Category: Class and collective actions

BG’s ERISA Team Files for Court Approval of $14 Million Settlement with RVNB Holdings

On January 9, 2025, Bailey Glasser’s ERISA team filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of settlement and certification of settlement class on behalf of participants in the RVNB Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), in a case proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The parties have agreed to resolve all matters in controversy, including the action and a separate but related Department of Labor (DOL) enforcement case, with a total settlement of $14 million. This amount includes a statutory penalty to the DOL, with $12.75 million allocated to the class of ESOP participants.

The settlement, if approved by the court, will end more than five years of litigation concerning the sale of RVNB by the ESOP in 2017, which the plaintiffs alleged was for less than fair market value and caused by defendant fiduciaries in violation of the federal ERISA retirement benefits statute. The case is Coleman, et al. v. Brozen, et al., Case No. 3:20-CV-01358, and is proceeding before U.S. District Judge Ada Brown.

Members of the BG team include ERISA Practice Group leader Gregory Porter, Ryan T. Jenny, Patrick Muench, and co-counsel from Ajamie LLP.

To learn more about our nationally recognized ERISA, Employee Benefits & Trust practice, visit here: https://ow.ly/nv4Y50UIEsC

#ERISA #ESOP #ERISALitigation #BaileyGlasser

Monumental Settlement in Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Case


Monumental. The largest antitrust settlement in U.S. healthcare history, $2.8 billion, was announced on October 14, 2024, by the Provider side settlement team in the Blue Cross Blue Shield MDL, a long-running antitrust lawsuit representing healthcare providers nationwide. This landmark settlement was negotiated over several years by a dedicated committee, including Bailey Glasser partners Michael Murphy and Eric Snyder.

The settlement involves all Blue Cross and Blue Shield entities across the country and includes a $2.8 billion cash payment into a settlement fund, as well as investments by the Blues of hundreds of millions of dollars in system improvements for the benefit of providers.

What Will The Settlement Achieve?

The settlement aims to resolve claims that the Blues violated antitrust laws by dividing markets and fixing prices.

It also introduces important changes to the BlueCard Program, which will:

Improve how claims are processed
Enhance payment methods to providers
Reduce administrative burdens and inefficiencies
Benefits For Healthcare Providers

The settlement provides healthcare providers with:

More opportunities to contract with the Blues
Reduced administrative burdens
Increased efficiency in claims processing and payments
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, along with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, will be held accountable by an appointed Monitoring Committee for five years after the settlement’s effective date, following the Court’s final approval. The Provider Plaintiffs formed a work group comprising various types of providers, such as representatives from large healthcare systems, teaching hospitals, rural hospitals, physicians, ancillary providers, and medical and hospital associations which gave meaningful guidance throughout the process.

Key Contributors & Next Steps

Bailey Glasser’s Michael Murphy and Eric Snyder also played key roles in the discovery phase, uncovering critical documents and testimony that led to this landmark settlement.

The Court is expected to review the Motion for Preliminary Approval in November. A formal notice will be sent to all class members at a later date determined by the Court.

BG Team Secures Slam Dunk Victory at Second Circuit Against NBA

BG partners Joshua Hammack and Michael Murphy secured an important and precedent-setting appellate victory for consumer privacy yesterday. The law at issue—the federal Video Privacy Protection Act—was intended to prevent certain companies from disclosing consumers’ video-watching preferences. And the law broadly protects “consumers,” which it defines to include “any renter[s], purchaser[s], or subscriber[s] of goods or services from a video tape service provider.” But, in August 2023, a district court in the Southern District of New York dismissed Mr. Salazar’s complaint alleging the NBA violated the VPPA by sharing his video-watching history with Facebook without his consent. It reasoned he was not a “consumer” because he subscribed only to the NBA’s online newsletter, and not to any of its audio-visual goods or services.

The Second Circuit flatly rejected this analysis. It held: “The phrase ‘goods or services’ in the VPPA is not cabined to audiovisual goods or services, but also reaches the NBA’s online newsletter.” Indeed, the term “consumer” “should be understood to encompass a renter, purchaser, or subscriber of any of the provider’s ‘goods or services’—audiovisual or not.” Because Mr. Salazar had alleged he subscribed to the newsletter, then, he was a statutory consumer entitled to the VPPA’s privacy protections.

