The Fifth Circuit in Schweitzer v. Inv. Comm. of Phillips 66 Sav. Plan dismissed claims against 401(k) plan fiduciaries related to allowing plan participants to hold a single stock that was not an employer security as a plan investment alternative. No. 18-cv-20379, 2020 WL 2611542 (5th Cir. May 22, 2020). The Court held that: (i)
Seventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of 403(b) Plan Lawsuit Against Northwestern University in Apparent Split with Third Circuit
Since the beginning of 2016, the ERISA plaintiffs’ bar has filed nearly two dozen complaints targeting university-sponsored 403(b) plans. The majority of these lawsuits assert that plan fiduciaries breached their duties and engaged in prohibited transactions by (1) “packing” a plan with too many investment options that underperformed and were more expensive relative to other
PBGC Adopts AAA’s Amended Withdrawal Liability Arbitration Rules
Beginning January 1, 2020, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) will: (i) reduce filing fees charged to parties initiating arbitrations of withdrawal liability disputes; (ii) change how costs of arbitrations are allocated among the parties to the disputes; and (iii) amend the process for resolving arbitrator selection disputes.
The new filing fees are modest in comparison
Arbitrator To Decide Whether ERISA Fiduciary Claims Should Be Arbitrated
A federal district court in Texas referred to arbitration a 401(k) plan participant’s ERISA breach of fiduciary duty action based on allegations that certain plan investment options charged excessive fees. In a two-page order, the court instructed the arbitrator to determine whether the arbitrator or a court should determine whether the class action waiver provision
Sixth Circuit Holds Pecuniary Loss Not Required to Establish Standing In Benefit Claim
The Sixth Circuit joined several other circuits in holding that a participant need not have actually incurred a financial loss in order to have standing to assert an ERISA claim for benefits under Section 502(a)(1)(B). Here, the plan participant arranged an air ambulance for his son in a non-emergent situation, but the plan refused to
ERISA Doesn’t Preempt Nevada Law Limiting General Contractors’ Obligations To Pay Delinquent Contributions
The Ninth Circuit recently held that ERISA does not preempt a Nevada state law that curtailed the ability of multiemployer plans to recover unpaid employer contributions. Under Nevada law SB 223, general contractors can be held vicariously liable for the labor debts of their subcontractors, including contributions owed by subcontractors pursuant to a collective bargaining
Second Circuit Requires Reevaluation of ERISA Attorney Fee Judgment
The Second Circuit determined that a district court erred when it denied an attorney fee award to an ERISA plaintiff who had sought benefits from a plan. In so ruling, the Second Circuit first concluded the district court incorrectly determined that the plaintiff had not achieved “some success”—a threshold requirement for an ERISA fee award—because
ERISA’s Duty To Inform – Distinguishing Between Existing and Possible Benefits
A recent ERISA opinion gives us occasion to point out the important distinction under ERISA concerning fiduciary duties as they pertain to existing benefits and possible benefits. In this case, the plaintiff alleged that defendants misrepresented to her that her retirement benefit plan would not change or would only change to her advantage after the
Plan Participant Waived Remedy for Untimely Benefits Determination
The Seventh Circuit rejected a disability plan participant’s argument that an untimely decision denying his claim for long-term disability benefits warranted changing the standard of review from arbitrary and capricious to de novo. In so ruling, the Court explained that had plaintiff filed suit once the time for a timely decision had passed (because his
Tackett Redux: Ordinary Principles of Contract Interpretation Mean No Inference of Vesting
In an opinion released yesterday, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) must be interpreted according to “ordinary principles of contract law.” CNH Industrial N.V. v. Reese, No. 17-515, 2018 WL 942419 (U.S. Feb. 20, 2018). In so ruling, the Court again rejected the Sixth Circuit’s inference from silence that CBAs vested