News & Analysis as of

Retirement Plan Fiduciary Duty Employee Stock Ownership Plans

Snell & Wilmer

Cheers to 50 Years of ERISA: A Major Milestone in Employee Protection

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As the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) celebrates its 50th anniversary, it offers us an opportunity to reflect on its transformative impact on employee benefits and retirement security. Signed into law on...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Fourth Circuit Narrows Equitable Relief Under ERISA

In Rose v. PSA Airlines, Inc., 80 F.4th 488 (4th Cir. 2023), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that ERISA § 502(a)(3), which permits a claim for “other appropriate equitable relief,” does not allow claims...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Anatomy of an ESOP

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ESOPs can pay fair market value for the stock: Stock purchased by an ESOP must be appraised by an independent third party expert working with a trustee for the ESOP who must also be independent from the seller. The ESOP is...more

Holland & Hart - Employers' Lawyers

10th Circuit Rejects ERISA Arbitration Provision

Courts have been mixed regarding the enforceability of arbitration provisions in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) retirement plans since the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2019 decision in Dorman v. Charles...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Why Aren’t Courts Conducting the 'Context-Specific' Inquiry Into Complaints That the Supreme Court Requires?

Recently, several appellate-level court decisions have affirmed dismissals of ERISA fiduciary-breach claims involving 401(k) plans. These decisions followed the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in a 403(b) case, in...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Understanding a Trustee’s Role in Management Incentive Plans

On May 5, 2022, McDermott Partner Erin Turley delivered a presentation during the 2022 TEA National Conference titled “Understanding a Trustee’s Role in Management Incentive Plans.” Her presentation focused on the trustee’s...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

ERISA Litigation Roundup: Northern District of Illinois Dismisses ERISA Stock-Drop Suit

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed an ERISA stock-drop lawsuit brought against fiduciaries of Kraft Heinz Food Company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), holding...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Left Coast Appeals

This Week at the Ninth: Falsity and Fiduciaries

This week, we examine a pair of Ninth Circuit decisions addressing when opinions are materially false under securities law, and what a plaintiff must plead to establish a duty-of prudence violation under the Employee...more

Polsinelli

Illinois Court Strikes Down ESOP’s Arbitration Provision

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Over the past few years, qualified retirement plans, including employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) have been adding provisions requiring participant breach of fiduciary duty claims to be resolved through mandatory...more

Dechert LLP

A Look at the Current State of ERISA Class Action Litigation

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This OnPoint is the first in a series that will examine important trends and developments in class action litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).  Here, we look at the current litigation...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Stock Drop Litigation Cases Are On The Rise: Will Your Retirement Plan Be A Target?

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Key Takeaways- •Stock price plunges caused by COVID and current market conditions create fertile ground for stockholder litigation, including claims by participants in retirement plans funded with employer securities that...more

ArentFox Schiff

Supreme Court Opinion Sheds No Light on Elusive Stock-Drop Pleading Standard

ArentFox Schiff on

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

Littler

Does Jander Signal the Liberalization of Pleading Standards in Stock-Drop Cases? Signs Point to No

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The Second Circuit sent shock waves through the community of ERISA stock-drop practitioners late last year in Jander v. Retirement Plans Committee of IBM by finding plan participants had plausibly alleged a breach of duty of...more

McDermott Will & Emery

US Supreme Court to Review Unusual Second Circuit Decision in Stock Drop Case Against IBM

McDermott Will & Emery on

On Monday, the US Supreme Court agreed to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Jander v. Retirement Plans Committee of IBM, a “stock drop” lawsuit against IBM’s benefit plan fiduciaries. The Second Circuit’s decision...more

Morgan Lewis

Top 10 Areas of Focus in DOL Investigations of Retirement Plans

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The US Department of Labor (DOL) has been extremely active in recent years as the federal agency investigating and enforcing the fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA)....more

Holland & Knight LLP

Courts Continue to Rule on Retirement Plan Mandatory Arbitration Provisions

Holland & Knight LLP on

• Some retirement plans, including employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), have in the past few years included terms and provisions that require participant breach of fiduciary claims to be resolved in arbitration on a...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Second Circuit Gives New Life to Stock Drop Claim

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Seyfarth synopsis: The Second Circuit reversed dismissal of an ERISA stock drop class action finding plaintiff alleged enough to plausibly show that disclosure of alleged corporate problems would not have done more harm than...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

For Your Benefit- Fall-2018

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After a long period of relative stability enjoyed by sponsors of qualified retirement plans, several significant modifications have been made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Act), following closely on the heels of...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The Rosenbaum Law Firm Review - January 2017

Concepts You May Not Be Aware Of As A 401(k) Plan Sponsor. Quite a few things out there. As a child, I was never taught the birds and the bees. I was actually handed some cartoon book from my parents when I was...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

U.S. Supreme Court Seeks Solicitor General’s Input on Co-fiduciary Indemnification

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the government’s views on a petition for certiorari asking the Court to decide whether ERISA permits a cause of action for...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Yes, a Fiduciary was held personally liable

In my practice, I always talk about how plan fiduciaries can be held personally liable for any issues regarding their retirement plan. Many plan sponsors just don’t pay any attention to that threat until they see it happen to...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Department of Labor Releases Final Investment Advice Fiduciary Rules

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized regulations describing the circumstances in which a person who provides investment advice in connection with a retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement (IRA) acts...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

New Fiduciary Regulations Require Retirement Investment Advisers to Act in Clients’ Best Interests

On April 14, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued new proposed regulations that changed the definition of “fiduciary investment advice” as currently found in DOL Regulation 2510.3-21(c). These proposed rules also...more

McDermott Will & Emery

The Directed Trustee in the Post-Dudenhoeffer World

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Overview - Court cases challenging the actions of Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciaries have continued unabated since the scandal of Enron in 2002. Since then, a large number of cases are in the ‘‘stock...more

Williams Mullen

In Post-Dudenhoeffer Decision, Class Action Plaintiffs Are Allowed to Pursue Their Claims For Fiduciary Breach Against Eastman...

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A federal district court has permitted plaintiffs to pursue class actions against the fiduciaries of two Eastman Kodak defined contribution plans on the ground that those fiduciaries failed to prudently manage the plan funds....more

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