DuPont/Corteva Early Retirement Case
Case Overview
Plaintiffs Robert F. Cockerill, Oliver Major and Darrell Benson brought this action pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) seeking relief for themselves and on behalf of two classes of participants and their beneficiaries in the DuPont Pension and Retirement Plan (the “Plan”), one of the oldest defined benefit pension plans in the country.
The suit was filed in 2021 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania after the Plaintiffs were improperly deprived of certain early retirement benefits and optional retirement benefits expressly contemplated by the Plan and on which Plaintiffs and the class members counted for many years. The 217-year-old E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company underwent a merger with Dow, and then completed a corporate spinoff and related transactions, which resulted in the plaintiffs’ loss of benefits – in violation of ERISA and the terms of the Plan.
Retirement benefits attorneys at Kantor & Kantor LLP, with co-counsel Edward Stone Law P.C. and Feinberg, Jackson, Worthman & Wasow LLP, represent the plaintiffs in this class action.
Case NameThe case name is Cockerill v. Corteva, Inc., No. 21-3966, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Status of the Litigation
On November 17, 2023, the Court granted class certification for two classes, an Early Retirement Class, which includes DuPont employees who had 15 years of employment with the historic DuPont company, and who were under age 50 at the time of the spin-off and an Optional Retirement Class, which includes employees with 15 years of employment who were over age 50 at the spin-off. Class notices with the exact Class definitions were mailed and emailed to identified Class members beginning Friday, June 10, 2024.
In June and December, 2024, a six-day bench trial was held in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
On December 18, 2024, the Court issued findings of facts and conclusions of law. Click here to review the Court’s ruling on liability. The Court found in favor of the Plaintiffs in both the Early and Optional Retirement Classes with respect to most of the claims asserted.
The Court held further hearings in April and May of 2025, with respect to appropriate remedies for the Classes. On May 27, 2025, the Court ruled on most of the outstanding disputes about remedies in the case, and on May 30, 2025, the Court issued its final judgment in favor of the plaintiffs and class members. Special Master Richard Bazelon has been appointed by the Court and tasked with conferring with counsel for both parties and working to ensure the “prompt and effective implementation” of the Court’s Order.
On June 25, 2025, Defendants filed a motion for stay of enforcement of the Court’s final judgment, pending appeal. On July 11, 2025, the Court issued a memorandum on Defendants’ motion, writing a thirteen page opinion outlining his reasoning for denying Defendants’ requested stay.
Defendants appealed the trial judge’s decisions to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That appeal is pending.
On July 15, 2025, Defendants filed a second motion to stay enforcement of the Final Judgment while the appeal is pending, asking the Third Circuit to overrule the district court’s denial of a stay. On July 17, 2025, the Third Circuit denied Defendants’ motion to stay.
As of July 21, 2025, the parties have been ordered to propose protocols, including timelines, for implementation of the Court’s order, including preparing a required amendment to the Plan and preparing and sending to Class members other notices, communications and election forms for implementing the Court’s Final Judgment and remedies. We will update this site as implementation progresses.
Deadline for Class Members Has Expired
On December 18, 2025, Plaintiffs’ counsel sent Notice of Final Judgment for the Optional and Early Retirement Class Members. Class Members had until April 17, 2026 to make an election pursuant to the Notice. On March 9, 2026, Plaintiffs’ counsel sent a Notice of Clarification to the Early Retirement Class Members. As described in the Notice, the deadline for Early Retirement Class Members to make an election was extended through May 1, 2026.
The deadline has now passed for making an election for retroactive benefits, and to elect a future benefit commencement date for Early Retirement.
If you are eligible for Optional Retirement as a result of this lawsuit, you can still make an election at any time in the future.
Status of the Appeal
Defendants (Appellants) filed their opening brief to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on November 4, 2025. A copy of Defendants’ brief is available here.
Plaintiffs (Appellees) filed their response brief on January 2, 2026. A copy of the brief is available here.
Defendants filed their reply brief on March 3, 2026. The appeal is now fully briefed. We are waiting for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to set the date for oral arguments.
- Read the Court’s decision granting the Plaintiffs’ class certification motion
- Read the Court’s Memorandum of Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Regarding Liability
- Read the Court’s Order Re: the Parties Dispute Over Remedies
- Read the Court’s Final Judgment in this Case
- Read the Court’s Memorandum Denying Defendant’s Motion to Stay Implementation of the Judgment
This case will be updated to reflect important developments in the case.
