Joel R. Hurt has substantial experience litigating class action cases in federal and state courts, including, in particular, pension plan, medical benefits and insurance cases.  Prior to joining Stember Feinstein Doyle Payne & Kravec, LLC in 2007, Joel was an attorney with Malakoff Doyle & Finberg, P.C., which was one of several firms that pioneered the pursuit of class action suits on behalf of employees who lost retirement savings due to the imprudent investment of 401(k) plan and ESOP assets in employer stock. 

Joel has served as class counsel or played a major role in a number of cases securing multimillion recoveries for participants in defined contribution pension plans, including Kling v. Fidelity Management Trust Co., Case 01-11939 (D.Mass.)  ($10.85 million recovery in case for breach of fiduciary duty related to continued investment in employer stock in 401(k) plan); In re: CMS ERISA Litigation, Master File  02-72834 (E.D.Mich) ($28 million settlement of fiduciary breach case involving employer stock in 401(k) plan/ESOP); In re McKesson HBOC, Inc. ERISA Litigation, Master File  C00-20030 RMW (N.D.Cal.) ($18.2 million settlement of fiduciary breach case involving employer stock in 401(k) plan).   

Joel has also been actively involved in pursuing ERISA claims involving the interpretation of group medical benefits plans.  See, e.g., Kennedy, et al. v. United Healthcare of Ohio, Inc., Case  C2-98-128 (S.D.Ohio) ($1.95 million recovery in case challenging allocation of co-payments by medical benefits administrator/insurer).  Likewise he has played a major role in the prosecuting insurance class actions under state law.  See, e.g., Pogel v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., G.D. 97-17582 (C.P. Allegheny) ($2.6 million recovery for a class of State Farm insureds following a favorable summary judgment ruling as to State Farm’s failure to pay replacement cost insurance under homeowners policies).  Joel has also played a significant role in the settlement of several retiree health class actions, pursuant to which Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trusts funded by the defendant companies were established to provide health benefits to retirees for their lifetimes.  See, e.g., Pringle v. Continental Tire North America, Case No. 3:06-cv-02985-JZ (N.D. Ohio); U.A.W. v. General Motors Corp., Case 2:07-cv-14074 (E.D. Mich.).

Joel graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2000.  He is admitted to practice before the courts of Pennsylvania; the United States District Courts for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Western District of Tennessee, the Northern District of Illinois and the Eastern District of Michigan; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits.  His professional memberships include the Allegheny County Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, and Barrister for The Honorable Amy Reynolds Hay Chapter of The American Inns of Court (appointed as Barrister Representative to Board in 2011). 

Joel’s publications include CIGNA Corp. v. Amara: Protecting Employees From Disclosure Violations Under ERISA, BNA Pension & Benefits Daily (6/2/2011) (with Tybe A. Brett, Esq.); Find The Catch In The Contract: “Actual Charges", published in Trial Magazine, October 2009 (with Ellen M. Doyle, Esq.); and Winning With Grammar, published in the ATLA Insurance Law Section Newsletter, Winter 2006 (addressing the use of expert testimony to demonstrate that an insurer’s policy interpretation is unreasonable because it violates the rules of grammar).