Scalia v. WPN Corp., et al.

Analysis Group Co-Founder Bruce Stangle was retained by Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr on behalf of a pension plan committee and its members (the committee), among the defendants in an ERISA suit brought by the US Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL alleged that the committee had breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA by failing to monitor the management of pension funds by an investment manager, causing the funds to lose value between November 2008 and May 2009.

Supported by an Analysis Group team that included Principal Laura Comstock and Vice President Yao Lu, Dr. Stangle filed an expert report and gave deposition testimony rebutting the contentions of the DOL’s expert. In his report, Dr. Stangle opined that the committee had acted in accordance with both industry custom and ERISA’s monitoring requirements in its oversight of the investment manager.

Both sides moved for summary judgment. Judge Nora Barry Fischer of the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania granted summary judgment to the committee, holding that there was no evidence that the committee had breached its duty to monitor. In her opinion, Judge Fischer noted that “had this case gone to trial, this Court would likely give greater weight to Dr. Stangle’s opinion.”