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Universities Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Bricker Graydon LLP

403(b) Plans - Not Your Average Salary Deferral Plan

Bricker Graydon LLP on

Congress continues to pass laws that move 403(b) plans ever closer to 401(k) plans, but 403(b) plans remain distinct. Understanding these differences allows you to maintain a compliant plan that best serves the needs of your...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Circuit Courts of Appeal Uphold Dismissal of 401(k) Fee Challenges Post-Hughes

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Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, courts around the country continue to articulate the pleading requirements for a breach of duty of prudence claim under the Employee Retirement...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument: Are Allegations of Excessive Retirement Plan Fees Sufficient to State a Claim under ERISA?

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

On December 6, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Hughes v. Northwestern University. The question at issue is whether allegations that a defined-contribution retirement plan paid fees that substantially...more

Verrill

Faculty Retirement Incentive Programs: What Does the Law Permit?

Verrill on

A recent survey of full-time college and university faculty found that, as of the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, approximately 25% of those surveyed expected to retire later than they had anticipated before the...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Third Circuit Resuscitates Claims Against University 403(b) Plan Fiduciaries

Over the past several years, the ERISA plaintiffs’ bar has targeted university-sponsored 403(b) plans, arguing that the plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties and engaged in prohibited transactions in connection...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

A Back-to-School Progress Report

This is an update to our article, Back to School for ERISA Fiduciary Claims: How to Prepare for This Trend in University Litigation, which was published on August 22, 2017. As we discussed previously, over the past couple...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Georgetown University Defeats Retirement Plan Fee Litigation and “If a Cat Were a Dog, It Would Bark”

McDermott Will & Emery on

Recently, the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit brought by former Georgetown employees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) over fees and...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Duke University settles their 403(b) lawsuit

Over the last 35 years, Duke University has had a championship basketball team on the court. In another court, Duke didn’t do too well....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

403(b) defendants are on a roll

Georgetown University is now the 5th university that has won its case after being sued by plan participants over their 403(b) plan....more

Littler

Victory for NYU After First Trial in the 401(k) Fee Cases Filed Against Colleges and Universities

Littler on

In the past two years, more than 16 prominent colleges and universities across the country have been targeted by class action lawsuits filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) challenging the fees and...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Northwestern University Defeats 403(b) Lawsuit

McDermott Will & Emery on

A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois recently dismissed a lawsuit against Northwestern University alleging that the University and its fiduciaries mismanaged its retirement and voluntary savings plans. This is...more

Saul Ewing LLP

The Friday Five: Five Current ERISA Litigation Highlights - June 2018

Saul Ewing LLP on

This month’s Friday Five covers cases that explore a variety of situations where courts consider what level of deference, if any, they must provide in reviewing decisions made by ERISA fiduciaries....more

Proskauer Rose LLP

ERISA Newsletter - Third Quarter 2017

Proskauer Rose LLP on

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

McDermott Will & Emery

Partial Victories to Two Universities in Their Motions to Dismiss Code Section 403(b) Fee Litigation

McDermott Will & Emery on

Multiple large, class action lawsuits have been filed against prominent higher education institutions claiming fiduciary breaches under their Code Section 403(b) plans as a result of insufficient oversight of plan...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Administrative Exhaustion As a Defense to Statutory ERISA Claims?  Not So Much

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit becomes the seventh circuit court to not require administrative exhaustion for statutory ERISA claims (as opposed to denial of benefit claims), while two circuit courts still do. In...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Court Allows Retired President to Pursue Claim of Contract for Lifetime Pay and Benefits Against University

Bowditch & Dewey on

On February 7, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky ordered that the former President of the University of the Cumberlands, Dr. James Taylor, may proceed on his claims that the University failed...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Top US Universities Hit with Retirement Plan Lawsuits: Lessons for Plan Sponsors

The recent wave of 403(b) lawsuits against more than a dozen prominent US universities could herald similar suits for other 403(b) plan sponsors. Plan sponsors can minimize their risk by reviewing their plan governance...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Class Action Retirement Plan Litigation Hits Higher Ed Hard

In recent weeks, multiple class action lawsuits have been filed against private, nonprofit universities across the country alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and claiming millions of dollars in damages for retirement plan...more

Akerman LLP

Universities: Growing Concern With Explosion of Retirement Plan Fee-Related Lawsuits

Akerman LLP on

In a concerning development for universities and other institutions of higher learning nationwide, a growing number of schools, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Yale University, Johns...more

Franczek P.C.

Multiple Universities Sued Over 403(b) Retirement Plan Investment Fees

Franczek P.C. on

In the last several days, a number of large private universities have been sued regarding the investment fees in their 403(b) retirement plans. The lawsuits claim that these universities breached their fiduciary duties under...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Excessive Fee Litigation Hits 403(b) Plans: What Nonprofit Fiduciaries Need to Know

The recent well-publicized announcement of lawsuits against 403(b) plans of Duke, Yale, NYU, Vanderbilt, and other universities opens a new chapter in ERISA litigation over excessive plan fees. We have reported on this type...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: August 2016

Holland & Knight LLP on

When was the last time your organization reviewed your insurance policies? Not all policies are equal. Many religious organizations are underinsured. Most should have general liability, property, professional liability,...more

McGuireWoods LLP

The New Front in Retirement Plan Litigation: Higher Education in the Crosshairs

McGuireWoods LLP on

Over the past week, lawsuits have been filed against seven prominent private universities in connection with their respective retirement plans. The suits allege breach of ERISA fiduciary duties to plan participants because...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

ERISA Class Actions Filed Against Higher Education Institutions

Ballard Spahr LLP on

Several ERISA breach of fiduciary duty class actions involving allegedly excessive retirement plan fees were filed this week against higher education institutions including colleges, universities, and medical schools. The...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Universities Are Targets of Lawsuits over Retirement Plan Fees

Three lawsuits filed in early August suggest that plaintiffs’ law firms, representing employees of colleges and universities, are looking at higher education retirement plans as potential targets for lawsuits seeking millions...more

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