Lord Abbett Mutual Funds Fee Litigation

This important decision set significant precedent regarding the scope of preemption under the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 (“SLUSA”). In reversing the District Court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims, the Third Circuit held that “SLUSA does not mandate dismissal of an action in its entirety where the action includes only some pre-empted claims.” Under this holding, “any valid federal claims pled in the same action – claims that, if brought independently, would clearly fall outside of SLUSA’s pre-emptive scope – need not also be dismissed.”