September 29, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Firm to file class action E.R.I.S.A. lawsuit to hold Pinnacle West and fiduciaries accountable
Washington, DC – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a premier plaintiffs’ class action law firm, is investigating the Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Retirement Plan in anticipation of a potential class action lawsuit. The investigation concerns whether the pension plan is shortchanging married retirees (and their surviving spouses) in violation of the actuarial equivalence requirements of a federal law—the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Retirees of Pinnacle West subsidiaries Arizona Public Service Company and Bright Canyon Energy may be affected.
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Retirement Plan’s filings with the Department of Labor appear to reflect the plan’s use of mortality tables from 1971.
Cohen Milstein currently represents married retirees in five other class action lawsuits actions alleging that large corporations are illegally shortchanging married retirees (and their surviving spouses) in their monthly pension checks, including against IBM, AT&T, CITGO Petroleum, and Luxottica.
“We are educating retirees that numerous federal courts have confirmed that ERISA requires married retirees to get the same value for their pensions as unmarried retirees. The lawsuits we have filed challenge the practice of shortchanging married retirees on their monthly pension checks.” said Michelle Yau, chair of Cohen Milstein’s Employee Benefits/ERISA practice. To read more about ERISA’s actuarial equivalence requirements, see “Is Your Retirement Plan Imposing a Marriage Penalty? What You Need to Know.”
Impacted Individuals: Cohen Milstein is actively speaking to married retirees (or their surviving spouses) from Pinnacle West, Arizona Public Service, or Bright Canyon Energy who retired on or after October 1, 2016.
Next Steps: If Pinnacle West, Arizona Public Service, or Bright Canyon Energy retirees (or surviving spouses) believe they are a potentially impacted individual, they should contact their legal counsel or contact: Michelle C. Yau, Partner (email) or at 202.408.4600.
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is a premier class action law firm, handling high-profile and often precedent-setting cases on behalf of plaintiffs. We have more than 100 attorneys practicing out of six offices across the United States. In 2020 and 2021, Cohen Milstein was named Law360’s “Employee Benefits/ERISA Practice Group of the Year.”
Michelle C. Yau, chair of the Cohen Milstein’s Employee Benefits/ERISA practice is licensed to practice in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. Her practice is limited to federal legal matters, such as the federal pension laws that pertain to the Pinnacle West Plan. Ms. Yau’s experience of protecting retirement assets and insight into complex financial transactions and actuarial issues is informed by her Wall Street and Department of Labor experience. In 2021, she was named Law360’s “Employee Benefits MVP – Benefits.”
For additional information, please visit https://www.cohenmilstein.com or call (202) 408-4600.
Contact:
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
1100 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20005
Telephone: 888-240-0775 (Toll Free) or 202-408-4600
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