Brian H. Benjet

Healthcare and ERISA Litigation, Investigation and Counseling Matters

Litigation

• Represented a health plan in putative ERISA and non-ERISA class actions involving denials of benefits resulting in a favorable settlement
• Representing a health plan in a litigation brought by a medical device manufacturer asserting that a coverage bulletin asserting claims of disparagement/trade libel, tortious interference and unfair trade practices
• Obtained a successful resolution for a healthcare technology company in connection with allegations that it had improperly utilized a third-party’s data in connection with its software providing services to its customers
• Representing a health plan in connection with a putative class action brought by out of network providers on behalf of their patients seeking increased reimbursement
• Represented a disease management company in several disputes over shared savings calculations contained in risk-based care contracts resulting in a substantial recovery for his client
• Represented a PE Fund and its portfolio company in two arbitrations prosecuting claims against a key physician owner for breach of his employment agreement and the transaction documents and obtained a settlement where his client recovered over $30 million of value
• Obtained advancement under an LLC agreement for the former CEO of a lab company
• Representing a financial adviser in a putative class action challenging certain investment recommendations made to a multiemployer plan as imprudent
• Represented a retailer in connection with a third-party subpoena issued in a case involving ERISA claims and alleged imprudent investments
• Advised a group of health plans on matters involving recovery of overpayments to providers and represented those plans in litigation in multiple jurisdictions recovering overpayments
• Represented a health plan in a series of disputes with providers over improper charging of facilities fees
• Represented a health plan and successfully defeated a putative class action brought on behalf of professionals providing mental health services
• Represented a plan administrator in litigation asserting ERISA-based breach of fiduciary duty claims
• Represented health plan in multiple arbitrations involving disputes over payments to health systems
• Represented a pharmaceutical company in litigation regarding representations made to payors with respect to reimbursement
• Represented an employer and pharmacy in litigation involving claims under ERISA, RICO, and the Affordable Care Act with two payors over the termination of a small group health plan resulting in a master settlement agreement advancing the pharmacy's commercial interests
• Represented a health plan in litigation seeking recovery overpayments from an emergency room physician practice resulting from systemic upcoding embedded in a practice management system
• Represented a health plan in a dispute with a provider group over the proper calculation of capitation payments
• Defended a health plan and successfully argued that claims brought under Illinois privacy laws were pre-empted by ERISA
• Obtained dismissal of a vicarious medical malpractice case brought against a health plan
• Obtained an arbitration award for a health plan against an IPA for fees the health plan paid directly to physicians that the IPA failed to pay
• Represented a health plan in an arbitration with an IPA, which resulted in a successful recovery of overpayments from the IPA

Investigations

• Represented a specialty pharmacy with respect to a state attorney general investigation into opioids dispensing practices and sales marketing practices and obtained a resolution allowing the client to resolve historical claims without significantly impacting its current business
• Successfully, represented a specialty pharmacy in connection with a joint investigation by the US Attorney's office and the Drug Enforcement Agency 
• Represented a healthcare company in an investigation after a whistleblower report that a transaction was not properly recorded and that its audit firm had been misled by the CFO and obtained a successful resolution allowing the audit firm to issue audited financial statements and SOC-1s
• Advised a home healthcare services company on an investigation into its IT procurement process and supply chain and potential conflicts of interest
• Represented a specialty pharmacy in connection with investigations conducted by several state pharmacy boards all of which were either discontinued or resulted in nuisance value settlements
• Represented a behavioral health facility in connection with a proceeding brought by a provider network company seeking to remove it from its network after a suicide at the facility
• Representing a former CEO of a lab company in connection with False Claims Act allegations
• Represented a specialty pharmacy in investigations instituted by state boards of pharmacy
• Represented a specialty pharmacy with regards to a CID issued by United States Department of Justice
• Represented a medical practice with respect to potential overpayments received from government programs
• Conducted an internal investigation in response to a whistleblower complaint regarding potential antitrust violations for a global health services company
• Conducted an investigation for a company in response to a whistleblower complaint filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with respect to the sale of Medicare policies by licensed agents

Counseling

• Advising health plans on potential responses to No Surprises Act arbitrations
• Advised TPAs and payors on implications stemming from the No Surprises Act
• Advised a large provider group on payment issues and relationships with payors
• Advised a provider network company on issues relating to contracting with a TPA
• Advised a company on multiple issues arising from the sale of Medicare policies and individual policies under the Affordable Care Act
• Advised a subcontractor to health plans on CMS compliance program flow down requirements
  
   

Compliance Matters

• Advised multiple clients on compliance related diligence, reps and warranties and other issues in connection with cross-border M&A transactions
• Conducted a risk assessment for a global publisher
• Provided training for a public company Board of Directors on compliance and governance issues
• Conducted a risk assessment for a sports governing body
• Represented a global outsourcing company in the design and implementation of its global compliance program
• Advised a global outsourcing company in the design and implementation of its trade sanctions compliance program
• Advised a security services company on the integration of its global compliance program in connection with a transformational acquisition
• Represented a global IT outsourcing company in connection with the remediation of its compliance program in connection with a government investigation
• Advised a global aerospace company with respect to compliance and anti-corruption considerations in connection with M&A transactions
• Advised a sports governing body on the development of its compliance program
• Advised an aircraft leasing business on the enhancement of its anti-corruption compliance program
• Advised a cloud storage and IT services provider on the development of its compliance program
• Advised a consumer products company on the enhancement of its anti-corruption compliance program 
• Conducted a detailed assessment of a fortune 500 insurance company’s compliance and regulatory functions and personnel
• Advised a company immediately prior to and after its initial public offering in drafting and implementation of its code of conduct and whistleblower policy and created related employee training materials
• Conducted an assessment of a publicly traded apparel company’s compliance program
• Represented a security services company in an assessment of its compliance program as it relates to its government contracting business
• Created and conducted a compliance awareness training program for a consumer products company’s global senior leadership team meetings
• Conducted an annual risk assessment for a fortune 500 insurance company
• Designed and conducted a risk assessment for each of the 13 highest risk markets for a global consumer products company
• Designed and implemented an audit program of distributors for global consumer products company
• Conducted a compliance audit of a distributor of a consumer products company in Indonesia
  
