State Street Must Face $8B AT&T Pension Risk Transfer Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday released AT&T from a proposed class action filed by retirees who claim the telecom company breached fiduciary duties through its $8 billion pension risk transfer, but opened discovery on allegations that AT&T's independent fiduciary, State Street, violated federal benefits law with the deal.

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Trader Joe's Ordered To Pay $1.2M Over 401(k) Fees

By Carolyn Muyskens

Trader Joe's failed to keep its employer-sponsored retirement plan fees in check, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Monday, ordering the company to pay $1.2 million.

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Ex-Electric Parts CEO Drops ERISA Suit Over Firing

By Patrick Hoff

The former CEO of an electric parts manufacturer has agreed to end his suit alleging the trustee of the company's employee stock ownership plan unlawfully pushed him out without investigating a competing executive's misconduct accusations, according to a filing in California federal court.

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Creamery Blocked From Cutting Off Workers' Healthcare

By Emily Brill

A billion-dollar dairy cooperative that is trying to shutter a century-old creamery in Vermont cannot revoke the staff's health insurance until it resolves a dispute with a Teamsters local over whether the shutdown is lawful, a state federal judge ruled Monday, partially granting the union's request for an injunction.

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Calif. Expands Reproductive Care, Abortion Access

By Hailey Konnath

A series of new laws in California aim to expand access to medication abortion on community college campuses, bolster veterans' access to reproductive care including abortions, and make it easier for nursing parents to access lactation support, according to an announcement made Sunday.

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Newsom Signs Slate Of Bills Bolstering LGBTQ+ Protections

By Lauren Berg

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a slate of bills defending against what he called the Trump administration's "all-out assault on the LGBTQ community," strengthening privacy protections, providing support to discharged service members and enhancing access to medical care.

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Goya Gets Former CEO's Pay Suit Shipped To NJ

By Patrick Hoff

Goya Foods got a green light to move a compensation dispute with a fired executive from Texas to New Jersey, with a federal judge in the Lone Star State saying it's best to litigate the case where the company is headquartered.

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Unum Must Reinstate Morgan Lewis Atty's Disability Benefits

By James Boyle

A Pennsylvania federal judge found Monday that the insurer for a Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP attorney abused its discretion when it terminated her long-term disability benefits after incorrectly applying criteria to evaluate her ability to return to work.

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Faith-Based Rehab Program Can't Exit Wage Suit, Court Rules

By MJ Koo

A Texas federal court allowed a man who was ordered into a faith-based addiction recovery program to pursue wage claims against the program's operators, finding he plausibly alleged participants were treated as employees who performed substantial commercial labor without lawful pay.

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Mich. Recovery Center Worker's OT Claim Headed To Trial

By MJ Koo

A Michigan federal court sent a revenue cycle manager's overtime lawsuit to trial Monday, finding factual disputes about whether her employer improperly docked her pay and whether she had enough independence on the job to qualify as an exempt administrative employee under federal wage law.

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8th Circ. Ruling Raises Bar For Seeking Disability Benefits

The Eighth Circuit's recent ruling in Post v. Bisignano signals that claimants seeking Social Security disability benefits may need to offer convincing proof of functional restrictions beyond their treating doctors' opinions and illustrates that the court's proclaimant jurisprudence no longer prevails, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

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Senior Lawyers Survey: Tell Us About Your Career

How are senior lawyers adapting to evolving career paths and emerging technologies? Share your perspective in this five-minute survey.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

O'Melveny & Myers LLP and Reed Smith LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit overturned a $140 million class verdict against CenturyLink, holding that the company had a reasonable interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

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Arkansas Firm 5th To Seal PE Deal With Uplift Investors

By Tracey Read

Arkansas' largest personal injury law firm is the latest legal entity to ink a deal to take private equity investment using Uplift Investors' associated management services organization.

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AI Mishap Has Judge Questioning 'Our Collective Character'

By Julie Manganis

A California attorney was barred from representing the plaintiffs in a Massachusetts insurance coverage dispute and ordered to pay legal costs of up to $10,000 to opposing counsel, after a federal judge found he relied on "inaccurate and fictitious" case cites and holdings in three filings.

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Tarter Krinsky Faces Suit After Disclosing Data Breach

By Andrea Keckley

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP maintained "intentional opacity" about a recently disclosed cybersecurity attack last year that may have compromised protected health information, a proposed class action alleged in New York federal court.

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A2J At The High Court: Gun Bans, Voting And Civil Remedies

By Marco Poggio

From the right to own semiautomatic rifles to the rules governing voter registration, the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court term will see the justices tackle a broad swath of constitutional and access to justice issues.

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Domino Foods Fights Paul Weiss DQ Bid In Price-Fixing MDL

By Madison Arnold

Domino Foods is pushing back on an attempt to disqualify its counsel from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in a sugar price-fixing multidistrict litigation, arguing Hershey, J.M. Smucker and other food makers filed the motion as a "strategic attempt to gain tactical advantage" at a critical point in the dispute.

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Duane Morris To Settle Employee's Tax Withholding Claim

By Asha Glover

Duane Morris LLP has agreed to private mediation to settle a proposed class action by an employee who alleged that the firm failed to withhold taxes for workers who were misclassified as partners, according to a notice.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen Glencore Energy sue a refinery for allegedly defrauding it out of more than $236 million worth of crude oil, the former CEO of ankle-tag maker Big Technologies file a defamation claim against the company, and property investment group Hunter Jones hit by a claim from the Financial Conduct Authority. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Wilson Sonsini topped a list of law firms that have alumni attorneys working at six of the country's most prominent tech companies. And general counsel at most large companies expect to increase their litigation budgets next year.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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