Category: Class and collective actions

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.”

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. 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.”

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

Law360: “Pa. Court OKs $3.65M Deal On Student Loan ‘Pay-To-Pay’ Fees”

BG secured approval for a $3.65 million settlement in a class action before a Pennsylvania federal district court on behalf of federal student loan borrowers charged illegal fees just for paying their monthly loan payments online or over the phone.

The lawsuit against Educational Computer Systems Inc., alleges that the servicer charged federal student loan borrowers nationwide illegal “Pay-to-Pay” fees, or extra charges to process one–time monthly payments on their Perkins loans online or by phone, in violation of several federal and state consumer protection laws. Bailey Glasser’s Patricia Kipnis, partner and leader of the firm’s Consumer Litigation Practice Group, and partner James Kauffman, along with attorneys from the law firm Tycko & Zavareei LLP, are class counsel in this case.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Dodge stated on the record that she would grant the motion for final approval of the settlement and the motion for attorney fees, administrative costs, and class representative awards, with a formal order to follow. The motion for settlement included the $3.65 million payment that will refund more than 40,000 class members a pro-rata portion of the fees they paid to ECSI.

Judge Dodge remarked on the record describing the settlement as “fair and equitable,” and stated, “this case was administered effectively, litigated appropriately, and very well.”

Lead counsel Patricia Kipnis said, “We’re thrilled with this result in what we believe to be the first case against a student loan servicer asserting the legal theory that Pay-to-Pay fees are unlawful under consumer protection statutes.”

You can learn more about this settlement by reading this Law360 article here.

And for more information on our Pay-to-Pay services, visit here.

#baileyglasser #classactions #paytopay #consumerprotection #illegalfees #studentloans

Motion for Temporary Order Filed in Suit Against Johnson & Johnson

Bailey & Glasser, LLP and a group of leading law firms filed a motion to show cause why a preliminary injunction ought not issue to stop Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries from pursuing a new bankruptcy filing in any district other than in New Jersey, where tens of thousands of civil lawsuits are already consolidated in multidistrict litigation.

The company recently announced the pursuit of a prepackaged bankruptcy plan to resolve talc claims in an unspecified federal court in Texas. Two previous bankruptcy filings by the company have been denied by the courts in New Jersey, where J&J is headquartered. In today’s filing, we seek a temporary restraining order on the basis that J&J is attempting to evade jurisdiction and continue to manipulate the bankruptcy process to disadvantage tens of thousands of women who developed cancer from continued use of Johnson’s products. We also seek to prevent any amendments to agreements between J&J and its subsidiaries to fund the plan without notifying the plaintiffs.

The Bailey Glasser team in this case includes founding partner Brian A. Glasser; David L. Selby II, the firm’s Mass Tort Practice Group Leader, partner D. Todd Mathews, Of Counsel Thomas B. Bennett, partner Thanos Basdekis, partner and Consumer Protection Practice Group Leader Patricia Kipnis, and Of Counsel Michael Shenkman. Other firms representing the plaintiffs in this lawsuit are Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC, Levin Papantonio Rafferty Proctor Buchanan O’Brien Barr Mougey PA; Golomb Legal; Ashcraft & Gerel LLP; and Burns Charest LLP.

On behalf of our clients, we have requested that the injunction hearing be heard at the earliest possible time.

For more please visit this link.

Bailey Glasser Defeats Motion to Dismiss in Schwab Managed 401(k) Action

BG secured an important win for employee participants of the Vituity and MedAmerica 401(k) retirement plan. On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California ruled on a motion to dismiss filed by CEP America and the MedAmerica Retirement & Benefits Committee, which oversees the 401(k) plan offered to employees and retirees of Vituity and MedAmerica. In his ruling denying the motion in part, Judge Seeborg noted that the Complaint alleges that the fees charged by recordkeepers to other 401(k) plans “were multiples less than those charged” by Schwab.

The employees, represented by Greg Porter, BG’s ERISA Practice Group Leader, and ERISA partner Mark Boyko, allege that the Defendants violated ERISA laws by allowing millions of dollars of their retirement savings to go to Schwab’s recordkeeping arm and to MedAmerica. The Plaintiffs also alleged that Schwab’s excessive compensation included Schwab receiving benefits from the 401(k) Plan’s use of Schwab’s bank savings account.

“Employers need to understand and accept their responsibility for prudently managing 401(k) plans free from conflicts of interest and self-dealing,” Boyko said. “We look forward to pursuing this matter on its merits.”

The case is Nagy, et al., v. CEP America, LLC, et al, No. 23-cv-5648, and is pending in the Northern District of California.

BG’s award-winning ERISA, Employee Benefits & Trust Litigation practice has been ranked by Chambers & Partners in the Nationwide ERISA Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs category. Learn more about our ERISA services here.

Greg Porter, BG’s ERISA Practice Group Leader, has also received top rankings by Chambers in Nationwide ERISA Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs (Band One). Learn more about his practice here.

And for more on ERISA partner Mark Boyko, visit here.

