A federal district court in Massachusetts recently denied a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by plan participants in the Cape Cod Healthcare, Inc. 403(b) plan, which alleged that the plan’s fiduciaries breached their ERISA...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the fiduciaries of the Home Depot 401(k) plan, who defended against claims that they breached their fiduciary...more
8/20/2024
/ 401k ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burden of Proof ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Home Depot ,
Investment ,
Loss Causation ,
Summary Judgment
A federal district court recently granted a motion to dismiss claims that defined contribution plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence, and violated ERISA’s anti-inurement and prohibited...more
A federal district court in Massachusetts dismissed ERISA fiduciary breach and prohibited transaction claims against 401(k) plan fiduciaries, ruling that the prohibited transaction claims were time-barred and the fiduciary...more
4/18/2024
/ 401k ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Funds ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proprietary Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Statute of Limitations
A California district court recently denied a motion to dismiss claims that the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan breached their ERISA fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty by selecting underperforming, high-cost investments...more
2/28/2024
/ 401k ,
Breach of Duty ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Mutual Funds
The decision in Bolton v. Inland Fresh Seafood Corp. of America Inc., No. 22-cv-4602 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 5, 2023)should serve as a reminder to all ERISA practitioners that, if litigating in courts of the Eleventh Circuit,...more
In Su v. Fensler, No. 22-cv-01030, 2023 WL 5152640 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 10, 2023), the court granted the Department of Labor’s motion for a preliminary injunction to replace with an independent fiduciary the trustees of the United...more
A third district court has dismissed with prejudice a complaint alleging that defendants breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by offering 401(k) plan participants the option to invest in BlackRock LifePath Index Target...more
In a pair of report and recommendations issued the same day, a Magistrate Judge in Wisconsin recently recommended that the district court (i) grant motions for reconsideration of prior denials of motions to dismiss claims...more
In Matousek v. MidAmerican Energy Co., 2022 WL 6880771, __ F.4th __ (8th Cir. 2022), the Eighth Circuit joined the Sixth and Seventh Circuits in affirming dismissal of ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims alleging that the...more
10/18/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements
On April 1, 2021, the Ninth Circuit became the third circuit court to conclude that a forum-selection clause in an ERISA 401(k) plan is enforceable. The Ninth Circuit thus denied a petition for mandamus seeking to overturn a...more
4/7/2021
/ 401k ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forum Selection ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Venue ,
Writ of Mandamus
In this episode of the Proskauer Benefits Brief, Paul Hamburger, co-chair of Proskauer’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group, and associate Joe Clark discuss how the attorney-client privilege rules apply in an...more
Editor's Overview -
In last quarter's Newsletter, we commented that all eyes were on President Trump's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, as the outcome of the appointment process can have a significant impact on the...more
10/3/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Discovery ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
FRCP 26(b)(1) ,
Preemption ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Standing
The Fifth Circuit agreed that a participant in Idearc’s 401(k) plan failed to plausibly plead that the plan fiduciary’s failure to act on publicly available information about Idearc amounted to a breach of fiduciary duty in...more
After a brief hiatus, Proskauer's ERISA Newsletter is back with a brand new look. We hope you like it and find it is easier to navigate. In addition to implementing our new format, we have moved to a quarterly publication...more
4/6/2017
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Aetna ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Alternative Pleadings ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Delays ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
HRA ,
Insider Information ,
IRS ,
Lifetime Health Benefits ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pleading Standards ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Disclosure ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Repeal ,
Retirement Plan ,
Small Employers ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Trump Administration ,
Unilateral Modification ,
Vested Benefits
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
9/28/2016
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Breach of Duty ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Forum Selection ,
Fund Managers ,
Interference Claims ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Section 510 ,
Statute of Limitations ,
TPAs
A federal district court in California granted defendants’ motion to dismiss claims asserted by Chevron 401(k) plan participants that the plan fiduciaries breached their ERISA fiduciary duties by selecting underperforming...more
9/8/2016
/ 401k ,
Breach of Duty ,
Chevron ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Money Market Funds ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan
Editor’s Overview -
This month we review the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of National Elevator Industries Health Benefit Plan where the Supreme Court considered the scope of...more
3/29/2016
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Assignment Clauses ,
Applicable Large Employers (ALE) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Determination on Remand ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Lien ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
IRS ,
McCutchen v. U.S. Airways ,
Medical Expenses ,
Medical Liens ,
Montanile v Board of Trustees ,
Penalties ,
Reimbursements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
RJ Reynolds ,
RJR Nabisco ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement ,
Subrogation ,
Vesting
Editor's Overview -
This month, we review the Second Circuit's ruling in New York State Psychiatric Ass'n, Inc. v. UnitedHealth Grp. wherein the Second Circuit ruled that: (i) a provider association has associational...more
10/28/2015
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
First Impression ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Plan Administrators ,
Preemption ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Standing ,
State Law Claims ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Successorship Doctrine ,
Termination ,
Third-Party ,
Twombly/Iqbal Pleading Standard ,
Withdrawal Liability
Editor's Overview -
It has been a little more than one year since the U.S. Supreme Court altered the legal landscape for litigating ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to the investment in employer stock...more
9/29/2015
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Claim Denial Letters ,
Comment Period ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Excise Tax ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Final Rules ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Costs ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Guidance ,
Plan Administrators ,
Pro Rata Allocation Rule ,
Public Information ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
SHOP Program ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Subrogation ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Valuation
Editor's Overview -
As the summer draws to a close, this month's Newsletter previews three cases that the U.S. Supreme Court already has agreed to hear that ought to be of particular interest to ERISA plan sponsors and...more
8/28/2015
/ 401k ,
Actual Injuries ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Article III ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Delta Airlines ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty to Disclose ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Final Rules ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Montanile v Board of Trustees ,
Non-Grandfathered Health Plans ,
PBGC ,
Penalties ,
Preemption ,
Reimbursements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 510 ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Subrogation ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage ,
Tax Credits ,
Trade Adjustment Assistance ,
Trade Preferences Extension Act (TPEA) ,
U.S. Treasury
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of ERISA breach of fiduciary claims against Delta Air Lines and other alleged plan fiduciaries in connection with a defined contribution plan’s investments in Delta Air Lines stock. ...more
Editor's Overview -
In this month's newsletter, Anthony Cacace analyzes the heavily anticipated Supreme Court ruling in Tibble v. Edison Intl., 135 S. Ct. 1823 (2015), where the Court held that ERISA's fiduciary duty of...more
6/26/2015
/ 401k ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Determination Letter ,
Due Diligence ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
IRS ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 409A ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tibble v Edison Int ,
Vesting
A federal district court in Minnesota found that participants in a defined benefit pension plan had standing to assert claims that defendants breached their fiduciary duties by, among other things, shifting to an...more
This month we discuss the evolving case law on the issue of whether unpaid employer contributions due under a collective bargaining agreement can be viewed as plan assets such that the individuals who decide to withhold such...more