Electric Cooperative ERISA Class Undone Under New 4th Cir. Law

A trade association representing local electric cooperatives convinced a federal judge to undo his recent class certification order in light of an intervening decision from the Fourth Circuit casting doubt on class certification under ERISA.

Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff on March 13 granted the association’s emergency motion to vacate his week-old decision certifying the case as a class action covering as many as 70,000 people. The association said the move was warranted because of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s March 10 opinion in Trauernicht v. Genworth Financial Inc., which made it harder for retirement plan ...