ERISA Litigation

Stein v. Smith (Stone & Webster, Inc. ERISA Litigation)

Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP represented plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and of the Employee Investment Plan of Stone & Webster, Incorporated and Participating Subsidiaries, and of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan of Stone & Webster, Incorporated and Participating Subsidiaries, and on behalf of the participants of the Plans pursuant to Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") to recover damages suffered by Stone & Webster employee retirement plans for breach of fiduciary duty by certain former officers and directors of Stone & Webster who were fiduciaries of the plans. The case was successful settled for $8 million and approved by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Jaggard v. Aetna Life Ins. Co.:

Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP successfully litigated a class action under ERISA relating to Aetna's improper denial of health insurance benefits in refusing to cover medical expenses arising from the non-hospital use of a continuous passive motion machine prescribed by the plaintiff's and class members' health care professionals to treat knee injuries. After six years of litigation, Shapiro Haber & Urmy settled the action and obtained 56% of the amount of each claim for benefits for members of the settlement class.

Michniewich v. Digital Equipment Corp.

Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP litigated a class action under ERISA against Digital Equipment Corporation arising out of Digital's decision to refund surplus life insurance premiums to current company employees instead of the former company employees. We represented a class of former Digital Equipment employees who were participants in the life insurance plan, who maintained that Digital Equipment had discriminated against its former employees who had paid excessive premiums under the life insurance plan. Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP successfully settled the case for $4 million.