Daily Journal Names Covington’s Defense Win for Thermo Fisher as Top Verdict of 2025

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK/PALO ALTO/SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON— The Daily Journal selected Covington’s successful defense of Thermo Fisher, in Dimou v. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. et al., as one of its Top Verdicts of 2025, recognizing the largest and most significant verdicts in California in 2025.

A Covington team, led by Lindsey Barnhart, Robert Newman, and Bill O’Neil, dismantled a novel ERISA theory that challenged the longstanding practice of using 401(k) forfeitures to offset employer contributions. Plaintiff alleged that this practice violated ERISA fiduciary duties and instead required forfeitures to be used to pay plan administrative expenses. Through a multi‑pronged defense grounded in statutory text, decades of Treasury and Department of Labor guidance, and policy history, Covington persuaded the Southern District of California that the theory was unsupported by existing law. The court’s dismissal with prejudice, after multiple rounds of briefing, represents one of the first definitive rulings rejecting this emerging wave of forfeiture‑based ERISA claims and provides persuasive authority for employers facing similar challenges nationwide.