ERISA Pension Class Actions

Gottesdiener Law Firm is headed by Eli Gottesdiener, who has pioneered a number of innovative pension benefit class actions championing employee-participant rights, including a case that The New York Times described as potentially “one of the most significant brought in the 25 years since Congress enacted the [ERISA statute].”

Among the Firm's most notable cases are:

• A cash balance pension benefit class action against Bank of America. In this case, Pender v. Bank of America Corp., et al., 05-238-C (W.D.N.C.), we allege lump sums were miscalculated (so-called “whipsaw” violations); benefits accrued under the plan in an age discriminatory manner and that the rights of 401(k) plan participants were violated when the Bank transferred 401(k) plan assets to the cash balance plan in a transaction designed to profit the Bank at employees’ expense;
  
  
• A cash balance pension benefit class action against PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”). The key contention here is that PwC used a fictitious definition of “retirement” to evade the law’s lump sum distribution requirements and short-change employees when they left the Firm and requested a cash-out of their plan benefit. See Laurent v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, et al., 06-2280 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y.) (pending);
  
  
• Two related pension benefit miscalculation class actions against AT&T, Inc.: Wagener v. SBC Pension Benefit Plan-Nonbargained Program, Civ. No. 03-CV-769 (D.D.C.) (motion for preliminary approval of $16 million settlement pending) and Calder v. SBC Pension Benefit Plan, No. SA-07-CA-340-XR (W.D. Tex.);
  
  
• A pension and 401(k) class action case against New York Life Insurance Company, Mehling v. New York Life Ins. Co., Civ. No. 99-CV-5417 (E.D. Pa.) (settled in March 2008 for $14 million);
  
  
• A 401(k), ESOP and pension plan class action against Enron Corporation and numerous other defendants, Tittle, et al. v. Enron Corp., et al., H-01-3913 (S.D. Tex.) (settled over several years in phases; total recovery for participants exceeded $225 million);
  
  
• A pension class action against the Trustees and other fiduciaries of the United Food and Commercial Workers Pension Plan, Bell v. Executive Committee, Civ. No. 01-236 (D.D.C.)(settled in April 2003 for $10 million);
  
  
• A 401(k) class action against SBC Communications, Inc., Gottlieb v. SBC Communications, Inc., CV-00-4139 AHM (C.D. Calif.) (settled in December 2002 for $10 million);
  
  
• Two 401(k) class actions against First Union Corporation, Franklin v. First Union Corp., 99-CV-344 and 99-CV-610 (settled in June 2001 for $26 million).