PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP v. Laurent

Case Updates

In its brief, filed jointly with the American Benefits Council and Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber supported a cert. petition asking the Supreme Court to consider the latitude ERISA gives a plan to define “normal retirement age.”

A panel of the Second Circuit had rejected a plan's definition and held that “normal retirement age” must be based on the typical age at which the employer expects the plan’s participants would retire from working. However, as explained in the amicus brief, this approach ignores the plain text of ERISA – which authorizes plans to define “normal retirement age” without qualification. The brief further explained that the Second Circuit’s decision creates a circuit split that causes uncertainty for employers and reduces the flexibility that Congress intended to give employers in structuring ERISA plans.

Kannon K. Shanmugam, John S. Williams, and Jay R. Schweikert of Williams & Connolly LLP served as co-counsel for the amici.