OMEGA PHARMA APPEAL
As we reported last December, the Court of Appeal affirmed the
High Court's Judgment in favour of the trustees in the Omega
Pharma case requiring the employers to make contributions to the
employees' defined benefit pension scheme in excess of the
statutory minimum funding standard ("MFS") in
circumstances where the scheme was being wound up. Arthur Cox acted
for the successful trustees.
Last month, the Court of Appeal gave its reasons for this
decision and handed down its written judgment.
There were two key issues in the High Court case which were
appealed by the employers to the Court of Appeal. The first related
to when the employers' contribution liability terminated. The
Court of Appeal upheld the High Court decision in finding that the
parties had agreed three months' notice in accordance with the
notice provisions in the trust deed.
