Molina 401(k) Redesign Appeal Prompts Nominal Damages Inquiry

Employees challenging a redesign of Molina Healthcare Inc.'s retirement plan might be entitled to nominal damages despite a trial court’s determination that they hadn’t shown losses, a Ninth Circuit judge suggested during Tuesday arguments.

Judge Danielle J. Forrest raised the issue of nominal damages—small monetary awards granted to plaintiffs who’ve had their rights violated without losing money—to all three attorneys presenting arguments in the class action over Molina’s retirement plan. Catalina Vergara, the O’Melveny & Myers LLP attorney who represented Flexpath Strategies LLC and NFP Retirement Inc., argued that nominal damages would be inappropriate because the employees didn’t specifically ...