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© 2012 Dorsey & Whitney LLP

  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2010-2012

  • Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 1983), magna cum laude, 1983
    Managing Editor, Georgetown Law Journal, 1982-1983
  • College of the Holy Cross (A.B., Economics, 1980), magna cum laude
    Phi Beta Kappa
    Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society

  • Honorable Myron H. Bright, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1983-1984

  • Minnesota
  • Wisconsin

Stephen P. Lucke

Partner
Minneapolis
P: (612) 343-7947
F: (952) 516-5643
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Co-Chair, Minneapolis Trial Group; co-Chair, ERISA Litigation Practice Group. Partner 1991-present; associate 1984-1990. Represents businesses, employers, insurers, and fiduciaries in ERISA , consumer law, intellectual property, insurance coverage, and commercial litigation matters.

Representative Litigation

  • Represented employers, officers, and directors against claims alleging fiduciary violations in allowing plan participants to invest 401(k) accounts in company stock that experienced significant decline in price. See In Re ADC Telecommunications ERISA Litigation, 2005 WL 2250782 (D. Minn. September 15, 2005) (denying plaintiff's motion for class certification with respect to adequacy and typicality, as well as denying plaintiff's extensive discovery requests). Recently obtained judgment affirming dismissal of similar class action claims against officers and directors of Northwest Airlines, see Hastings v. Gary Wilson, et al., 516 F.3d 1055 (8th Cir. 2008), and currently representing defendants in Morrison v. MoneyGram International, Inc., and Rodriquez v. Wells Fargo Company, class actions alleging similar claims.
  • Obtained summary judgment dismissing class action claims alleging age discrimination in the design of collectively-bargained retirement plan. Mitchell-White v. Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, 2011 WL 671630 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 24, 2011). Mitchell-White v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 2011 WL 671630 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 24, 2011) aff'd No. 11-1294 (2nd Cir. 2011) (summary order).
  • Represented NCS Pearson against claims brought on behalf of a putative class of students who took the 2005 SAT alleging consumer law and other violations in the scanning and rescoring of exams. Russo v. NCS Pearson and the College Board, 462 F. Supp. 2d 981 (D. Minn. 2006).
  • Represented numerous parties on claims to recover plan assets and damages against service providers, insurers, investment managers, borrowers, and other parties, including in 3M Employees' Benefit Trust Ass'n v. Connecticut General Life Ins. Co., 2003 WL 124027 (D. Minn.).
  • Obtained summary judgment against defendant class of 2,500 airline pilots declaring that post-bankruptcy Target Benefit Plan was not age discriminatory under the ADEA, ERISA, or state laws. See Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Phillips, 2009 WL 161821 (D. Minn. Jan. 26, 2009).
  • Represented sponsor of tax qualified plan alleged to have invested proprietary funds that charge excessive fees and generate poor returns; case transferred, class representative dismissed for lack of standing; summary judgment on prohibited transaction claim granted; and plaintiff’s request for mandatory class denied. Gipson v. Wells Fargo Company, 563 F. Supp. 2d 149 (D.D.C. 2008) and Figas v. Wells Fargo & Co., No. 08-cv-4546, (D. Minn. April 6, 2010) (Memorandum and Order).
  • Obtained judgments in favor of state insurance guaranty funds in disputes involving claims and assessments, Wisconsin Insurance Security Fund v. Wisconsin Reinsurance Corporation, 704 N.W. 2d 44 (Wis. App. 2005); Minnesota Insurance Guaranty Association 697 N.W. 2d 223 (Minn. App. 2005).
  • Currently defending employer against class action lawsuit challenging "smoker's exclusion" from health plan, and obtained order compelling arbitration of the dispute. See Franke v. Poly-America Medical and Dental Plan, 2009 WL 260519 (8th Cir. Feb. 5, 2009).
  • Obtained summary judgment and denial of class certification on behalf of fiduciaries in nationwide class action seeking interest on payments of benefits under welfare plan. Jackson v. Fortis Benefits Insurance Company, 105 F. Supp. 1055 (D. Minn. 2000).
  • Represented employer and fiduciaries in defense against nationwide class action brought by over 10,000 workers classified as independent contractors seeking reclassification as employees and inclusion in ERISA benefit plans and other damages. Lambert v. American Express, Civ. No. 99-CV-493 (D. Minn.).
  • Defended the trustees of the Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund against claims by the sponsors and a class of participants, alleging that investments in junk bonds and other speculative ventures caused the fund over $100 million in losses.
  • Represented various insurers and businesses in responding to civil investigation demands and administrative subpoenas.
  • Obtained summary judgment for major bank and fiduciaries on fiduciary, discrimination, and RICO claims brought by 67 former employees, who alleged that a series of complex corporate transactions and downsizing decisions entitled them to over $50 million in severance pay and other damages. Allard v. First Bank System, Inc., Civ. No. 3-95-1157 (D. Minn. 1996).
  • Obtained dismissal of claims that employer violated age discrimination prohibitions in design of pension plan. Mahoney v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 2004 WL 114946 (D. Minn.).
  • Prevailed in trial on behalf of municipality in statutory claim involving handgun regulations.
  • Represented various contractors and public authorities in bid protests and other disputes regarding public contracts.
  • Represented numerous employers and insurance companies defending against claims for retirement, life, health, severance, and disability benefits, including claims alleging fiduciary violations, with published decisions including Kondratowicz v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 2011 WL 1059109 (6th Cir. March 23, 2011); Anderson v. U.S. Bancorp, 484 F.3d 1027 (8th Cir. 2007); Johnson v. U.S. Bancorp, 424 F.3d 734 (8th Cir. 2004); Sweeno v. Liberty Life Assurance Co., 2003 WL 1572006 (D. Minn. March 10, 2003).

Presentations

  • Retirement Plan Litigation: Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead, Midwest Pension Conference (March 2011). See presentation material here.
  • Fiduciary Exposure: Is the Landscape Changing, Professional Liability Underwriter's Society (PLUS) Symposium, Atlanta, Georgia (May 2008).
  • 401(k) Fees: Risks and Steps to Reduce Exposure, Minneapolis Pension Council (November 2007).
  • Understanding and Avoiding 401(k) Employer Stock Claims, Midwest Pension Conference (September 2006).
  • The Defendants' View of Contingent Worker Benefits Litigation, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education (April 2000)

Professional Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association (Section of Labor and Employment, Subcommittee on Employee Benefits), Minnesota State Bar Association and Hennepin County Bar Association
  • Board President, officer and director of various community, non-profit and bar organizations

Attorney Articles

October 19, 2011
Second Circuit Decision Favors Fiduciaries in 401(k) Company Stock Cases
April 14, 2011
George v. Kraft Foods
December 13, 2010
Constitutional Challenges To Health Care Reform Gain Traction With Courts
2008 Supplement
Contributing Author, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, Employee Benefits Committee, Employee Benefits Law, 2nd Ed. (Jane Kheel Stanley Ed. in Chief, American Bar Association)
June 2002
Employment Law Update
Spring 2001
"What Employee Benefits Practitioners Need to Know About the New EEOC Enforcement Guidance," Journal of Pension Planning and Compliance Vol. 27, No. 2, at 41
November 1992
"Hurdles for MnCare," (outlining ERISA preemption and other legal issues facing state health care reform legislation) Minnesota Medicine

News & Press Mentions

October 23, 2008
Comments on New Strategies in ERISA Actions
November 1992
"Hurdles for MnCare," (outlining ERISA preemption and other legal issues facing state health care reform legislation) Minnesota Medicine