The FTC and Connecticut Join Forces for Action Against Nissan Dealer
An In-Depth Analysis of the CFPB’s Proposed Overdraft Rule - The Consumer Finance Podcast
The FTC Takes Initiative to Stop Junk Fees
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: The Biden Admin “Junk Fees” Initiative Continues: What the Latest Actions Mean for the Consumer Financial Services and Rental Housing Industries, Pt 1
AD Nauseam: Junk Fees Will Keep Us Together
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: What the Biden Administration’s “Junk Fees” Initiative Means for the Consumer Financial Services Industry: A Look at the Fees Under Attack, Part II
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: What the Biden Administration’s “Junk Fees” Initiative Means for the Consumer Financial Services Industry: A Look at the Fees Under Attack, Part I
Podcast - Junk Fees: It's a Political Issue
Podcast - Junk Fees: What's the Flap All About
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Close Look at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Credit Card Late Fees Proposal with Special Guest Todd J. Zywicki
Podcast: Supreme Court May Resolve Key ERISA Statute of Limitations and Proprietary Fund Litigation Questions
Podcast: Federal Court Rejects Mutual Fund Fee Claims and Recognizes Market Realities
Last year, we alerted you to the filing of several class action lawsuits alleging that plan fiduciaries violated their duties of prudence and loyalty under Title I of ERISA by applying forfeitures to reduce employer...more
History of 401(k) Plan Excessive Fee Cases. Once the Department of Labor’s participant fee disclosure rules for retirement plans became effective in 2012, the plaintiffs’ bar latched onto recordkeeping and investment fees...more
Welcome to Goodwin’s ERISA Litigation Update. Litigation involving ERISA-governed benefits plans has exploded in recent years. Lawyers in our award-winning ERISA Litigation practice have extensive experience litigating these...more
ERISA litigation has exploded in the past few years, particularly cases alleging excessive fees. Last year was the high-water mark for ERISA class actions with over 200 cases filed, an 80% increase from 2019. 2021 is on track...more
I always say that the reason I don’t have employees is I was once an employee too. I was never totally happy with pay and benefits and I don’t know if I ever could be totally satisfied where I worked. I was a good employee,...more
In one of the first ERISA cases to address claims against fiduciaries for excessive health plan fees, the court entered judgment in favor of the defendants on all counts. The decision addresses health plan fiduciary standards...more
WHAT’S THE EXPOSURE? • Settlements up to $140 million • Last year alone, settlements of $17 million, $22 million, $24 million, and among others • Plaintiffs’ lawyers generally get 1/3 of the settlement amounts • Plaintiffs’...more
Chutzpah is nerve, shameless audacity. The best example of chutzpah is someone who kills their parents and asks the court for leniency because they’re an orphan. I’ve been in this business of ours for the past 20 plus...more
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Labor (DOL), is looking at an obscure and confidential “infrastructure” fee that Fidelity charges the mutual fund companies for putting their funds on its...more
On Monday, November 16, 2018, in AXIS Reinsurance Company v. Northrop Grumman Corporation, Case No. 17-8660 (C.D. Cal.), a federal district court in California ruled that an excess fiduciary liability insurer did not owe...more
The Death of the Fiduciary Rule: the Fifth Circuit Vacates the Fiduciary Rule - On June 21, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit officially vacated the Department of Labor’s (the “DOL’s”)...more
Despite the change in seasons, there appears to be no change in the pace of complex and class action ERISA litigation. Investments in defined contribution plans—both 401(k) and 403(b) plans—continue to be the leading target...more
Editor's Overview - As we have observed on other occasions, the ERISA class action plaintiffs' bar has, for several years now, honed in on 401(k) plan fiduciaries and their decisions to select and retain investment options...more
If you have an account in a retirement plan where you work or you own an Individual Retirement Account, you may get financial advice about the assets in your account from an investment advisor, broker, planner, or insurance...more
I remember as a kid that there was a move to use margarine because of the cholesterol that was in butter. Who can forget those talking Parkay carton commercials? Of course, we later learn that many margarines had high amounts...more
I remember as a kid that there was move to use margarine because of the cholesterol that was in butter. Who can forget those talking Parkay carton commercials? Of course, we later learn that many margarines had high amounts...more
Editor's Note - Marching On. Notwithstanding the industry’s watch of the Senate’s confirmation of new leadership for the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the DOL proposed a delay...more
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule expanding the “investment advice fiduciary” definition under ERISA and modified the complex of prohibited transaction exemptions for investment activities as a...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its first set of FAQs under the fiduciary investment advice rule (the “Rule”) and related prohibited transaction exemptions. In general, the Rule provides that parties providing...more
Investment Adviser AXA Wins Excessive Fee Trial - A federal judge in New Jersey has ruled in favor of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (AXA Equitable) and its wholly owned subsidiary, AXA Equitable Funds Management...more
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
The Future Is Now For 401(k) Plan Sponsors. The future is here. When I was the head ERISA attorney at a New York based third party administrator (TPA), I left because I saw the future of the retirement plan...more
The New Fiduciary Rule: What It Means To Plan Sponsors - Bottom line: what does it mean? More than a dozen years ago, there was a medical report that dental plaque could cause heart disease. I thought it was some...more