  

Global and US Non-Healthcare Investigation Matters

• Conducted an investigation for a global medical device company into conflict of interest and other allegations in connection with the IT components in construction of a new assembly line
• Designed and implemented a global investigations program for a multinational consumer products company 
• Advised a multinational services company on investigations in South Africa and the DRC with respect to allegations of bribery and improper performance of US Government contracts
• Advised a US-based multinational services company on an investigation into potential violations of UK sanctions laws
• Conducted an investigation into alleged improper conduct by a multinational company’s US head of government affairs and alleged violations of US lobbying laws
• Conducted an investigation for a publicly traded company with respect to a whistleblower report asserting that material information was not provided to the Audit Committee and Board and that certain SEC filings were not accurate
• Conducted an investigation for a publicly traded telecommunications provider into alleged improper use of "slush funds" and related employee misconduct
• Conducted an investigation involving fraud, corruption issue, theft, corruption and environmental issues for a US-based global services company relating to its Romanian operations
• Advised a US-based multinational on an investigation into a data breach involving the UK, Europe, Canada and the US
• Conducted an investigation involving theft of trade secrets, conflicts of interest, violation of non-compete obligations by a UK business leader for a US-based services company
• Conducted an investigation of whistleblower allegations of theft and corruption involving the Mexican operations of a US-based industrial products company
• Advised on an investigation of a sports governing body involving conflicts of interest, discrimination and retaliation
• Conducted an investigation for a company involving alleged improper conduct in regards to interactions with healthcare providers in Indonesia
• Advised a US-based multinational services company on an investigation into potential violations of US sanctions laws
• Conducted an investigation for a publicly traded telecommunications provider into allegations of accounting fraud involving improper reserving practices
• Represented a financial regulator in an investigation of a global financial services company and its loss contingency reserving
• Advised a multinational company in regards to an investigation into alleged improper payments to government officials in Kenya
• Advised a multinational construction company on disclosure of FCPA issues to its board, investors, auditors and potential strategic partners
• Conducted an investigation for a services company into allegations of improper conduct under a federal contract
• Advised a consumer lending company on crisis management issues in responding to state attorney general and federal investigations

• Co-author, "Supreme Court opens the door to increased ERISA litigation," Employee Benefit Plan Review, September 2025
• Co-author, "What EU And UK Corp. Corruption Reform Means For US Cos.," Law360, January 24, 2024
• Co-author, "The Evolution of DOJ and SEC Expectations For Corporate Compliance Programs and Staying Ahead of The Curve," 2021
• Co-author, "How Audit, Compliance and GCs Can Work Together," The Legal Intelligencer, March 2015

• Panelist, "How Behavioral Ethics Manifests in the Corporate "Real World": The Practitioner Perspective," Villanova Law Review, The Norman J. Shachoy Symposium, February 19, 2021
• Co-presenter, "Getting The Deal You Thought You Had," DELVACCA's 6th Annual In-House Counsel Conference, Philadelphia, April 2014
• Co-presenter, "Risk Assessments in Compliance and Ethics Programs," DELVACCA’s 5th Annual In-House Counsel Conference, Philadelphia, April 2013
• Co-presenter, "Risk Assessments in Compliance and Ethics Programs," The Legal Intelligencer In-House Counsel CLE Seminar, Philadelphia, March 2013
• Co-presenter, "The Ten Most Important Decisions to Make When Drafting a Code of Conduct," The Legal Intelligencer In-House Counsel CLE Seminar, Philadelphia, March 2012

• Mentioned, "DOJ Launches Clawbacks That Could Hit ‘Willfully Blind’ Board Members," Agenda Week, March 10, 2023
• Mentioned, "5 Compliance Trends To Watch In 2023," Law 360, January 2, 2023
• Mentioned, "Why GCs Shouldn't Ignore The DOJ's New Corp. Crime Memo," Law 360, September 28, 2022
• Mentioned, "DOJ Defends New CCO Certifications Amid Industry Worry," Law 360, May 26, 2022

Immediately before joining DLA Piper, Brian served as the Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Cigna Corp., a Fortune 500 global health insurance company. In that capacity, he was responsible for global litigation and investigations, mergers and acquisitions, information technology, intellectual property, outsourcing transactions, reinsurance and tax law. In addition, Brian served as the Chief Counsel for the company's group insurance business.

Prior to that, Brian was a senior counsel at Verizon Business (previously MCI Inc. and WorldCom, Inc.), where he led a team of attorneys and paralegals responsible for commercial litigation, government investigations and bankruptcy and creditor's rights issues. In that role, he was the lead attorney responsible for the successful completion of WorldCom's chapter 11 cases and the resolution of numerous legal issues emanating from the company's accounting fraud. He also successfully defended the company in a multi-state tax dispute involving 17 State Attorneys General and tax commissioners.

In addition, Brian was counsel for a group of multi-employer pension and retiree health benefit funds, where he focused on ERISA litigation, bankruptcy and creditor's rights issues.

Currently, Brian serves as an adjunct professor of law at Villanova University School of Law, where he teaches a class on compliance, governance, ethics and risk management.