Advised a large multi-state employer on the maintenance of grandfathered plan status through complex mergers and acquisitions.
Prepared policies to track full-time employees for several companies, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities.
Advised small and large employers on W-2, PCORI, and coverage reporting requirements.
Assist employers in responding to proposed penalty assessments.
Represented religious publishers on a variety of pension, welfare benefit, and other compensation matters.
Handled pension and other retirement plan matters for an international distributor of religious texts.
Represented a major church-affiliated university in connection with various retirement and welfare plan matters.
Dialysis Newco v. Community Health Systems, 938 F.3d 246 (5th Cir. 2019)
In this complex ERISA dispute, CHS won a complete victory in the Fifth Circuit. The CHS health benefits plan contains an anti-assignment provision that bars healthcare providers from suing on behalf of plan participants. Ignoring the anti-assignment provision, an out-of-network dialysis provider sued CHS in the Southern District of Texas for 100% of its bills. The district court entered a bench judgment for roughly $1 million. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit held (1) the anti-assignment provision was not ambiguous and was fully enforceable, (2) the plaintiff lacked standing to sue, and (3) as a matter of first impression, ERISA preempted a Tennessee statute enforcing healthcare assignments. The Fifth Circuit thus reversed and rendered judgment in favor of CHS. Bradley briefed and argued the case in the Fifth Circuit.
Anderson v. Sun Life, 647 F. App’x 772 (9th Cir. 2016)
Community Health Systems (CHS) hired Bradley to represent it in this ERISA disability dispute. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that CHS delegated to its disability insurer all its fiduciary obligations and thus it was an improper ERISA defendant. Bradley successfully briefed and argued the case in the Ninth Circuit. The court later vacated the opinion after plaintiff settled with the insurance company.
Menkes v. Prudential Ins. Co., 762 F.3d 285 (3d Cir. 2014)
Bradley represented QinetiQ North America in this class action brought by private employees injured while working on military bases overseas. The Bradley team wrote the winning brief in the district court, which dismissed the class action as preempted by ERISA and the Defense Base Act. On appeal, the Third Circuit affirmed based on ERISA preemption. The team argued the case before the Third Circuit.
Blankenship v. Metropolitan Life Ins., 644 F.3d 1350 (11th Cir. 2011)
MetLife hired Bradley to defend this ERISA suit seeking disability benefits. The district court awarded benefits to the plaintiff, finding MetLife’s decision was arbitrary and capricious due to a structural conflict of interest. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit reversed and rendered judgment for MetLife. The court’s decision in Blankenship is the leading decision on the Eleventh Circuit’s governing six-part standard for reviewing a plan administrator’s benefits decision. Bradley briefed the case along with counsel from MetLife.
Drake v. BBVA USA Bancshares, No. 2:20-cv-02076 (N.D. Ala. 2020); Ferguson v. BBVA Compass Bancshares, No. 2:19-cv-01135 (N.D. Ala. 2019)
Defended overlapping class actions alleging ERISA fiduciary breaches involving BBVA’s 401(k) plan.
IBM v. Jander, 140 S. Ct. 592 (2020)
Drafted a merits amicus brief for DRI‑The Voice of the Defense Bar in the U.S. Supreme Court on the standard for pleading ERISA stock-drop class actions.
Tibble v. Edison Int’l, 575 U.S. 523 (2015)
Drafted an amicus brief for DRI–The Voice of the Defense Bar in ERISA case involving the contours of fiduciary duties in 401(k) class actions.
Represented an aviation company in connection with a stock sale and related issues regarding the multi-employer plans to which the company was obligated to contribute.
Represented a national healthcare provider in connection with various retirement and welfare benefit plan obligations arising from the collective bargaining obligations with different groups of represented employees.
Represented employers attempting to discontinue obligations to contribute to various multi-employer plans, and in negotiations with such plans regarding the payment terms of assessed withdrawal liability amounts.
Restatement of numerous deferred compensation plans and documentation of new arrangements for both publicly traded and private companies.
Advised numerous employers regarding the changes that can be made to various arrangements subject to Section 409A regarding both the design and administration of such arrangements, with special emphasis on the changes that can, and cannot, be made without violating Section 409A.
Advised clients on relief available for correction of certain operational and document failures.
Ongoing benefits work for a regional university.
Represented a major church-affiliated university on various retirement and welfare plan matters.
Represented a food services company in a $160 million 100% sale to an ESOP.
Represented a lender in refinancing of $250 million ESOP loan.
Represented the trustee of a wholly owned ESOP company in connection with the sale of a $200 million energy company.
Designed and drafted omnibus equity compensation plans for public and private employers.
Analyzed Code Section 280G (Golden Parachute) issues in transactions.
Advised on Code Section 162(m) issues in the design and restatement of plans.
Ongoing representation of government contractor on defined contribution plan, ESOP, and executive compensation arrangements.
Represented a government contractor regarding controlled group issues involving multiple lines of business.
Represented government contractors on initial and second stage ESOP transactions.
Represented an administrative committee of one of the largest U.S. public retirement systems.
Represented a state retirement system in connection with all types of tax-qualification, administrative, and litigation matters.
Represented numerous municipal governments in connection with a myriad of plan design, administration and funding issues associated with their retirement and welfare plans.
Advised various political subdivisions and governmental-affiliated organizations regarding the governmental plan status of their retirement and welfare plans.
Represented employers who, despite having paid contributions into a state retirement plan, have been told by such plans that their employees were not eligible to participate in such plans.
Represented both public and private national hospital companies in connection with the employee benefits and related compensation issues in various mergers and acquisitions, including both asset and stock sales.
Represented all types and sizes of healthcare providers regarding the maintenance of the tax-qualified retirement plans of such providers when maintaining multiple plans that provide differing levels of benefits to the employees in different parts of the employer’s controlled group of corporations.
Represented employers of all sizes with data breach notification compliance as applicable to self-funded group health plans.
Provided work and advice for business associates of health plans and healthcare providers with respect to documentary compliance.
Assisted covered entities and business associates of all sizes with implementation of policies and procedures.
Ongoing representation of a religious organization on pension plan and welfare plan matters.
Represented a religious publisher on retirement and welfare plan matters, as well as supplemental retirement arrangements.
Represented private universities regarding benefit plan matters, including 403(b) plans and early retirement incentive plans.
Represented manufacturing company regarding transfer and assumption of defined pension benefit plan obligations.
Worked on the design, implementation and administration of all types of defined benefit pension plans, including cash balance plans, for all sorts of employers, from small medical practices to large public companies.
Represented employers in connection with the termination of their defined benefit pension plans, including the required notification of the PBGC regarding such proposed termination and the submission of such terminated plans to the IRS for the issuance of a favorable determination letter.
Represented large public companies in the spin-off of defined benefit pension plans and related required notifications to the IRS and PBGC.