs Harm In Teen Program Funding Fight

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday seemed unconvinced by Planned Parenthood's assertion that new federal grant requirements for a public health initiative aimed at preventing teen pregnancy are harmful enough to warrant a preliminary injunction.

  • June 04, 2025

    Compliance Chiefs Eye New Jobs Amid Pay Growth Slowdown

    More than half of chief compliance officers are considering seeking new job opportunities in the coming year, according to a Wednesday report from in-house legal and compliance advisory firm BarkerGilmore LLC, which also found CCO pay growth generally slowed down compared to last year.

  • June 03, 2025

    BlackRock, Vanguard Want Red States' Coal Suit Extinguished

    Asset managers BlackRock Inc. and The Vanguard Group Inc. have urged a Texas federal judge to toss a suit brought by a coalition of Republican-led states alleging the firms ran a scheme to drive up coal prices as part of an "investment cartel," arguing the case rests on "implausible premises."

  • June 03, 2025

    6th Circ. Denies PBMs' Privilege Claim In Opioid MDL

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday denied a petition from Cigna's Express Scripts and UnitedHealth's Optum seeking to reverse discovery orders allowing certain personnel files and internal communications into the multidistrict opioid litigation, finding that the two pharmacy benefit managers failed to show extraordinary abuses justifying relief.

  • June 03, 2025

    Plan Providers Must Face DOJ Overpayment Suit, Judge Says

    A Maine federal judge refused to let five military healthcare plan providers escape a False Claims Act suit alleging that they knowingly pocketed millions of dollars that were overpaid, holding that U.S. Department of Justice claims against them pass muster for now.

Expert Analysis

  • Discretionary Compensation Lessons From 7th Circ. Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Das v. Tata established that contract disclaimers don't automatically bar claims under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, underscoring the limits of compensation systems that purport to grant employers unilateral discretion, say attorneys at Schoenberg Finkel.

  • Justices Likely To Stay In ERISA's Bounds On Pleadings

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    The arguments in Cunningham v. Cornell showed the U.S. Supreme Court's willingness to resolve a circuit split regarding Employee Retirement Income Security Act pleading standards by staying within ERISA's confines, while instructing courts regarding what must be pled to survive a motion to dismiss, says Ryan Curtis at Fennemore Craig.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

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    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • 8 Lessons Yellow Corp. Layoffs Can Teach Distressed Cos.

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    A Delaware bankruptcy court’s recent decision, examining trucking company Yellow Corp.’s abrupt termination of roughly 25,500 employees, offers financially distressed businesses a road map for navigating layoffs under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

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    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Issues To Watch In 2025's ERISA Litigation Landscape

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    Whether 2024’s uptick in new Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases will continue this year will likely depend on federal courts’ resolution of several issues, including those related to excessive fees, defined contribution plan forfeitures, and pleading standards for ERISA-prohibited transaction claims, say attorneys at Groom Law.

  • Justices Could Stitch Up ERISA Circuit Split With Cornell Case

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    In Cunningham v. Cornell, scheduled for oral arguments next week, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to provide uniform pleading standards for Section 1106(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the lack of which has vexed circuit courts and benefits counsel for years, says Scott Tippett at Offit Kurman.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

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