Related Practices
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Cutting Edge. We have litigated many of the key Supreme Court and appellate cases that have shaped the law under ERISA, including Supreme Court cases establishing the role of the plan administrator, the importance of plan documents and the liability of a non-fiduciary party in interest to plan fiduciaries. We achieved the first appellate court victories upholding the cash balance formula against age discrimination claims and permitting plans to correct costly scrivener’s errors in plan documents.
High Stakes. For sophisticated clients such as Verizon, GE, IBM, Schering-Plough and UTC, we have successfully defended ERISA claims where the potential exposure ranged from the hundreds of millions to several billion dollars.
Technical Expertise. Our ERISA litigators work seamlessly with our highly skilled ERISA advisory practitioners, who bring decades of experience dealing with Treasury and the Department of Labor, as well as a broad range of clients, on emerging issues under ERISA.
Experienced. We have litigated ERISA cases throughout the country. Our ERISA litigators bring to the courtroom litigation skills developed in a range of cases, including jury trials and complex civil litigation, and we are recognized as one of the leading ERISA litigation practices in the country by both Chambers USA and Legal 500.
Representative Matters
- Defeated an effort by a class of retirees to block Verizon’s purchase of an annuity contract to settle $7.5 billion in pension liabilities. Lee v. Verizon Communications Inc., No. 3:12–CV–4834, 2012 WL 6089041 (N.D. Tex. Dec. 7, 2012).
- Secured victory for Xerox in the Supreme Court on the deference owed plan administrators Conkright v. Frommert, 559 U.S. ___ (2010). Coming into the case after an adverse decision in the Second Circuit, and despite vigorous opposition from the Solicitor General, the Department of Labor, and the Internal Revenue Service, we persuaded the Supreme Court that the lower courts erred in refusing to give deference to the plan administrator's reasonable interpretation of the plan made in the course of litigation after his pre-litigation interpretation was held to be mistaken.
- For Verizon, obtained a court order reforming a $1.7 billion drafting error in a pension plan formula. This was the first court order correcting a scrivener’s error in an ERISA plan. Young v. Verizon’s Bell Atl. Cash Balance Plan, 615 F.3d 808 (7th Cir. 2010).
- Together with co-counsel, secured a unanimous Supreme Court decision holding that DuPont’s plan administrator “did its statutory ERISA duty” when it paid deceased worker’s retirement benefits to his ex-wife, whom he had named as beneficiary in plan documents, even though his ex-wife gave up any interest in the benefits in their divorce decree. Kennedy v. Plan Adm. for DuPont Sav. & Inv. Plan, 555 U.S. 285 (2009).
- Won Supreme Court victory for our client Harris Trust and secured ruling that ERISA permitted a fiduciary to sue a non-fiduciary party in interest that had participated in a prohibited transaction. Harris Trust and Sav. Bank v. Salomon Smith Barney, Inc., 530 U.S. 238 (2000).
- Persuaded Third Circuit to vacate a district court's certification of a class of participants in a "stock drop" lawsuit against our client Schering Plough that alleged breach of fiduciary duty for imprudent retention of a company stock fund in a 401(k) plan. In re Schering Plough Corp. ERISA Litig., 589 F.3d 588 (3d Cir. 2009).
Accolades
- Chambers USA - Recognized nationally as a leading practice in ERISA litigation (2006-2012).
- Chambers USA - One attorney recognized among leading individuals for ERISA litigation (2006-2012).
- Legal 500 USA - Recognized as a leading US practice in ERISA litigation (2007-2012).
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