Northrop’s Rehearing Bid in Pension Class Suit Eyed by 9th Cir.

The Ninth Circuit signaled potential willingness to rethink its decision reviving litigation over Northrop Grumman Corp.'s pension calculations, when it ordered retirees to respond to the aerospace company petition for rehearing.

Northrop wants the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to rethink its August opinion allowing retirees of certain predecessor companies to press fiduciary breach claims and holding that they were entitled to a guaranteed minimum pension benefit. The retirees must respond to the company’s petition within three weeks, the appeals court said Wednesday.

According to Northrop, the Ninth Circuit’s decision rests on “fundamental errors” that require correction, ...