Eleanor Frisch, an associate in Cohen Milstein’s Employee Benefits/ERISA practice, represents the interests of employees, retirees, plan participants and beneficiaries in ERISA class-action lawsuits across the country.
Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Eleanor spent several years at an appellate litigation boutique representing employees and consumers before the federal courts of appeals. Before that, they were an associate at a highly regarded national plaintiffs’ law firm, where they represented clients in employee benefits/ERISA, employment and consumer class actions.
Before entering private practice, Eleanor served as a law clerk to the Honorable Roger L. Wollman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Eleanor is one of the founding board members of the Minnesota Disability Bar Association. They have moderated or spoken on a number of panels about disabilities in the legal profession and are committed to promoting equity and accessibility for attorneys with disabilities.
Some of their legal publications include:
- Coauthor, Building a More Accessible Bar, Minnesota State Bar Association (Jan. 30, 2023), available at https://www.lexblog.com/2023/01/30/building-a-more-accessible-bar/.
- Coauthor, “The Fair Labor Standards Act,” ch. 2, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, The Complete Employment Lawyer’s Quick Answer Book (May 2017)
- State Sexual Harassment Definitions and Disaggregation of Sex Discrimination Claims, 98 Minn. L. Rev. 1943 (2014)
- Coauthor, The Canary Sings Again: New Life for the Minnesota Whistleblower Act, Bench & B. Minn. (Sept. 2013)
In law school, Eleanor was an executive board member of the Minnesota Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
- Minnesota Disability Bar Association – Board Member
- American Bar Association
- California
- Minnesota
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2104
- Trinity University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2008
Current Cases
AMPAM Parks Mechanical ESOP Litigation
Barrios, et al. v. AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc., et al. (S.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein represents employee participants and beneficiaries of the AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan in a class action lawsuit alleging that AMPAM Parks Mechanical and the founders of AMPAM, Buddy Parks, John D. Parks, James Parks, and Jason Parks breached their fiduciary duties in the management of the ESOP in violation of ERISA.
Envision Management Holding, Inc. ESOP Litigation
Envision Management Holding, Inc. ESOP Litigation (D. Col.): Cohen Milstein represents Envision Management Holding ESOP participants in a lawsuit in connection with the sale of Envision Management Holding, Inc. to the ESOP at an inflated price, which caused a multi-million-dollar loss to the ESOP.
MassMutual Thrift Plan Litigation
MassMutual Thrift Plan Litigation: On November 9, 2022, Cohen Milstein filed a class action against Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance and the fiduciaries responsible for managing the MassMutual Thrift Plan, a defined contribution retirement plan. Plaintiff, who is a participant in the MassMutual Thrift Plan, brings this this action on behalf of all of the Plan’s participants and beneficiaries and alleges that MassMutual and other fiduciaries managing the MassMutual Thrift Plan failed to act prudently and solely in the interest of the Plan participants and beneficiaries and instead engaged in self-dealing in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Nationwide Savings Plan Litigation
Nationwide Savings Plan Litigation (S.D. Ohio): Cohen Milstein represents participants in the Nationwide Savings Plan in a lawsuit, alleging that Nationwide improperly set its own compensation, earned impermissible profits at the expense of its employees, and exposed its employees’ retirement savings to undue risk.
New York Life Insurance Company 401(k) Litigation
New York Life 401(k) Plan Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein represents employees in a lawsuit against New York Life which alleges corporate self-dealing and the prohibited transfer of employees’ retirement assets to defendants at the expense of the retirement savings of New York Life employees and agents.
Southern Company Pension Plan Litigation
Southern Company Pension Plan Litigation (N.D. Ga.): Cohen Milstein represents participants and beneficiaries of the Southern Company Pension Plan, alleging that the Southern Company Pension Plan uses outdated mortality tables to determine the value of joint and survivor annuities and the amount it charges retirees for pre-retirement survivor annuities, resulting in married retirees receiving less than the actuarial equivalent of the benefit that ERISA protects.
Western Global Airlines ESOP Litigation
Western Global Airlines ESOP Litigation (D. Del.): Cohen Milstein represents employees in challenging the valuation of Western Global Airlines at approximately $1.3 billion, based on the sale of 37.5% of the company to the ESOP for $510 million. The lawsuit seeks to restore substantial losses to the ESOP and to disgorge all ill-gotten gains received by the Neff family.
