Consultants Suits

Professional advisers to employee pension plans may not be sued for monetary damages for giving bad advice, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In a case that was brought on behalf of pension recipients of Kaiser Steel Corp., in Oakland, the court said by a 5-4 vote that federal pension law does not authorize such lawsuits against outside consultants who do not have management control over pension plans.

Los Angeles officials alleged in a lawsuit this week that they were misled by a longtime investment bank trying to protect its own financial interests, resulting in more than $95 million in losses to a city employee pension fund. City Atty. Carmen A. Trutanich said the Northern Trust Corp. shifted city money into more risky real estate and other investments without fully disclosing the danger to pension managers. The lawsuit also targets Pension Consulting Alliance Inc., a company that was contracted by the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System to serve as its own investment consultant.

Two Newport Beach political consultants used an anti-tax group they helped start to dodge a required public accounting of roughly $19 million donated by Californians to political action committees and causes, an attorney charged Monday during opening statements in a civil lawsuit that has been mysteriously kept from public view since 1990.

Republican strategist Don Sipple's libel lawsuit against Mother Jones magazine was dismissed Wednesday after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that a story detailing spousal abuse allegations against Sipple was based on public court records. Sipple, the political consultant who injected family values and character as issues in the past two GOP presidential campaigns, had sought $12.5 million in damages from the San Francisco-based alternative publication.

Republican strategist Don Sipple's libel lawsuit against Mother Jones magazine was dismissed Wednesday after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that a story detailing spousal abuse allegations against Sipple was based on public court records. Sipple, the political consultant who injected family values and character as issues in the past two GOP presidential campaigns, had sought $12.5 million in damages from the San Francisco-based alternative publication.

Los Angeles officials alleged in a lawsuit this week that they were misled by a longtime investment bank trying to protect its own financial interests, resulting in more than $95 million in losses to a city employee pension fund. City Atty. Carmen A. Trutanich said the Northern Trust Corp. shifted city money into more risky real estate and other investments without fully disclosing the danger to pension managers. The lawsuit also targets Pension Consulting Alliance Inc., a company that was contracted by the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System to serve as its own investment consultant.

Two Newport Beach political consultants used an anti-tax group they helped start to dodge a required public accounting of roughly $19 million donated by Californians to political action committees and causes, an attorney charged Monday during opening statements in a civil lawsuit that has been mysteriously kept from public view since 1990.

Professional advisers to employee pension plans may not be sued for monetary damages for giving bad advice, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In a case that was brought on behalf of pension recipients of Kaiser Steel Corp., in Oakland, the court said by a 5-4 vote that federal pension law does not authorize such lawsuits against outside consultants who do not have management control over pension plans.