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Big Win For ERISA Plaintiffs

By Shannon P. Duffy
November 30, 2005

In an important win for plaintiffs in ERISA cases, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the “doctrine of ratification” cannot be used to justify retroactive application of a change to a pension plan if it would have the effect of reducing a worker's accrued benefits.

In its 10-page opinion in Depenbrock v. CIGNA Corp., a unanimous three-judge panel reversed Senior U.S. District Judge Robert F. Kelly's dismissal of claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) after finding that Kelly's reliance on the doctrine of ratification “is misplaced because ratification would effect a retroactive reduction of [the plaintiff's] accrued benefits.”

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