Retirement Heist: how companies plunder and profit from the nest eggs of American workers

175 “We will file in federal court against you bastards”: ACF Industries v. Chapman, 4:03CV1765 HEA, reported decision at 2004 U.S. Dist. Lexis 27245 (E.D. Mo. 2004), related to Chapman v. ACF Indus., 3:04-0062, 430 F. Supp. 2d 570 (D. W. Va. 2006).

CHAPTER 11: IN DENIAL

177 but the company denied his claim: Brief of Amici Curiae, National Black Lung Association and Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Inc., Lawyer Disciplinary Board v. Douglas A. Smoot, Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, No. 34724.

180 protected by steel fences: Ken Ward Jr., “The Dark Lord of Coal Country,” Rolling Stone, November 30, 2010.

180 And he gets to keep a 1965 blue Chevrolet truck: Compensation details from the company proxy statement.

182 “I took every play like it was my last play”: Author interview.

183 Focusing on the word “a,” the arbitrator said: Victor A. Washington v. Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan, et al., Nos. 05-16366, 05-16533, 05-16845 (U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2007).

185 only ninety . . . former pro players covered by the NFL disability plan: Ellen E. Schultz, “A Hobbled Star Battles the NFL: Doctors Say Football Left Victor Washington ‘Totally Disabled.’ Two Decades Later, the League Still Disagrees,” The Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2005.

186 “Injuries may not put you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life”: Author interview with Randy Beisler.

186 Mike Webster had been a center on the offensive line: Sunny Jani, as Administrator of the Estate of Michael L. Webster, deceased, v. Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan, et al., No. 1:04-cv-01606-WDQ U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 2005.

188 Douglas Ell, who has handled—and won: Author interview with Douglas Ell.

189 The NFL paid Groom Law Group $2.9 million: IRS Form 5500.

190 Delvin Williams, a former 49ers and Miami Dolphins running back: Author interview with Delvin Williams.

191 As a teenager in France, he had joined the partisans: Author interview with Loewy.

191 Instead of an answer, the next month the administrator sent: Fred Loewy et al. v. Motorola, Inc. Pension Plan et al., No. CV 03-2284 (District of Arizona, 2004).

CHAPTER 12: EPITAPH

198 happy dance: Homage to Gail Collins.

198 companies maintained they could receive the subsidy: Ellen E. Schultz and Theo Francis, “U.S. Drug Subsidy Benefits Employers,” The Wall Street Journal, January 4, 2004.

204 shift the risk to the PBGC: For a detailed look at the most prominent instances of companies passing the buck to the PBGC, see Fran Hawthorn, Pension Dumping: The Reasons, the Wreckage, the Stakes for Wall Street (New York: Bloomberg, 2008), and articles by Mary Williams Walsh of The New York Times, who has also provided extensive coverage of the fate of pension plans in bankruptcies, particularly at automakers and airlines.