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
After a top-hat plan and pension plan denied a participant’s claims and appeals for additional benefits, the plan administrators preemptively filed a declaratory judgment action, seeking a declaration that: (i) termination of...more
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 -
This month's article by Lindsey Chopin discusses Affordable Care Act ("ACA") litigation. Just five years old, the Supreme Court has considered issues related to the ACA numerous times. Two of those...more
7/29/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Chapter 11 ,
Class Certification ,
Clawbacks ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Due Process ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
General Motors ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
King v Burwell ,
Loss Causation ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Public Health Service Act ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Health Insurance Exchanges ,
UAW ,
Venue
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
We previously reported that a split Sixth Circuit panel enforced a venue selection clause in an ERISA plan. In so ruling, the Court rejected the U.S. Department of Labor’s attempt to regulate by amicus brief and reasoned...more
Editor's Overview -
This month we focus on the EEOC's proposed rules concerning wellness programs. As our colleague, Amy Covert, discusses, a recent change of position by the EEOC provides employers with opportunities...more
5/22/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Management Practices ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
EPCRS ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Incentives ,
Voluntary Participation ,
Wellness Programs
The Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of an ERISA stock drop class action because, like the district court, it held that Named Plaintiff Debra Taveras lacked constitutional standing to pursue her claims. Taveras...more
Defendants Ameriprise Financial, Inc., the fiduciary committees of the Ameriprise 401(k) plan, and individual committee members agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a class of participants in the Ameriprise 401(k) plan for...more
Editor's Overview -
This month's newsletter discusses how to avoid liability under ERISA through plan design, including statute of limitations provisions, venue provisions, and anti-assignment provisions. Courts have...more
The Ninth Circuit held that a participant’s brother, rather than his spouse, was the proper beneficiary of benefits under a profit sharing plan. In so holding, the Court found that: (a) the participant’s first wife, who was...more
The Supreme Court cast a ray of sunlight for employers by rejecting the use of a problematic inference in adjudicating claims for retiree benefits brought pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. For many years, the...more
In a decision watched closely by both employers and unions, a unanimous Supreme Court has resolved a thirty-plus year split among the circuit courts on the standards governing claims for retiree health-care benefits arising...more
With storm clouds threatening in the northeast, the Supreme Court cast a ray of sunlight for employers today by rejecting the use of a problematic inference in adjudicating claims for retiree benefits brought pursuant to...more
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the decision of a district court that Plaintiff Patrick Russell, a 401(k) plan participant, had knowingly waived his right to assert an ERISA stock-drop claim based on, among other things, the...more
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
Editor's Overview -
The first article in this month's newsletter focuses on whether specific language in ERISA employer-provided disability insurance plans confer discretionary authority to plan administrators to...more
Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that courts should review an ERISA participant’s claim for benefits under a de novo standard of review unless the plan gives the plan fiduciary discretionary authority to...more
A federal district court in California awarded relief in the form of surcharge to a life insurance plan beneficiary who claimed that a plan administrator failed to provide complete and accurate information in response to...more
A federal district court in Colorado recently approved a settlement agreement resolving class action claims brought under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The documents filed in support...more
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in US v. Windsor, the requirement that an ERISA health plan provide health coverage for same-sex spouses has often hinged on whether an employee benefit plan was insured or...more
Plan administrators charged with administering Employee Retirement Income Security Act-governed severance plans are often confronted with the question of whether they should conduct an independent investigation into the...more
Plan administrators sometimes are confronted with claims that appear untimely, but nevertheless focus solely on the substantive issue raised by the claim. A recent ruling from a federal district court in New Jersey suggests...more