Joshua Hammack, lead appellate counsel who argued the appeal, had this to say: “We’re pleased the Second Circuit smacked the NBA’s arguments off the backboard. The opinion boils down to this: The VPPA says what it says, and the district court’s attempt to rewrite it was improper.” Michael Murphy added: “Not much more to say than it’s a slam dunk for consumer privacy.”

Bailey Glasser’s litigators have been fighting to protect consumers in privacy law cases like this one. Our lawyers are nationally recognized for their work, including Mr. Murphy’s Band One Chambers & Partners ranking for his D.C. litigation practice, and Mr. Hammack has been recognized by Lawdragon as a 500 X – The Next Generation for his commercial litigation and appellate work, and as a Benchmark Litigation, U.S. 2024 Benchmark 40 & Under Litigator in Washington, D.C.

For more about the win, please visit this link.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Dr. Oumair Aejaz and Henry Ford Health for Alleged Sexual Abuse and Privacy Violations

Today we announce the filing of a class action lawsuit against Dr. Oumair Aejaz, Henry Ford Health System, and Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, where we allege that Dr. Aejaz engaged in widespread sexual abuse and privacy violations against patients, including minors, over at least six years. Additionally, a second lawsuit has been filed against Detroit Medical Center.

According to the complaint, Dr. Aejaz, a 40-year-old physician from Rochester Hills, allegedly placed hidden cameras in changing rooms and medical facilities, recording patients as young as 2 years old. The lawsuit further alleges that Henry Ford Health System failed to implement appropriate safeguards to protect patients from this predatory behavior.

The class action lawsuit represents a Jane Doe who received emergency back surgery at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in May 2023. Law enforcement officials have described the ongoing criminal investigation into Dr. Aejaz as “one of the most disturbing sexual predator cases” seen in their careers, potentially surpassing the scale of the Larry Nassar case.

Dr. Aejaz has been charged with multiple felonies, including child sexually abusive activity and capturing images of unclothed persons. Authorities have seized over 13,000 videos from the perpetrator and expect the investigation to continue for at least six months.

The Bailey Glasser team in this important case is led by founding partner Brian Glasser, and partners David Selby II, John Barrett, and Todd Mathews.

A press conference providing further details on the lawsuit will be held today, Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. ET at the Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel (conference room on the first floor), located at 21111 Haggerty Road, Novi, MI 48375.

To learn more about this case, and view additional media links, visit here.

#classaction #classactionlawsuit #sexualabuselaw #privacy #Baileyglasser

BG Files Additional Complaints on Behalf of 272 Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse Against the State of Illinois

Bailey Glasser announces that it has filed new complaints on behalf of 272 survivors of sexual abuse against the State of Illinois, alleging that the Illinois Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice failed to protect them from sexual abuse perpetrated by adult employees at State-operated Illinois Youth Centers and Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

As alleged in the new complaints filed on Monday, between 1996 and 2021, hundreds of youths were victimized in Illinois Youth Centers by male and female staff, with most victims being under the age of 16 at the time of abuse.

Bailey Glasser is on the forefront of lawsuits seeking justice on behalf of childhood sexual abuse survivors with a total of 667 cases filed in the State of Illinois since May 2024, as well as hundreds of similar cases in the State of Maryland on behalf of survivors of abuse in its juvenile hall detention facilities.

On Tuesday September 24, 2024 at 12:15pm CST, Bailey Glasser partner Todd Mathews will hold a press conference along with co-counsel from Levy & Konigsberg LLP and numerous survivors, to speak out about the decades of physical, psychological, and emotional abuse suffered in Illinois juvenile detention centers.

To watch the press conference, view this LiveStream link here.

In addition to D. Todd Mathews, the Bailey Glasser team in this case includes founding partner Brian Glasser; Partner Mass Tort Practice Group Leader, David Selby II; and lawyer Samira Bode. Co-counsel includes Levy & Konigsberg LLP in Chicago, Illinois.

MEDIA REQUESTS: To schedule an interview with counsel or for other media inquiries, please contact D. Todd Mathews at 618.520.3342 or tmathews@baileyglasser.com.

To read more about the lawsuit and view additional media, please visit this link.

Learn more about how we fight on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse across the country by visiting here.

