Recently, the Second Circuit became the latest circuit refusing to enforce individual arbitration of an ERISA class action, joining the Third, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits. The Ninth Circuit, by contrast, has held that class...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear Rose v. PSA Airlines, Inc., Case No. 23-734, which raised the question of whether a remedy known as “surcharge” falls under ERISA’s equitable remedies provision. Surcharge, in...more
Is a new wave of ERISA fiduciary litigation targeting group health plan sponsors on the horizon? There have already been a few examples of health plan fee cases, such as claims challenging the billing practice between...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed a District Court’s finding that Principal Life Insurance Company (“Principal”) did not breach its fiduciary duties regarding its stable value contract for...more
Since the Supreme Court’s January ruling in Hughes v. Northwestern University, circuit courts throughout the country have issued varying rulings regarding 401(k) fee litigation cases. These include the Ninth Circuit in Trader...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392 (June 24, 2022), overruling Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, has far-reaching consequences across many areas. This...more
A New York district court recently dismissed, without prejudice, a 401(k) plan participant’s putative class action complaint alleging breaches of fiduciary duty. The plaintiff alleged that the plan fiduciary-defendants...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401, just one of more than 150 similar class action suits filed around the country in the last few years. The case was...more
Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401, just one of about 150 similar class action suits filed around the country in the last few years. The case was brought by...more
12/7/2021
/ Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS
American Airlines, Inc. and its affiliated credit union recently defeated an appeal challenging a low-yield investment option in the airline’s 401(k) plan when the Fifth Circuit ruled that the plan participants lacked Article...more
On July 16, 2021, the District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin dismissed without prejudice four ERISA claims brought by a former employee alleging mismanagement of Infinity’s defined-contribution 401(k) plan....more
The Supreme Court recently granted the writ of certiorari requested by Northwestern University retirement plan participants, following the Solicitor General’s plea for the Court to hear the case. Hughes v. Northwestern...more
In Bellon v. PPG Emp. Life & Other Benefits Plan, PPG Industries, Inc. & the PPG Plan Administrator, the Northern District of West Virginia recently addressed whether a predecessor company may be held liable for a decision...more
On appeal following a bench trial of claims brought by a class of participants and beneficiaries of a 401(k) plan, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the decision of the District of Colorado calculating damages and prejudgment...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently concluded that investment advisor Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb must face a proposed class action under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) for breach of fiduciary duty relating to its...more
3/8/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Motion to Compel ,
Performance Standards ,
Profit Sharing ,
Secretary of Labor
A class action alleging that BlackRock entities favored their own proprietary funds when selecting investment options for BlackRock’s 401(k) Plan is headed for trial after Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. denied both parties’...more
A little more than one year ago, we reported on a settlement (Cassell et al. v. Vanderbilt University, et al.) involving the alleged wrongful use of personal information belonging to retirement plan participants, claimed to...more
7/10/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Data Privacy ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Personal Information ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shell Oil ,
Sponsors
Some of you may remember that back in 2015, we published an article entitled Arbitration of ERISA Claims – Yes You Can! A link to that article can be found here. In that article, we suggested that one key reason for adding...more
In a 49-page opinion issued last week, Judge Analisa Torres of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted class certification to a group of women alleging that Goldman Sachs systemically...more
On July 10, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced that the full Court would re-hear a recent case concerning the applicable standard of review in an ERISA denial of benefits case – which is often outcome-determinative...more
ERISA’s “church plan” exemption applies to pension plans maintained by church-affiliated organizations such as healthcare facilities, even if the plans were not established by a church, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled...more
Today, the Supreme Court handed a long-awaited victory to religiously affiliated organizations operating pension plans under ERISA’s “church plan” exemption. In a surprising 8-0 ruling, the Court agreed with the Defendants...more
Explaining that “[a]s any sports fan dismayed that instant replay did not overturn a blown call learns, it is difficult to overcome a deferential standard of review,” a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has called...more
As a result of rulings on motions to dismiss within a day of each other (May 10 and 11, 2017, respectively), Emory University and Duke University must continue to defend claims challenging aspects of their Section 403(b)...more
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the consolidated “church plan” cases, Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, St. Peter’s Healthcare System v. Kaplan, and Dignity Health v. Rollins. As an initial...more