Attorneys Rebelo, Pohl & Brennan Obtain Defense Wins in ERISA Putative Federal Class Action & Related Age Discrimination Case

On June 2, 2023, U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania) entered final judgments in favor of Burns White’s clients in two related cases—one brought as a putative class action for alleged violations of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and the other for alleged violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The complaints in both cases claimed that older employees were wrongfully terminated by the steel industry and railroad defendants as part of an alleged scheme to terminate pension-eligible employees. During proceedings that spanned more than three years, attorneys Mary-Jo Rebelo, Tom Pohl, and Courtney Brennan filed numerous motions to dismiss original and amended pleadings in the cases. Judge Hardy then heard oral argument from Tom Pohl and opposing counsel in both cases in March of 2023, and the ultimate result was that Burns White achieved dismissals with prejudice on all claims for all three of its clients in both cases.