#Survivors #SexualAbuse #ChildhoodSexualAbuseAct #Illinois #JuvenileDetentionCenters #BaileyGlasser

Bailey Glasser Defeats Motion to Dismiss in $100 Million ERISA Action

Our ERISA team scored a victory for retirement plan savers Friday, when U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny overwhelmingly rejected defendants’ motions to dismiss claims against fiduciaries to the Frontier Communications 401(k) Savings Plan.

Our lawsuit alleges that the fiduciaries running the Plan imprudently invested a large portion of the retirees’ 401(k) assets in Verizon Communications stock. The case alleges that by placing a large percentage of the Plan in a single security, the fiduciaries violated their obligations under ERISA to be prudent and diversify the assets of the Plan to avoid large losses. The Plan’s public filings show that the Plan had approximately $350 million invested in Verizon stock, and Plaintiffs’ 2018 complaint alleges that the volatility and poor performance of the stock cost the Plan more than $100 million.

The plaintiffs are represented by Gregory Porter, head of Bailey Glasser’s ERISA group, Mark Boyko, a partner in that group, and Robert Izard of Izard, Kindall & Raabe.

“Since the Complaint was filed, Verizon stock has continued to underperform diversified alternatives, meaning the actual damages are now significantly higher” noted Boyko. “We look forward to addressing this case on the merits.”

The case is Reidt v. Frontier Communications Corp., No. 18-cv-1538 and is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

To learn more about how our nationally-ranked ERISA litigation group helps protect retirement and ESOP funds, visit: https://ow.ly/LMr650TtqIA

For more about Practice Group Leader Greg Porter, please visit here.
For more about partner Mark Boyko, please visit here.

#ERISAlitigation #ERISA #classaction #BaileyGlasser

Bailey Glasser partners Lori Bullock, Joshua Hammack, Elliott McGraw, and Nick Warden were named to Benchmark Litigation’s U.S. 2024 Benchmark 40 & Under Litigators List.

Pictures of recipients Bullock, Hammack, McGraw, and Warden
Bailey Glasser partners Lori Bullock, Joshua Hammack, Elliott McGraw, and Nick Warden were named to Benchmark Litigation’s U.S. 2024 Benchmark 40 & Under Litigators List.

Lori Bullock is the managing partner of BG’s Des Moines, Iowa office and handles cases across several litigation areas, including labor and employment, sexual harassment, disability discrimination, education law, and civil rights. Lori has won trailblazing Title IX settlements for student-athletes at colleges and universities across the U.S. for violating the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination at educational institutions receiving federal funds, including an appeal against Michigan State University that was appealed up to the Supreme Court of the United States. Lori was also a member of the BG team that won a $5 million arbitration award against My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell for his 2020 election fraud claims. Lori has been named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list, as well as Best Lawyers in America, Litigation – Labor and Employment.

Joshua Hammack handles complex commercial litigation from inception through appeal, focusing on constitutional issues, statutory interpretation, intellectual property, product safety, insurance, contracts, and Title IX discrimination, among others. Just this year, Joshua argued a pair of appeals in the Second and Sixth Circuits concerning an issue of first impression—what it means to be a “consumer” under the Video Privacy Protection Act. Joshua also successfully argued a Title IX appeal before the Ninth Circuit, where the court vacated orders denying class certification for female student-athletes at Fresno State. Additionally, he secured an important appellate reversal last year in the Sixth Circuit, which agreed a challenged Kentucky law likely violated the Dormant Commerce Clause. Joshua was previously named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list, and is also a Best Lawyers Ones to Watch, Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation.

Elliott McGraw’s practice focuses on complex commercial disputes where she represents institutional investors and asset managers in contract and tort-based claims arising from financial fraud, accounting malpractice, and corporate malfeasance. Elliott also advises organizational and individual clients navigating government or internal investigations and has represented clients in front of Congressional committees, including the 2019 Impeachment Inquiry into then-President Donald Trump. Elliott was a member of the BG trial team that recently won a $40 million jury verdict in a Texas federal court in a fraud and breach of fiduciary duty case. She has also been recognized as a Best Lawyers Ones to Watch, in Privacy and Data Security Law.