May 6, 2024
Ellie Frisch Speaks on Disability and Women+ in Law
Ellie Frisch, an attorney in our Employee Benefits/ ERISA practice, joins a panel at the 2024 Race & Equity Series presented by the Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) & Ramsey County Bar Association (RCBA) Diversity Committee. The panel program is co-hosted by the Minnesota Disability Bar Association (MDisBA) and Minnesota Women Lawyers (MWL). The Zoom […]
Events | Hennepin County Bar Association & Ramsey County Bar Association
April 9, 2024
7th Circ. Allows Casino Workers to Appeal Class Cert. Denial
The Seventh Circuit granted Casino Queen workers’ request to immediately challenge a trial court’s refusal to certify a class in their suit alleging that company executives charged their employee stock ownership plan $170 million for shares that ended up being worthless. In an order Monday, a three-judge panel said it would hear a mid-suit appeal […]
In the News | Law360
March 29, 2024
Sweeping Class Certified In Nationwide Pension Plan Suit
More than 50,000 participants in a Nationwide pension plan can proceed as a class with claims that the company unlawfully transferred assets from the plan to a company subsidiary, as an Ohio federal judge ruled that questions about Nationwide’s conduct outweigh differences among participants. In an order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison […]
In the News | Law360
February 26, 2024
New York Life To Pay $19M To Settle Retirement Plan Suit
Current and former New York Life Insurance workers asked a federal court Monday to approve a $19 million deal in a proposed class action alleging the insurance giant unlawfully kept underperforming proprietary investment options in two employee retirement plans. Plan participants leading the Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit said in a motion for preliminary […]
In the News | Law360
January 23, 2024
New York Life Strikes Deal To End Workers’ 401(k) Suit
New York Life Insurance Co. and thousands of current and former insurance company workers told a New York federal court Monday that they had struck a deal to settle a case alleging mismanagement of the employees’ 401(k) retirement plan. Parties to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit said in a joint letter to the […]
In the News | Law360
January 5, 2024
Cohen Milstein Presenta una Demanda Colectiva de ERISA Contra AMPAM Parks Mechanical por Enriquecer a los Propietarios a Expensas del Plan de Jubilación de Los Empleados
El principal subcontratista de plomería multifamiliar de diseño y construcción de California presuntamente traicionó a sus empleados en una transacción ilegal de ESOP de $247 millones Washington, DC – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, una firma de abogados de demandantes de primer nivel, presentó una demanda colectiva en nombre de los empleados y participantes […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
January 5, 2024
Cohen Milstein Files ERISA Class Action Against AMPAM Parks Mechanical for Enriching Owners at Expense of Employee Retirement Plan
California’s top design-build multifamily plumbing subcontractor allegedly sells out employees in illegal $247 million ESOP transaction Washington, DC – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a premier plaintiffs’ law firm, filed a class action on behalf of employees and participants of the AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The lawsuit is against […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
November 15, 2023
Ellie Frisch to Speak on Navigating a Disability Diagnosis in Law School or Practice
Eleanor Frisch has been invited to speak on a panel of legal professionals who received disability diagnoses during law school or during their legal practice and how they managed this journey during busy professional times.
Events | Minnesota Disability Bar Association
June 27, 2023
New York Life Workers Seek Class Nod In 401(k) Suit
A group of current and former New York Life Insurance Co. workers asked for class status in their New York federal court lawsuit alleging the insurance giant retained underperforming proprietary investment funds in two retirement plans, arguing that their claims can be litigated in one fell swoop. The employees said Monday that their Employee Retirement […]
In the News | Law360
March 9, 2023
ESOP Managers Can’t Force Airline Workers to Arbitrate Suit
A cargo airline’s owners and the caretakers of its employee stock ownership plan must face an Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuit in Delaware federal court, a judge ruled Wednesday, throwing out their bid to arbitrate workers’ claims that the defendants mismanaged the transaction that created the ESOP. In a two-page order, U.S. District Judge […]
In the News | Law360
February 2, 2023
Cohen Milstein Announces Expansion into Boston and Minneapolis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Media Contact: cohenmilstein@berlinrosen.com WASHINGTON, DC – Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs’ law firms, has announced its expansion into Massachusetts and Minnesota with the opening of offices in Boston and Minneapolis. This expansion allows the firm to further serve client needs across practices and act as […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
January 27, 2023
ESOP’s Arbitration Clause Conflicts With ERISA, Judge Says
A Delaware federal magistrate judge recommended tossing a bid by a cargo airline’s owners to arbitrate a suit claiming they sold overvalued shares of the company to an employee stock ownership plan, finding the plan’s arbitration provision conflicts with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Hall said Wednesday that while […]
In the News | Law360
November 10, 2022
“MassMutual Sued Over In-House Funds, Services in Worker 401(k)”
COURT: D. Mass. TRACK DOCKET: No. 3:22-cv-30147 JUDGE: Mark. G. Mastroianni COMPANY INFO: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. cost its employees tens of millions of dollars in retirement savings by using its own proprietary funds and recordkeeping services in their $4.1 billion retirement plan, according to a former employee’s federal […]
In the News | Bloomberg Law