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DuPont/Corteva Early Retirement Case

Case Overview

This class-action ERISA lawsuit challenges the elimination or reduction of early retirement benefits around which many employees of the Dupont company planned their careers following the spin-off by Dupont of a former subsidiary, Corteva Agriscience. The suit was filed in 2021 by two such employees, Robert F. Cockerill and Christopher W. Newton, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and was later joined by Oliver Major and Darrell Benson.

Retirement benefits attorneys at Kantor & Kantor, with co-counsel Edward Stone Law, P.C. and Feinberg Jackson, filed suit on behalf of Mr. Cockerill, Mr. Newton, Mr. Major and Mr. Benson and a class of similarly situated employees, asserting claims for early and optional retirement benefits as well as claims for fiduciary breach and other violations of ERISA and, alternatively, for violation of state law, based on the Defendants’ self-serving and erroneous interpretation of plan terms and their broken promises.

Case Name

The case name is Cockerill v. Corteva, Inc., No. 21-3966, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Status of the Litigation

On August 4, 2022, the district court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, holding that plaintiffs are entitled to discovery on their claims.  In July 2023, Plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint and Defendants moved to dismiss the second amended complaint. The Court denied Defendants’ motion on September 1, 2023.

This case will be updated to reflect important developments in the case.

Recent Trial Verdicts

Recent Trial Verdicts

Kantor & Kantor obtained successful outcomes for our clients who had the following disabling conditions:

Fibromyalgia and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

Hartford had denied the claim, stating that our client’s cognitive deficits were manufactured and that she could perform her own occupation, which required engineer-type skills. Among other things, Hartford relied upon a doctor who did not believe in the disabling potential of Fibromyalgia. In its decision for our client, the Court stated that Hartford’s medical evidence was not credible because its physician did not accept Fibromyalgia as a potentially disabling condition.

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Photo: Fibromyalgia

Orthopedic Back Injury/Arthritis

Our client suffered from a degenerative back condition, which made it difficult for her to sit for long periods of time. Cigna denied the claim, forcing our client to litigate to obtain the benefits to which she deserved. The Court found in favor of our client, holding that Cigna’s physicians engaged in a selective review of the medical records. An insurance carrier is required to consider all of the evidence; not just that which favors its financial interests.

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Photo: Arthritis

Seizure Disorder

Hartford improperly terminated our client’s benefits, after he had been on claim for almost 20 years, while still suffering from breakthrough convulsions. The Court held that the isolated evidence that Hartford relied upon to support its claim termination was insufficient to support its contrary conclusion.

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Photo: Seizures