SCRANTON (LN) — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Monday granted PNC Bank’s request to move a Labor Department ERISA enforcement action to the Northern District of Texas, where a related bankruptcy case involving the company’s defunct parent is already pending.
U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick ordered the transfer after applying the 12-factor Jumara analysis, finding that public interest considerations — including the risk of inconsistent rulings and litigation efficiency — tipped in favor of moving the case.
The Secretary of Labor filed the complaint in May 2025, alleging that DeAngelo Contracting Services LLC and related entities breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by failing to remit employee health plan contributions and that PNC improperly seized funds owed to the plan when it took control of the company’s accounts in October 2021.
According to the complaint, the company deducted approximately $97,410.85 from employee paychecks and $55,124.31 in COBRA premiums for plan coverage, but those amounts were never forwarded to Aetna was terminated.
PNC argued that the action is inseparable from the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case pending against DBi Services in Texas, where a trustee is already sorting out ownership of $16.4 million in plan funds.
Mehalchick acknowledged that most of the parties and plan participants are located in Pennsylvania, and that the ERISA violations allegedly occurred in the state where the company was headquartered. But she found that the Secretary’s choice of forum deserved limited weight because the department is not a Pennsylvania resident, and that transferring the case would reduce litigation costs and avoid conflicting outcomes with the bankruptcy court.
The court also noted that PNC filed an interpleader action in the Texas bankruptcy court to determine ownership of the plan funds, making the Texas court already familiar with the underlying facts.
The case will proceed in the Northern District of Texas.