PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
Legal Alert | DOL Opens ESG Door: What Does It Mean for Plan Fiduciaries?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
Corporate Fiduciaries Holding Cryptocurrency - Digital Planning Podcast
Legislation Discussion with PA State Senator Tom Killion
Discussion of PA’s Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) forfeiture litigation landscape continues to evolve as courts continue to weigh in on the viability of this novel theory of ERISA liability. As explained in a...more
As discussed in a previous Holland & Knight alert, there has been a recent uptick in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) class actions challenging employers' tobacco-free wellness programs. Plaintiffs in...more
The Second Circuit recently made two rulings of interest to ERISA litigators and to fiduciaries of 401(k) or other defined contribution plans. In the first ruling, the court held that individual plan participants did not have...more
Two recent class action lawsuits charging a breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) have increased the stakes and raised important considerations regarding a plan fiduciary’s duty of...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued one decision today: Cunningham v. Cornell University, No. 23-1007: This case addresses the pleading standard to assert a claim under a provision of the Employee Retirement...more
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Insurance Insights, a gathering of notable legal developments and trends relevant to the insurance industry. In this issue, the California Supreme Court covers COVID-19 claims, Georgia...more
Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - INTRODUCTION - On June 20, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “court”) denied a motion for summary...more
Commonly referred to as "excessive fee" litigation, class actions that allege retirement plan investments charge too much and earn too little have increased over the past two decades. Excessive fee cases are difficult to...more
The Fifth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s dismissal of claims that the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan breached the duty of prudence under ERISA by offering participants retail share classes instead of cheaper...more
Earlier this month, a Mayo Clinic employee filed a proposed class action against the clinic, arguing that the clinic’s employee health plan and its third-party administrator (TPA) Medica, underpaid for services performed by...more
A federal district court in Massachusetts dismissed ERISA fiduciary breach and prohibited transaction claims against 401(k) plan fiduciaries, ruling that the prohibited transaction claims were time-barred and the fiduciary...more
ERISA class action lawsuits against retirement plan fiduciaries have become commonplace over the last few decades, usually alleging that imprudent processes and lack of oversight led to excessive fees for investment options,...more
A lawsuit filed on February 5, 2024, against Johnson and Johnson and its health plan fiduciaries is a good reminder that the fiduciary duties that exist under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) do not...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit considers when common issues predominate in wage-and-hour litigation and analyzes the assignment of the right to sue for nonpayment of benefits under ERISA. MILES v. KIRKLAND'S STORES, INC....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Matney v. Barrick Gold of North America, et al. on Sept. 6, 2023, finding that participants in an employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan...more
The filing of a new 401(k) plan “excessive fee” or “investment underperformance” complaint is hardly “news” these days given the proliferation of suits that have been filed over the past several years. In fact, hardly a week...more
Two recent district court decisions add to the growing number of courts granting motions to dismiss putative ERISA class actions challenging defined contribution plan fees and investment performance. These decisions from the...more
Retirement plans are increasingly subject to cybersecurity issues, and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is taking notice. On April 14, 2021, the DOL published cybersecurity guidance “for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries,...more
Steering board members clear of being named plan fiduciaries is a start. Most board members don’t want to become 401(k) plan fiduciaries....more