NetApp Must Face Retired Executive’s Lawsuit Over Benefit Cuts

NetApp Inc. must face a retired executive’s claim that it breached its fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act when it terminated his health benefits, the Ninth Circuit said Monday.

Former NetApp Chief Executive Officer Daniel Warmenhoven said that before he retired he saw company PowerPoints that said NetApp would pay the health benefits of its retired executives for life. NetApp also filed Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure statements saying the same thing, he said.

Warmenhoven sued when NetApp ended the benefit plan in 2019. NetApp said that it could terminate the plan at any time because the ...