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Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Fiduciary Duty Employee Stock Ownership Plans

Snell & Wilmer

Cheers to 50 Years of ERISA: A Major Milestone in Employee Protection

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As the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) celebrates its 50th anniversary, it offers us an opportunity to reflect on its transformative impact on employee benefits and retirement security. Signed into law on...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Arkansas Court Declines to Dismiss Challenge to ESOP Releveraging Transaction

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The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas issued its written decision in Shipp v. Central States Manufacturing, Inc. on July 5, 2024, declining to dismiss the case against Central States Manufacturing Inc....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Second Circuit Weighs in Against ERISA Arbitration

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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

Foley & Lardner LLP

Five Things on the Department of Labor’s Radar for Employee Benefit Plans

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All qualified retirement plans are subject to a myriad of requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is charged with enforcing the...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Putative ESOP Class Action Dismissed for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies

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

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Enforces Arbitration Clause in ERISA Plan Document

A federal district court judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky has enforced an ESOP’s arbitration clause, sending P.L. Marketing Inc. employees’ breach of fiduciary duty claims on behalf of a putative class to individual...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Fourth Circuit Narrows Equitable Relief Under ERISA

In Rose v. PSA Airlines, Inc., 80 F.4th 488 (4th Cir. 2023), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that ERISA § 502(a)(3), which permits a claim for “other appropriate equitable relief,” does not allow claims...more

Holland & Hart - Employers' Lawyers

10th Circuit Rejects ERISA Arbitration Provision

Courts have been mixed regarding the enforceability of arbitration provisions in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) retirement plans since the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2019 decision in Dorman v. Charles...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Why Aren’t Courts Conducting the 'Context-Specific' Inquiry Into Complaints That the Supreme Court Requires?

Recently, several appellate-level court decisions have affirmed dismissals of ERISA fiduciary-breach claims involving 401(k) plans. These decisions followed the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in a 403(b) case, in...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Court Compels Proposed ESOP Class to Individual Arbitration Based on Plan Document

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Historically, courts around the country have approached the enforceability of class action waivers and arbitration provisions in ESOP and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plan documents differently,...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Courts Desperately Need Contextual Clues in Disputes Over Enforceability of Arbitration Provisions

Enforcement of an ERISA plan’s arbitration provision has become a hotly litigated issue. Plaintiffs and courts often raise two objections to arbitration provisions in ERISA plans, including ESOPs. The first is whether...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Important Recent ESOP Developments 

There were several significant legal developments relating to employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) last year. This information memo will summarize a few of the most important developments. ...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Sixth Circuit Enforces ERISA Exclusion in ESOP Trustee’s Insurance Policy

A recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision serves as a warning to policyholders: read your entire policy, understand each provision and confirm that the policy language accurately reflects your understanding of the...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Court Rejects DOL Claims of ESOP Overpayment

The board of directors of Bowers + Kubota Consulting, Inc. recently won an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciary/breach case brought against them by the Department of Labor. See Walsh v. Bowers, et al., No....more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

ERISA Litigation Roundup: Seventh Circuit Weighs in on Arbitration and Class Waiver Provisions in Defined-Contribution Plans

On September 10, 2021, the Seventh Circuit decided Smith v. Board of Directors of Triad Manufacturing Inc., No. 20-2708, holding that benefit plans may require claimants to arbitrate claims under the Employee Retirement...more

Polsinelli

ESOPs Win Big in Hawaii Court Case

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The Federal District Court for Hawaii recently determined that no violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) were established by the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) in a breach of...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

ERISA Litigation Roundup: Northern District of Illinois Dismisses ERISA Stock-Drop Suit

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed an ERISA stock-drop lawsuit brought against fiduciaries of Kraft Heinz Food Company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), holding...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Reminder to ERISA Fiduciaries: ERISA May Not Protect Fiduciaries from Liability Under State Law

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The recent Seventh Circuit decision in Halperin v. Richards provides a reminder to ERISA fiduciaries who are also corporate officers (frequently referred to as “dual-hat officers”) that they can be held liable under both...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Enforceability of Arbitration Provisions — There Might Be More to the Analysis

Recently, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a plaintiff was required to request attorneys’ fees during an arbitration of an ERISA claims dispute. Having failed to do so, the plaintiff could not subsequently seek a...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Denies Interlocutory Appeal for Novel Issue of “Hardwired” 401(k) Plans

A federal district court in Maryland recently declined to certify an interlocutory appeal to the Fourth Circuit on the issue of whether financial institutions can “hardwire” a preference for their own proprietary investment...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: What the Supreme Court’s Decision in a 401(k) Fee Case Could Mean for ESOPs

The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a challenge to the dismissal of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 401(k) excessive fee case. The case involves a question about whether jury trials are...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Left Coast Appeals

This Week at the Ninth: Falsity and Fiduciaries

This week, we examine a pair of Ninth Circuit decisions addressing when opinions are materially false under securities law, and what a plaintiff must plead to establish a duty-of prudence violation under the Employee...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Courts Split on Class Action Waivers, Arbitration Provisions in ERISA Litigation

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Courts have struggled through the years when considering the enforceability of mandatory class action waivers and arbitration provisions contained within Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plans and other...more

Polsinelli

The Polsinelli Pulse: Mitigating Litigation Risk at the Deal Table and Beyond - Vol. 3

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Mergers & Acquisitions And Paycheck Protection Program: Proceed With Caution - In Spring 2020, Congress adopted the CARES Act, which authorized $350 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). With an additional...more

Polsinelli

Illinois Court Strikes Down ESOP’s Arbitration Provision

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Over the past few years, qualified retirement plans, including employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) have been adding provisions requiring participant breach of fiduciary duty claims to be resolved through mandatory...more

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