Nick Warden, a partner in our Boise, Idaho office, focuses his practice in commercial litigation, with a particular focus on complex business litigation in the agricultural, chemical, and finance industries including accounting and auditor malpractice. Nick has represented clients in appeals before the Idaho and Ninth Circuit appellate courts, as well as state and federal courts in Idaho, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Montana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, and New York. Nick has been recognized as a Best Lawyers Ones to Watch, in Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Labor and Employment.

As set forth by Benchmark Litigation when announcing the awards: “[e]very year, Benchmark Litigation sets out to identify the best and brightest litigators across the US. While it is certainly not an easy task selecting from such a wide array of accomplished young lawyers, we are excited to reveal our list of the top emerging talent in litigation.”

Congratulations to all the lawyers receiving this recognition. To see the full list, please visit this link.

Federal Appeals Court Reinforces Protection for Worker Class Action Rights in ESOP Action

Bailey Glasser’s ERISA litigation team won another victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which declined to reconsider a May 2024 ruling that an employee stock ownership plan trustee and selling shareholders in a stock sale to the plan can’t compel individual arbitration of a representative action on behalf of the plan accusing them of overcharging the plan, rejecting the trustee’s argument that the panel unfairly displayed “hostility to arbitration.”

Bailey Glasser’s ERISA litigation team won another victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which declined to reconsider a May 2024 ruling that an employee stock ownership plan trustee and selling shareholders in a stock sale to the plan can’t compel individual arbitration of a representative action on behalf of the plan accusing them of overcharging the plan, rejecting the trustee’s argument that the panel unfairly displayed “hostility to arbitration.”

In an order filed on July 9, the Second Circuit rejected Argent Trust Co.’s petition for panel rehearing or rehearing en banc, doubling down on its divided May 1 opinion that found allowing arbitration would have prevented a plan participant from seeking plan-wide remedies authorized by federal benefits law.

The case involves a proposed class of employees seeking relief under federal ERISA law. This decision addressed one of the most important issues in employee benefits litigation today: whether ERISA plan sponsors can force employees to waive plan-wide relief in favor of individualized arbitration, thereby gutting participants’ ability to enforce the core private right of action ERISA affords. This repeated victory for participant rights follows a victory by BG’s ERISA litigation team on the same issue before the Third Circuit in June 2023.

The Court’s May 2024 opinion backed the Southern District of New York’s November 2021 order denying a motion to compel arbitration of an ESOP participant’s suit alleging mismanagement by Argent, which served as trustee to debt relief company Strategic Financial Solutions’ ESOP, and the selling shareholders and their trusts.

The Bailey Glasser team in this matter is comprised of partner and Practice Group Leader Gregory Porter and partner Ryan Jenny, both in Bailey Glasser’s Washington, D.C. office. Co-counsel in this case is Tillman J. Breckenridge, Peter K. Stris, Rachana A. Pathak, and John Stokes of Stris & Maher LLP.

To learn more about our award-winning ERISA practice – including our 2025 nationwide Chambers & Partners ranking, visit this link: https://www.baileyglasser.com/services-erisa-employee-benefits-and-trust-litigation

The case is Dejesus Cedeno v. Argent Trust Co., docket number 21-2891, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

For more, read this Law 360 article: https://www.law360.com/articles/1856532?e_id=e710f5b1-e0ec-4910-bc7f-0d1e404a2625&utm_source=engagement-alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=similar_articles?copied=1

Federal Court Approves Title IX Class Action Settlement With University of Central Oklahoma

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Joe Heaton approved a class action settlement yesterday that requires the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) to provide female student-athletes with equal treatment and opportunities, hire an outside expert to conduct a review of its intercollegiate athletic program, and develop and implement a Gender Equity Plan to bring the entire program into compliance with Title IX.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Joe Heaton approved a class action settlement yesterday that requires the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) to provide female student-athletes with equal treatment and opportunities, hire an outside expert to conduct a review of its intercollegiate athletic program, and develop and implement a Gender Equity Plan to bring the entire program into compliance with Title IX. The settlement also provides UCO’s women’s varsity indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and cross country teams with specific relief starting in 2024-25, including equipment, supplies, transportation, publicity, and practice schedules equal to those provided to men’s varsity teams; access to college-level practice facilities; and the ability to host at least one home competition every year. And it prohibits UCO from retaliating against any of its female student-athletes in violation of Title IX.

