On August 21, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota largely dismissed—for a second time—a putative ERISA class action challenging “excessive” fees and “poor” performance in a 401(k) plan. Fritton v....more
ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules are notoriously complex and opaque. On August 4, 2023, the Ninth Circuit issued an important decision on those prohibited transaction rules that arguably conflicts with decision from the...more
Recently, federal appellate courts have begun tightening the pleading standards for ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims based on the fees or performance of funds in 401(k) and 403(b) plans. To state a viable claim based on...more
On July 20, 2023, a federal judge in Massachusetts rejected defendants’ request to certify an interlocutory appeal to the First Circuit to clarify the proper pleading standard for ERISA breach-of-duty claims. See Monteiro v....more
On May 23, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri dismissed a putative ERISA class action challenging “excessive” fees in a 401(k) plan. Barrett v. O’Reilly Automotive, Inc., 6:22-cv-03111-BCW...more
A federal court in Wisconsin recently allowed a putative ERISA class action in Lucero v. Credit Union Ret. Plan Ass’n to proceed to discovery on the claim that a 401(k) plan paid excessive recordkeeping fees. This decision...more
3/24/2023
/ 401k ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
Pleading Standards ,
Recordkeeping Requirements
The Ninth Circuit just reversed decisions from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Wit v. United Behavioral Health, which had ordered United Behavioral Health (“UBH”) to reprocess thousands of...more
Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401: This case concerns the proper pleading standard for certain breach of fiduciary duty claims brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”)....more
ERISA litigators know that a war has been raging between “out-of-network” medical providers, on one hand, and the entities that insure and administer group health plans, on the other (collectively, “Insurers”). For years,...more
COVID-19 has shocked the markets, resulting in massive losses for 401(k) plans, defined benefit plans, and other ERISA-governed pension plans. Turbulent economic times will almost certainly continue. ERISA fiduciaries find...more