- Led the defense of one of the largest actuarial consulting firms in the U.S. The city contended that Buck committed actuarial malpractice in estimating the savings from its 2012 pension reforms. The district court granted our motion for summary judgment on all counts, which the city did not appeal. Providence v. Buck Consultants (District of Rhode Island).
- Represented Dell and various individual fiduciaries of the Dell defined contribution plan in a matter involving Dell stock in the plan. The court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss and affirmed its decision after the plaintiff filed an amended complaint. Camera v. Dell Inc., et al. (Western District of Texas).
- Defended Nokia and related individuals in an employer stock-drop case against Nokia based on publicly reported difficulties with Nokia’s transition to new products and a resulting drop in its stock price. The defendants prevailed on a motion to dismiss, and the plaintiff was persuaded not to appeal. Romero v. Nokia Inc., et al. (Northern District of California).
- Won a motion to dismiss all claims brought by participants in the Nokia Retirement Savings and Investment Plan. The plaintiffs alleged that Nokia Inc. and other Nokia Inc. directors and officials engaged in breaches of the fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty, the duty to communicate complete and accurate information to plan participants and beneficiaries, the duty to monitor, and cofiduciary liability. In re Nokia Inc. ERISA Litigation (Southern District of New York, affirmed by the Second Circuit).
- Obtained a complete dismissal with prejudice of all claims in an employer stock class action and convinced the plaintiffs not to appeal. Zimlich v. Lender Processing Services Inc. (Middle District of Florida).
- Represented the governor, attorney general, chief financial officer, and the state, both at trial and the appeal to the Supreme Court of Florida, in a case in which the plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of Florida’s 2011 pension reform legislation. The supreme court found for our clients that the legislation is constitutional. This case impacted the pensions of more than 500,000 state and municipal employees and saves billions of dollars in the state budget over many years. Scott, et al. v. Williams, et al. (Supreme Court of Florida).
- Represented the National Association of Counties (NACo) in a putative nationwide class action alleging that NACo breached fiduciary duties arising under ERISA and/or state law based on its endorsement of products and services offered by its codefendant, Nationwide Retirement Solutions Inc., and the alleged excessive fees associated with those products and services. The court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. McCullough v. National Association of Counties (Middle District of Florida).
Employer Stock-Drop Cases
- Obtained a dismissal of all claims against Avaya and several individual defendants in a putative 401(k) employer stock-drop class action. Dismissal was affirmed on appeal by the Third Circuit. This case paved the way for numerous early dismissals of employer stock-drop cases around the country. Edgar v. Avaya Inc., et al. (District of New Jersey; affirmed by the Third Circuit).
- Obtained a complete dismissal of the Coca-Cola Company and various defendants in this and two identical 401(k) employer stock class actions. Pedraza v. The Coca-Cola Company, et al. (Northern District of Georgia).
- Represented various officers and directors of Colonial BancGroup in an employer stock-drop putative class action filed in the wake of Colonial’s bankruptcy. The matter settled while a motion to dismiss was pending. In re Colonial BancGroup Inc. ERISA Litigation (Middle District of Alabama).