Court OKs Class-Action Against Hughes

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to hear Hughes Electronics’ appeal to stop a $2-million class-action pension lawsuit from going to trial in Los Angeles, a lawyer said. In January, a three-judge panel ruled that the company could not use the assets from employee retirement plans for its own benefit or for workers who had not participated in it. Jerome Tauber, a lawyer for the Committee for Retiree Pension Rights, said the case will now go back to trial in Los Angeles. The suit by Hughes’ retirees alleges that the company took advantage of assets from discontinued plans for its own benefit.