Anderson Kill has earned a national reputation in the field of ERISA
litigation. Our attorneys have extensive experience representing self-funded plans, pension
plans and plan sponsors in disputes with third-party administrators and
insurance companies. This practice is a natural complement to, and
builds upon, our vast expertise in representing policyholders against
insurance companies in the property-casualty arena.
Our achievements as ERISA counsel include victories before the United
States Supreme Court, before federal juries and before the need to file
lawsuits even arises. For example, as counsel to Harris Trust & Savings
Bank, the trustee for the Unisys Pension Plan, the firm argued and won
the landmark victory in the United States Supreme Court which held that
an insurance company managing pension funds under a group annuity
contract is an ERISA fiduciary. As counsel to Esselte Corporation in a
Southern District of New York action captioned Aetna Insurance Co. v.
Esselte, the firm won both a jury verdict in Esselte's favor and an
award of attorneys' fees to Esselte. As counsel to self-funded plans in
active matters, the firm has persuaded insurance companies to pay
substantial sums without resort to litigation. The firm also offers
extensive experience in defending plans and plan sponsors from class
actions brought by employees who allege violations of ERISA and other
corollary claims, such as claims under the Racketeer Influence and
Corrupt Organizations Act.
In addition, the firm has extensive experience in representing plans and
plan sponsors in classic insurance coverage disputes with fiduciary
liability insurance companies and the related area of employment
practices liability insurance. In these areas, we have obtained
insurance coverage for the defense and indemnification of actions
alleging breaches of fiduciary duty under ERISA and other matters. We
also have experience in handling matters that relate to the planning,
compliance and audit of employee benefit plans under the ERISA and non-ERISA
top-hat plans for key executives and highly compensated employees. Our
expertise includes advising taxable and tax-exempt organizations on the
types of benefit plans that can be adopted, in drafting the necessary
documents and, when required, submitting these documents to the Internal
Revenue Service for approval.
Our ERISA practice group brings to bear a large group of seasoned
federal court litigators, skilled in the areas that often are involved
in ERISA lawsuits, including the intricacies of ERISA, health care,
insurance law, contracts law, bad faith actions and complex
jurisdictional and choice-of-law issues. It is a formidable combination.
