A federal appeals court in Manhattan has ordered a trial judge to reconsider his certification of a class and his approval of a $42.5 million settlement agreement in an action brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
A unanimous panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Central States Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare Fund v. Merck-Medco Managed Care, 04-3330, remanded the case to Southern District of New York Judge Charles L. Brieant, ordering him to certify a subclass of plaintiffs and to make any “necessary findings and an explanation” in support of the settlement allocation.
