Thanks to two cases about federally mandated observers on fishing boats, judicial deference to agencies is likely to soon get weaker – and more unpredictable – with wide-ranging impacts for employee benefits. Less deference...more
2/22/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
IRS ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Private Letter Rulings ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS
Recent years have seen a barrage of class action lawsuits alleging that group health plan continuation coverage election notices, required under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), are deficient in one...more
9/7/2023
/ Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Insurance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Retailers
A recent US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit case supplies answers to many questions left open in 401(k) fee litigation cases after the US Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year in Hughes v. Northwestern University....more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires plan fiduciaries to act prudently and loyally when making decisions about the plan. In Martin v. CareerBuilder, LLC, a federal district court held that the...more
The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was constitutional pursuant to Congress’ power to levy taxes. Since that decision, Congress reduced the ACA’s individual mandate’s tax penalty to $0. With the...more
A federal district court denied class certification to health plan participants who claimed the plan promised them lifetime benefits. The court found too many individualized questions about what the plan told each...more
An employer learned the full cost of ambiguity when a Connecticut federal district court agreed with an employee’s widow that the word “maximum” was ambiguous in the company’s life insurance plan, thus making the widow...more
9/12/2019
/ Ambiguous ,
Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Death Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Interests ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Summary Judgment ,
Widows
In Lee v. Argent Trust Co., the court dismissed ERISA claims challenging an ESOP stock transaction because the plaintiff, who “fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the” ESOP transaction, did not allege that she suffered...more
8/13/2019
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Former Employee ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standing ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Trustees
The US Supreme Court recently agreed to review the Eighth Circuit’s decision in Thole v. US Bank, in which the Eighth Circuit held that participants in an overfunded defined benefit pension plan lack standing to sue for...more
7/23/2019
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Certiorari ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Funds ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing
The US Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Sulyma v. Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee, a case in which the Ninth Circuit ruled that ERISA’s three-year statute of limitations requires a plaintiff to actually read...more
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
6/11/2019
/ Breach of Duty ,
Certiorari ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
IBM ,
Pleading Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Care ,
Stock Drop Litigation
A recent summary-judgment decision explains how individual releases can bar the individual from pursuing ERISA fiduciary-breach claims on behalf of the plan. A plan, employer or fiduciary that wants to ensure a release that...more
5/20/2019
/ Breach of Duty ,
Depositions ,
Discovery ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Release Agreements ,
Severance Agreements ,
Summary Judgment
Due to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) change in course published in Notice 2019-18, plan sponsors may now offer retirees lump-sum windows as another pension “de-risking” option. Plan sponsors considering pension de-risking...more
A recent Eighth Circuit decision regarding “cross-plan offsetting” serves as an important reminder of how ERISA’s fiduciary duties impact both employers and fiduciaries who handle claims.
The case involved the common...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
1/30/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Dismissals ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Former Employee ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Mismanagement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Universities
Sponsors and fiduciaries of health and welfare plans should be aware of a recently filed class-action lawsuit against alleged fiduciaries of a health plan. It challenges health-plan fiduciary oversight and reasonableness of...more
On September 20, 2018, the US Supreme Court dismissed—pursuant to settlement—an ERISA lawsuit that could have resolved the circuit split over who holds the burden of proof in ERISA breach of fiduciary duty cases. In Pioneer...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a Minnesota district court’s dismissal of a claim against Wells Fargo & Company (Wells Fargo) under ERISA. A former employee had alleged Wells Fargo breached...more
A federal judge in Rhode Island recently permitted several claims against Brown University to proceed in a lawsuit alleging that the university and its fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement...more
A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois recently dismissed a lawsuit against Northwestern University alleging that the University and its fiduciaries mismanaged its retirement and voluntary savings plans. This is...more
A lawsuit against Vanderbilt University is moving forward based on allegations that the university and its fiduciaries mismanaged its retirement plan by paying excessive fees and maintaining poor investment options....more
In a recent 2-1 decision, the Fifth Court vacated the US Department of Labor’s controversial expansion of the ERISA fiduciary regulations (the New Fiduciary Rule). If the DOL does not seek a rehearing, the Fifth Circuit will...more
The US Department of Labor has taken the position that certain indemnification clauses are void against public policy under Section 410 of ERISA. This policy has been adopted by private plaintiff classes; as evident from a...more
The ESOP industry is paying close attention to a Tenth Circuit appeal that will address the deferral of corporate deductions for certain accrued expenses payable to ESOP-participating employees. This appeal, which pertains to...more
Joe Urwitz, Todd Solomon and Chris Nemeth discuss provisions of The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) of particular relevance to tax-exempt entities and their investment managers, as well as ongoing...more