Resource Type: Amicus Briefs
Bafford v. Northrop Grumman Corp
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circut in Bafford v. Northrop Grumman Corp. on August 10, 2020. Northrup-Grumman’s defined benefit plan, like all such plans, must provide participants with an estimate of their retirement benefits on request. Northrup-Grumman, applying an incorrect benefit formula to a group of […]
Intel Corp. Inv. Policy Comm. v. Sulyma
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in Intel Corp. Inv. Policy Comm. v. Sulyma on October 28, 2019 asking the Court to agree with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that sending an e-mail to Christopher Sulyma notifying him that information about his retirement savings plans’ investments was available […]
Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A.
On September 18, 2019, the Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A. asking the Supreme Court to reverse a decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled that pension plan participants did not have the right to sue to recover investment loses of at least $748 million. […]
Divane v. Northwestern Univ.
On January 22, 2019, the Pension Rights Center joined the AARP Litigation Foundation in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Divane v. Northwestern Univ. The brief asked the Court to overturn the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern of Illinois that had dismissed the case. Several […]
Smith v. OSF Healthcare System, et al.
On December 20, 2018, the Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in support of the appellants in Smith v. OSF Healthcare System, et al. The brief argues that the ERISA church plan exemption applies only to plans established and maintained by churches or church pension boards and does […]
Sveen v. Melin
The Pension Rights Center, the Women’s Law Project, and twelve other organizations filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case Sveen v. Melin on February 28, 2018. The brief argues that state laws requiring insurance policies and IRAs to automatically take ex-spouses off of accounts when a couple divorces are unconstitutional. The brief also contends that, […]
Lorna Clause v. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, et al.
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in support of a case asking the Supreme Court to reverse a Court of Appeals ruling that a plan can require participants to sue for denied benefits in a federal court chosen by the plan, despite the fact that federal law gives participants a choice of several venues in […]
Pundt v Verizon
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief supporting Verizon employees who are asking the Supreme Court to reverse a Court of Appeals ruling that individuals whose future pensions have been placed at risk by the actions of plan trustees do not have the right to file a lawsuit since they have not yet been harmed by […]
Amicus Briefs in Church Plan Litigation
There are currently eleven cases now pending before the federal courts that will determine whether a pension plan established by a religiously-affiliated nonprofit organization, which is not itself a church, is a “church plan” that is exempt from the federal law protecting private sector retirement benefits (ERISA). The results of these lawsuits will determine whether […]
Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court asking the Court to affirm decisions by three Courts of Appeals that had ruled that only pension plans established by churches are exempt from the requirements of the federal private pension law. On June 5, 2017, in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, the Supreme Court […]
Tibble v. Edison
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs in Tibble v. Edison. (12/09/2014) On May 18, 2015, the Supreme Court issued a decision in favor of the plaintiffs.
Spokeo v. Robins
The Pension Rights Center filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the plaintiff (respondent) in Spokeo v. Robins.
