( January 7, 2026, 10:48 AM EST) -- KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Citing “the uncertainty of the appellate relief and operation of the agreement,” a Kansas federal judge on Jan. 6 denied without prejudice the parties’ joint stipulation that “upon affirmance of the District Court’s decision that does not reduce the amount of the judgment” the defendants would pay $7,108,254.82 in attorney fees and $449,437.86 in costs plus interest in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action where labor union members whose early retirement benefits were stopped or denied because of non-boilermaker work largely prevailed following a bench trial....