Renaker Scott LLP and co-counsel Kantor & Kantor LLP represent two retirees of Northrop Grumman Corporation in litigation regarding the miscalculation of their pension benefits. The plaintiffs allege that during their employment, they were repeatedly misinformed about the monthly pension amount they would receive upon retirement – and they did receive the miscalculated amount for a time following their retirements. However, after they had retired, their pensions were recalculated and reduced by more than half when an error in the final average earnings used to calculate their pensions was uncovered.
Originally filed in 2018, the lawsuit has since split into two cases, one in state court and one in federal court. In the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County, the plaintiffs are pursuing state-law claims for professional negligence and negligent misrepresentation against Alight Solutions LLC, which was the outside administrator for Northrop Grumman’s pension plans from 2006 to at least April 2017. In the state court case, the plaintiffs seek damages they suffered when their pensions were reduced following years of misinformation.
In the federal suit, the plaintiffs are currently pursuing an appeal in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from dismissal of a claim for violation of disclosure requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. This claim is based on the erroneous pension statements provided to the plaintiffs during their employment. The defendant on this claim is the Administrative Committee of the Northrop Grumman Pension Plan. In the federal case, the plaintiffs seek equitable relief and statutory penalties.
In both the state and federal cases, the plaintiffs seek class action status, meaning that they intend to ask the courts to allow them to proceed on behalf of similarly situated individuals – that is, Northrop pension plan participants whose benefits were overstated and then recalculated. Neither the federal nor the state court has yet decided whether to allow the case to proceed as a class action.
To read the state court complaint, click here.
To read the state court’s order denying Alight Solutions’ motion to dismiss the state court complaint, click here.
To read the plaintiffs’ opening brief in the federal appeal, click here.
For more information about the Northrop pension litigation, please contact Teresa Renaker, teresa@renakerscott.com, or Kirsten Scott, kirsten@renakerscott.com.