Appeals

Appeals Court Win in Multi-Million Dollar Class Action Benefits Case in Georgia

FMG attorneys Ben Mathis, Bill Buechner, and Michael Freed secured a favorable decision from the Georgia Court of Appeals affirming summary judgment in a class action case challenging a Georgia county’s employee retirement plan. The…

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FMG attorneys Ben Mathis, Bill Buechner, and Michael Freed secured a favorable decision from the Georgia Court of Appeals affirming summary judgment in a class action case challenging a Georgia county’s employee retirement plan. The case involved a claim for over 100 million dollars in allegedly wrongfully denied pension benefits by a class of retired county government employees.

The case arose out of a transition of a county’s employee retirement plan from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan. As part of that transition, the county “froze” the benefits each employee had accrued under the pension plan for distribution when they retire. A putative class of county employees claimed that the county’s actions amounted to a termination of the pension plan without providing the due process the plan’s terms required. The trial court disagreed and entered summary judgment for the county. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the county did not terminate the plan by “freezing” the accrued benefits, and in any event, the version of the plan that governed at the time did not require individualized notice and hearing before termination.

 

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