#ERISA #401k #Retirement

Larry Lederer Named a 2024 Lawdragon Top 500 Plaintiff Financial Lawyer

Bailey Glasser partner Lawrence J. Lederer is included in Lawdragon’s 2024 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers guide, now for a sixth year in a row. We thank Lawdragon and everyone who participated in his once again being included on this esteemed list, a true testament to how much Larry cares about his clients, the hard work he puts into their cases, and the results he achieves.

Larry has extensive experience litigating securities, commercial, consumer class actions, and other cases in federal and state courts throughout the United States. In the last year, he’s brought impactful litigations to help people who have had issues related to violation of privacy laws, mortgage lending and finance, telemarketing and the non-funding of PPP loans which continue to affect small businesses across the country.

This Lawdragon recognition is especially prestigious as the 500 lawyers 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.”

See the full list here.

To learn more about Larry Lederer, please visit this link.

Lawsuit Filed Against Johnson & Johnson for Bad Faith Bankruptcies

Bailey & Glasser, LLP and a group of leading law firms filed a federal lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and other defendants due to their repeated attempt to use the U.S. bankruptcy system to prevent victims of its cancer-causing products from having their day in court. The case is Love v. LLT Management LLC, No. 24-06320 (5/22/24), U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The Bailey Glasser team in this case includes founding partner Brian A. Glasser; David L. Selby II, the firm’s Mass Tort Practice Group Leader, partner D. Todd Mathews, and Of Counsel Thomas B. Bennett, former Chief Justice of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Other firms representing the plaintiffs in this lawsuit are Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC, Levin Papantonio Rafferty Proctor Buchanan O’Brien Barr Mougey PA; Golomb Legal; Ashcraft & Gerel LLP; and Burns Charest LLP.

To read the complaint, media links, and more details, visit this link.

Federal Appeals Court Protects Worker Class Action Rights, Rejecting Demands for Individual Arbitrations

Bailey Glasser’s ERISA litigation team won a victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on behalf of a proposed class of employees seeking relief under federal ERISA law.

The Second Circuit ruled May 1st that an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) trustee and former shareholders of the ESOP’s wholly-owned financial services firm can’t compel individual arbitration of a proposed class action accusing them of overcharging the ESOP for company stock, saying that doing so would prevent a plan participant from seeking plan-wide remedies authorized by federal benefits law. In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled that the lower court was right to deny the motion to compel arbitration by Argent Trust Co., which served as trustee to Strategic Financial Solutions, LLC’s ESOP, and the former shareholders. Plaintiff and BG client, employee Ramon Dejesus Cedeno, filed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) suit in November 2020, alleging the defendants cost the retirement plan and its participants millions when they overcharged the ESOP in a $242 million sale of company stock.

The ruling comes more than a year after oral arguments in which a three-judge federal appeals panel questioned whether individual arbitration could be forced on Dejesus Cedeno given a plan participant’s right to seek relief on behalf of a plan as a whole under ERISA Sections 409(a) and 502(a)(2). The majority decision held that arbitration could not be so compelled, writing: “Because Cedeno’s avenue for relief under ERISA is to seek a plan-wide remedy, and the specific terms of the arbitration agreement seek to prevent Cedeno from doing so, the agreement is unenforceable.” 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 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 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 Gregory Porter, visit this link.

To learn more about Ryan Jenny, visit this link.

To learn more about our award-winning ERISA practice, visit here.

To read a Law 360 article about this win, visit this link.

Bailey Glasser Secures $3.6 Million Settlement in “Pay-to-Pay” Class Action Against Mr. Cooper

Bailey & Glasser, LLP secured a groundbreaking $3.6 million settlement in a class action before a federal district court in Washington, D.C on behalf of consumers who were charged illegal fees just for paying their mortgages over the phone. BG partner James Kauffman, along with attorneys from the law firm Tycko & Zavareei LLP are class counsel in this case.

The lawsuit against Mr. Cooper – formerly known as Nationstar Mortgage LLC – and one of the country’s largest home loan servicers, alleges that the servicer charged mortgage borrowers in D.C. and nationwide illegal “Pay-to-Pay” fees, or extra charges up to $14 to process each monthly payment by phone in violation of several federal and state consumer protection laws. The settlement, which obtained final approval on Thursday, included the nearly $3.6 million payment to 72,555 class members and was based on a novel legal argument under the D.C. “Protecting Consumers from Unjust Debt Collections Practices Act,” which provides additional statutory damages to consumers for each illegal transaction.

“The settlement obtained is an excellent result for the class, and we are pleased that the court agreed,” James Kauffman said. “While our work has caused many servicers to stop charging these fees, others persist in this abuse, and we will continue to fight to protect hardworking consumers from junk fees.”

You can learn more about this settlement by reading this Law360 article here.

To learn more about our “Pay-to-Pay” and Illegal Convenience Fee services, visit here.

#baileyglasser #classactions #paytopay #consumerprotection #illegalfees #mortgage

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