The Briefing – Late Night, Early Dismissal: The Santos-Kimmel Copyright Case
(Podcast) The Briefing – Late Night, Early Dismissal: The Santos-Kimmel Copyright Case
Fifth Circuit Affirms District Court’s Striking of Class Allegations
Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Putative Class Claims
Nota Bene Episode 98: The U.S. Supreme Court’s Mark on U.S. Antitrust Law for 2020 with Thomas Dillickrath and Bevin Newman
Class Action Suit Against Instagram for New Terms of Service Dismissed
This week, the Ninth Circuit considers when an unnamed plaintiff in a putative class action has standing to appeal. MARK HABELT AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF MISSISSIPPI V. IRHYTHM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. ET AL....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Matney v. Barrick Gold of North America, et al. on Sept. 6, 2023, finding that participants in an employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan...more
On Friday, for the second week in a row, the Ninth Circuit reversed dismissal of a 401(k) plan excessive fee litigation challenging the offering of retail share classes of mutual funds instead of cheaper institutional share...more
On January 24, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a short unanimous opinion in Hughes v. Northwestern University. The importance of the opinion will likely be modest. At a basic level, all the Supreme Court did was reinstate a...more
In a unanimous decision that should serve as a wakeup call to those administrating employee retirement plans, the Supreme Court just reaffirmed and highlighted the ongoing duty of ERISA plan fiduciaries to monitor investment...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday, February 4, affirmed the dismissal of an ERISA class-action lawsuit filed against General Electric Company and its former CEO. The complaint had alleged the...more
The Supreme Court ruled on several cases involving class actions in the last few months. A case awaiting certiorari could dramatically change the jurisdictional requirements for plaintiffs in class actions across the country....more
Most weeks, a plan sponsor (and frequently, several plan sponsors) is sued for breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the investment choices offered under its 401(k) or 403(b) plans. Often, the complaint alleges...more
In Cook v. Life Insurance Company of North America et al., No. 3:20-cv-139, the plaintiff, Robert Cook, sued Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA), and its indirect corporate parent, Cigna Corporation, for denial of...more
Second Circuit Affirms Decision Rejecting ERISA Claims for Retiree Health Benefits The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has affirmed a district court’s decision dismissing claims under the Employee Retirement...more
In January, the Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated opinion in Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander, No. 18-1165, a case that promised to clarify the pleading standard applicable to ERISA stock-drop cases. But...more
A federal district court judge in Washington D.C. dismissed an ERISA fiduciary breach suit brought by a former employee of George Washington University (“GW”), finding the former employee lacked standing to sue. The...more
Over the past several years, the ERISA plaintiffs’ bar has targeted university-sponsored 403(b) plans, arguing that the plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties and engaged in prohibited transactions in connection...more
Recently, the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit brought by former Georgetown employees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) over fees and...more
Georgetown University is now the 5th university that has won its case after being sued by plan participants over their 403(b) plan....more
A recent ERISA opinion gives us occasion to point out the important distinction under ERISA concerning fiduciary duties as they pertain to existing benefits and possible benefits. In this case, the plaintiff alleged that...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Since August 2016, sixteen elite colleges and universities have faced class action lawsuits related to management of their retirement plans. After five cases previously survived motions to dismiss, the...more
I serve as the attorney for a registered investment advisor out on Long Island and they forwarded me an email from a plan sponsor regarding a news article from last year of a potential class action lawsuit against a...more
A federal district court in North Carolina dismissed claims by BB&T Corp.’s 401(k) plan participants that Cardinal Investment Advisors, LLC, the plan’s outside investment advisor, breached its ERISA fiduciary duties by...more
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of ERISA stock drop claims by participants in the Cliffs Natural Resources’ 401(k) Plan. The participants alleged fiduciary breach claims based on public and non-public information...more
Editor’s Overview - In 2016, we saw a considerable uptick in the number and variety of excessive fee lawsuits commenced against plan fiduciaries of defined contribution plans. We begin the year by taking a look at these...more
A federal district court in Ohio dismissed retirees’ claims for lifetime healthcare benefits from Honeywell. Honeywell provided healthcare benefits to plaintiffs through a series of collective bargaining agreements and,...more
This month we review a recent Second Circuit decision addressing ERISA plan status as a class member in a securities shareholder class action. As discussed in the article, the decision exposes a potential conflict among the...more
Editor's Overview - This month, we have re-published an interview of our colleague Seth Safra discussing the Department of Labor’s final regulation concerning fiduciaries and conflicts of interest. In this interview,...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that float income is not a plan asset and therefore is not subject to fiduciary and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA. The decision was written by former Justice Souter...more