Pensions

Our litigators have acted in cases involving pensions and benefits.

We understand the complex issues and divergent interests at stake in this area. From a pension plan’s perspective, disputes in this area engage important fiduciary and trust obligations, and can give rise to considerable exposure through class action proceedings. On the other hand, individual entitlement claims can be life-changing, and impact the well-being of an individual and his or her dependents.

Our lawyers recently acted for a foreign pension fund in a ground-breaking case concerning that plan’s claim, in a Canadian restructuring, for an unfunded pension liability under certain “controlled group” provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001. The litigation, which was the first of its kind in Canada, resulted in the foreign pension fund obtaining a contribution, through settlement, of $13 million towards its U.S. pension deficiency.