A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denied CITGO Petroleum Corp.’s motion to appeal former employees’ class certification, setting the stage for a potential trial in November. The case, involving allegations that CITGO underpaid pension plans by $31 million, could see significant developments as a hearing to discuss a possible settlement is scheduled for later this week in the Northern District of Illinois.
Michelle C. Yau, chair of Cohen Milstein’s Employee Benefits/ERISA practice, highlighted the inefficiency of pausing the case for an interlocutory appeal at this stage. “It really doesn’t make any sense, in terms of judicial efficiency, to pause a case for an interlocutory appeal on a summary judgment motion when the trial is going to be completed this year,” Yau stated. “What they were asking for was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.”
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