Winston & Strawn Secures Victory for Abbott Laboratories

Winston & Strawn secured a complete victory for Abbott Laboratories in a class action involving 8,000 members who claimed a right to over $350 million in lost employee benefits. The plaintiffs alleged that Abbott violated ERISA by spinning off its largest division to form a new $7 billion company, Hospira, allegedly for the purpose of interfering with employee benefits.

After an eight-day bench trial, featuring testimony from Abbott's most senior officers, including its CEO, CFO, and Global Head of Human Resources, Judge Robert Gettleman ruled in Abbott's favor on every claim and every issue. He emphasized that Abbott's executives were "highly credible, internally consistent and amply corroborated by the unquestionably authentic documentary evidence."

Joe Torres, a partner in the firm's Chicago office, tried the case on behalf Abbott and led a team consisting of partners Derek Sarafa and Cardelle Spangler.