Illinois Federal Judge Rules For Pension Fund In Dispute Over Benefits Payments

Mealey's (November 23, 2016, 1:05 PM EST) -- CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on Nov. 21 granted defendants’ motions to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that a pension fund, its trustees and its lawyers conspired with each other to have the fund retain and convert the contributions made on a plaintiff’s behalf, saying that the plaintiff’s state law conversion claim is preempted by Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 514 and that his conspiracy claim is untenable in light of controlling precedent (John P. Cooney v. Trustees of the Will County Carpenters Local 174 Pension Fund, et al., No. 13-cv-8819, N.D. Ill.; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160603)....