( June 8, 2026, 1:26 PM EDT) -- OAKLAND, Calif. — Rejecting the defendants’ arguments regarding the impact of a nine-factor test the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals instituted concerning releases in Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases, a California federal judge on June 4 issued separate orders denying motions to decertify the class and reopen discovery and then on June 5 amended the latter order to clarify that a bench trial in the long-running case over severance benefits is scheduled to start July 9....