Skip to main content
Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr., the philanthropist and CEO of R.B. Pamplin Corp., indicated this week there may be a quick resolution to the lawsuit the U.S. Department of Labor filed against him in federal district court in Portland in September.
That suit alleges the former owner of the state’s largest newspaper chain (24 papers, including the Portland Tribune) had bilked his company’s pension fund—over which he had exclusive control—out of tens of millions of dollars by improperly selling un- or underused Pamplin Corp. real estate to the fund at inflated prices.
Until last week, when he was scheduled to respond to the feds’ complaint, Pamplin had made no official response to the lawsuit, nor issued a comment. In new filings, however, he disclosed having hired a Washington, D.C., pension lawyer and former Labor Department staffer, Kevin O’Brien, to represent him and his company in what the parties termed “highly complex” settlement negotiations.
Pamplin and the feds asked the court to extend his response deadline by 30 days.
“The Acting Secretary and the Pamplin defendants are hopeful that they will be able to reach a settlement agreement before the proposed January 13, 2025 deadline,” the parties wrote in a joint motion.