The settlement resolves a Title IX class action filed against UCO in 2022 by Tatum Robertson and Eve Brennan, two members of the women’s varsity track & field teams, for discriminating against its female student-athletes. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination by any educational institution receiving federal funds.

The women’s indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, and cross-country teams at UCO—unlike any men’s teams—were provided no locker room, no competitive facility, and required to practice at a local middle school. When they complained about the unequal treatment they and other women athletes received, UCO fired their head coach.

“This lawsuit should not have been necessary,” said plaintiff and class representative Tatum Robertson. “We are delighted that UCO is finally going to stop discriminating against its women athletes and give them the equal treatment, benefits, and opportunities the law requires.”

“UCO has now agreed to everything we wanted from the start,” said plaintiff and class representative Eve Brennan. “That it took two years is particularly disturbing because Title IX has been the law for 52 years. But now UCO’s sex discrimination is going to stop.”

“We applaud the plaintiffs for fighting not only for themselves, but for all female student-athletes at UCO,” said plaintiffs’ counsel Lori Bullock of Bailey & Glasser, LLP. “We are honored to represent women who are willing to stand up to their universities and demand equality.”

To read more, click this link.

Lori Bullock, Katherine Charonko, and Joshua Hammack Named to 2024 Lawdragon X – The Next Generation List

Bailey Glasser partners Lori A. Bullock, Katherine Charonko, and Joshua I. Hammack have been named to Lawdragon’s 2024 500 X – The Next Generation guide. This recognition acknowledges the achievements of the top 500 lawyers who have vaulted to the forefront of the legal profession. This Lawdragon recognition is prestigious as the 500 lawyers included were selected through a process of “select[ing] members of this guide through our time-honed process of submissions, independent research and vetting with friends and foes.”

Bailey Glasser partners Lori A. Bullock, Katherine Charonko, and Joshua I. Hammack have been named to Lawdragon’s 2024 500 X – The Next Generation guide. This recognition acknowledges the achievements of the top 500 lawyers who have vaulted to the forefront of the legal profession. This Lawdragon recognition is prestigious as the 500 lawyers included were selected through a process of “select[ing] members of this guide through our time-honed process of submissions, independent research and vetting with friends and foes.”

Lori Bullock is an impactful litigator, handling challenging cases across several litigation areas, including Title IX athletics, labor and employment, sexual harassment, disability discrimination, education law, and civil rights, and is the managing partner of BG’s Des Moines, Iowa office. Lori has won ground-breaking Title IX settlements for student-athletes at nine U.S. colleges and universities for violating the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination at educational institutions receiving federal funds, including appeals to federal circuit court and the Supreme Court included in this submission. She was also part of the team that won the $5 million judgment against “MyPillow’s” Mike Lindell related to false claims made about the 2020 election.

Katherine Charonko is a litigator and head of the firm’s sophisticated and cutting-edge ESI group where she oversees e-discovery in complex disputes involving billions of documents and ensures proper collection, production, and review of electronic data. Kate holds the global Certified e-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) credential, a global recognition that assures clients and co-counsel that our approaches are compliant, efficient, cost-effective, and reduces risk in all phases of e-Discovery. In addition, Kate is a key part of the firm’s multidistrict litigation (MDL) teams, which concentrate largely on automotive and medical device product liability actions. She serves as liaison director of e-Discovery and ESI on several MDL leadership committees nationwide and has worked on landmark MDL matters including some of the largest vehicle defect litigations in history, including the Volkswagen emissions case, and many more. Indeed, Kate was recognized for her product liability work in this year’s Chambers & Partners accolades in the nationwide plaintiffs category, among other recognitions.

Joshua Hammack handles complicated matters from their inception through appeal. He has briefed and argued appeals in state and federal courts across the country for a host of substantive legal areas, including Title IX, the Commerce Clause, contract interpretation, deed construction, statutes of limitation, and the Video Privacy Protection Act. He has briefed multiple issues to the Supreme Court of the United States. In just the last eight months, he has argued before the Second, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as intermediate appellate courts in West Virginia and New York. Members of the firm regularly gather to watch or listen to his oral arguments, and he also hosts an annual training session on brief writing for lawyers at the firm.

To learn more about the 2024 LDX500 guide, visit: https://www.lawdragon.com/guides/2024-06-28-the-2024-lawdragon-500-x-the-next-generation

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