In a class action lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, the plaintiffs asserted a number of claims against Roche and JCI.
Among other claims, the plaintiffs alleged that Roche and JCI entered into the outsourcing agreement in order to interfere with their rights to pension benefits in violation of ERISA Section 510. However, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Roche and JCI, holding that the plaintiffs had failed to prove a prima facie case of specific intent to interfere with pension benefits. The court further held that Roche had articulated legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons for its decisions, namely, technical and financial reasons; and that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that those reasons were a pretext for discrimination under ERISA Section 510. The plaintiffs appealed, and the Third Circuit reached a split decision in the case.