Viewpoints: Portfolio Company Pension Liabilities
On November 22, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (the “First Circuit”) reversed the 2016 decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (the “District Court”) in Sun Capital...more
The Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 ("MPPAA") amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") and the Internal Revenue Code to make "trade[s] or business[es]" that are under "common...more
New York partner Bradd Williamson, Global Chair of Latham’s Benefits, Compensation & Employment Practice, and Chicago partner Robin Struve discuss Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry...more
Key Points - The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed a lower court decision which held that two affiliated private equity funds with indirect ownership interests in the same portfolio company were liable for...more
On November 22, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that two separate private equity funds managed by the same general partner/management firm were not liable for the pension fund withdrawal...more
The recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the Sun Capital Partners case may allay some of the concerns that private-equity and other investment funds that acquire or invest in portfolio...more
First Circuit: Two affiliated funds did not form an implied partnership liable for pension obligations of a portfolio company, but private equity funds can still be subject to controlled group pension liability...more
On November 22, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund (1st Cir., No. 16-1376, Nov. 22, 2019) (“Sun Capital IV”)...more
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently reversed a prior decision of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, which had held that two private equity funds were trades or businesses in common...more
The First Circuit issued a decision holding that two private equity funds involved in a case are not required to pay for the withdrawal limit of a portfolio company. Despite the limited victory, the guiding rule with respect...more
In an important decision, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that two separate but related private equity funds – Sun Capital Partners III and Sun Capital Partners IV – are not jointly and severally liable...more
Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that two co-investing Sun Capital private equity funds (the Sun Funds) had not created an implied “partnership-in-fact” for purposes of determining whether...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a long-awaited decision with significant impact for the private equity industry, in Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund, the United States Court of...more
The First Circuit, however, disagreed with the lower court. Analyzing the multi-factor test for establishing partnership status under federal tax court precedent and noting the lack of other formal guidance from regulators or...more
Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund has been analyzed extensively over the past four years, as it has made its way from the US District Court for the District of...more
The recent opinion by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the Sun Capital Partners case may be troubling to private equity funds and...more
Non-Enforcement - Amendments to the Venture Capital Fund Adviser and Private Fund Adviser Exemptions - Last month the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a guidance update (Update) addressing recent...more
Editor's Overview - This month we feature three key developments. First, we review the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 136 S. Ct. 936, 947 (2016) wherein the Supreme Court held that a...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled on March 28, 2016 that two private equity funds were jointly and severally liable for the multiemployer pension plan withdrawal liability of their jointly-owned...more
On March 28, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (the District Court) delivered a controversial opinion in Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund...more
A group of related private equity (“PE”) funds were found liable for a bankrupt portfolio company’s pension plan debts in the latest and most worrisome decision in the long-running Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England...more
Previously, we wrote about the First Circuit decision that a private equity fund constituted a “trade or business” under ERISA as amended by the Multeimployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (“MPPAA”). That dry description is...more
On March 28, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that two private equity funds within Sun Capital were jointly and severally liable under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,...more
The latest decision in the series of Sun Capital cases was released on March 28, 2016, by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England Teamsters & Trucking Indus....more
On March 28, 2016, a district court in Massachusetts found two private equity funds (under the Sun Capital Partners, Inc. umbrella) jointly and severally liable for withdrawal liability imposed on one of its underlying...more