Jacob Schutz is an associate in Cohen Milstein’s Employee Benefits/ERISA practice. He represents the interests of employees, retirees, plan participants and beneficiaries in ERISA class-action lawsuits across the country.
Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Jacob was an associate for several years at a highly regarded national plaintiffs’ law firm, where he represented clients in employee benefits/ERISA class actions.
In law school, Jacob was a notes and articles editor for the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law and a member of the Order of the Coif. He also published the note: Association Discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act: The Case of Dependent Healthcare Costs, 27 ABA J. Lab. & Emp. L. 485
- Minnesota
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2013
- University of Pennsylvania, B.A., summa cum laude, 2010
Current Cases
ACCT Holdings, Inc. ESOP Litigation
Tripp v. ACCT Holdings, Inc. (E.D. Pa.): Cohen Milstein represents employee participants in and beneficiaries of the ACCT Holdings, Inc. ESOP in an ERISA class action against the ESOP trustee, ACCT’s board of directors, and the former owners of company for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duties and participating in prohibited transactions, including selling ACCT common stock to the ESOP at the over inflated price of $320 million without doing adequate due diligence.
AMPAM Parks Mechanical ESOP Litigation
Ramirez, 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 certified 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.
GWA, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Litigation
Andrew-Berry, et al. v. Weiss (D. Conn.): Cohen Milstein represents participants in the GWA, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan who allege that GWA, LLC and George A. Weiss breached their fiduciary duties and misused employee retirement plan assets to further their own pecuniary interest, in violation of ERISA. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that 100% of the Plan’s investments (all of which are 401(k) assets) were and continue to be invested in “The Weiss Funds,” which includes the company’s flagship hedge fund named the “Weiss Multi-Strategy Partners Ltd.” and the company’s mutual fund named the “Weiss Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund,” which generally “replicates” the hedge fund’s strategy.
IBM Personal Pension Plan Litigation
Knight v. International Business Machines Corporation, et al. (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein represents participants and beneficiaries of the IBM Personal Pension Plan, who allege that the IBM Personal Pension Plan uses outdated mortality tables to determine the value of joint and survivor annuities, resulting in married retirees receiving less than the actuarial equivalent of the benefit that ERISA protects in violation of ERISA.
Litigio ESOP de Western Milling
Resumen de la Demanda Esta demanda, Zavala v. Kruse-Western Inc. et al., presentada en nombre de los participantes y beneficiarios del Plan de Propiedad de Acciones para Empleados de Western Milling (“ESOP”), alega numerosas violaciones de la Ley de Seguridad de los Ingresos de Jubilación de los Empleados Retirados (“ERISA”) en relación con la venta […]
Nationwide Savings Plan Litigation
Sweeney, et al. v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, et al. (D. Mass.): We represent participants and beneficiaries of the MassMutual Thrift Plan in a class action against Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance and other fiduciaries responsible for managing the MassMutual Thrift Plan, a defined contribution retirement plan. Plaintiffs allege that MassMutual and other fiduciaries engaged in self-dealing in violation of ERISA, cost its employees tens of millions of dollars in retirement savings.
Western Milling ESOP Litigation
Zavala v. Kruse-Western Inc. et al. (E.D. Cal.): We represent participants and beneficiaries of the Western Milling Employee Stock Ownership Plan, who allege that the ESOP’s trustees breached their fiduciary duties by engaging in risky investments in violation of ERISA, including purchasing 100% of Kruse-Western, Inc. company stock, which was valued at approximately 90% of the purchase price for several years after the ESOP Transaction.
Past Cases
New York Life Insurance Company 401(k) Litigation
Krohnengold v. New York Life Insurance Company (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein represented employees and agents of New York Life Insurance in this certified class action against New York Life for allegedly mismanaging its 401(k) and engaging in corporate self-dealing and the prohibited transfer of employees’ retirement assets. Plaintiffs claim that New York Life impermissibly invested participants investments into a Fixed Dollar Account by default and improperly favored and included its own in-house investment funds in its plans, thereby earning New York Life and its affiliates windfall profits. On July 18, 2024, the Court granted final approval of a $19 million settlement - approximately 25% of the alleged losses.
- Hennepin County Bar Foundation Fellow
March 20, 2025
2nd Circ. Appears Open to Restarting IBM Pension Fight
The Second Circuit on Thursday seemed to lean toward reviving a proposed class action alleging IBM shorted retirees on pension payments through the use of outdated mortality data, with two judges asking questions about possible summary judgment proceedings in the case. During arguments in the appeal from International Business Machines Corp. employee pension plan participants, […]
In the News | Law360
March 20, 2025
Plumbing Co. Workers Nab Class Status in ESOP Suit
Participants in a plumbing subcontractor's defunct employee stock ownership plan can proceed as a class in their lawsuit claiming the plan overpaid for company shares and later sold them at a deflated price, a California federal judge ruled, saying the workers leading the suit are adequate representatives.
In the News | Law360
September 27, 2024
Hedge Fund Inks $7.9M Deal In ERISA 401(k) Investment Suit
A Connecticut-based hedge fund that went bankrupt and owner George A. Weiss have agreed to pay $7.9 million to end an ex-worker’s suit alleging the company plowed its employees’ retirement savings into two substandard proprietary funds, according to filings Friday in Connecticut federal court. The proposed class of participants in a 401(k) plan for employees […]
In the News | Law360
August 28, 2024
DOL Backs IBM Retirees’ Bid To Revive Suit At 2nd Circ.
The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Second Circuit to revive a proposed class action alleging IBM shorted retirees on pension payments through the use of outdated mortality data, stating the lower court’s ruling tossing the case “flies in the face” of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. In an amicus brief filed Tuesday in support of […]
In the News | Law360
July 22, 2024
NY Life Workers’ $19M ERISA Deal Gets Final Approval
Current and former New York Life workers received final approval for a $19 million deal ending their lawsuit claiming the insurance giant kept inferior proprietary investment options in its employee 401(k) plans. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman signed off on the settlement agreement, overruling a single objection to the proposed class settlement. […]
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
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
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