Hagens Berman managing partner Steve Berman today applauded the United States Supreme Court’s 8-0 decision in a case against CIGNA (NYSE:CI) in which pension plan participants claimed CIGNA’s explanation of its cash balance retirement plan was incomplete and misleading, resulting in losses for the participants.

According to Berman, the court’s decision will strengthen his firm’s ability to represent pension plan participants who have been harmed as a result of negligence, fraud or misrepresentations of the plan. The firm is investigating companies that converted from pension plans to cash balance plans. If you have information regarding a cash balance plan conversion please click here to contact attorneys investigating these issues.

“This case is a significant victory for employees who have little say when employers modify retirement plans, often to the detriment of the workers,” said Berman. “The court’s decision will help protect future retirees’ right to legal redress if their benefits are curtailed, denied or amended.“

The majority opinion, written by Justice Stephen Breyer, found that CIGNA misrepresented the true effect of switching from a defined-benefit plan to a cash-balance plan. As a result, CIGNA saved $10 million annually, but failed to disclose that the risk of falling interest rates was shifted to employees, and employees that retired early received a substantially reduced retirement benefit. The court ruled that relief, including monetary compensation, could be authorized for plan participants who were harmed by the conversion.

Hagens Berman has extensive experience in pension protection cases, which are governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. This experience includes an appointment as co-lead counsel in the groundbreaking Enron ERISA litigation, which ended in a $220 million settlement for former Enron employees, the largest ERISA settlement to date.

The firm has been recognized for its innovative approach to ERISA cases, pioneering legal strategies and alternative legal approaches to increase the chances of recovery.

Berman noted the importance of hiring experienced legal counsel when pursuing an ERISA claim: “These cases are complex and require highly specialized legal counsel,” said Berman. “Individuals who believe their employer may have misrepresented or denied benefits under a retirement plan should take care to hire legal counsel with a proven track record in this area of the law.”

In addition to the firm’s ERISA experience, Hagens Berman has an agile and proven securities practice. The firm recently obtained record settlements in two securities cases, including litigation against Charles Schwab & Co., which resulted in a $235 million settlement for investors, and a case against OppehheimerFunds that settled for over $100 million. According to industry analysts, both cases are among the top six settlements in subprime and credit-crisis related securities litigation.