The Seventh Circuit recently provided a ray of sunshine in what has largely been a gloomy stretch for plan sponsors and fiduciaries defending ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims based on allegedly excessive investment and administrative fees and investment underperformance. In this particular case, Oshkosh emerged victorious with the Seventh Circuit affirming the dismissal—at the
Fifth Circuit Rules that DOL Advisory Opinion Is Subject to Judicial Review and Invalidates DOL Advisory Opinion on Health Insurance
On August 17, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a Department of Labor (“DOL”) advisory opinion, which found that an insurance plan was not governed by ERISA, was unenforceable under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). In doing so, the court ruled that the DOL advisory opinion constituted a “final
Sixth Circuit Rejects Arbitration for Proposed Fiduciary Breach Class Action
The Sixth Circuit, in a matter of first impression for that Circuit, held an arbitration clause contained in an individual employment agreement did not apply to ERISA fiduciary breach claims brought on behalf of a defined contribution plan. The case is Hawkins et al. v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-2156, __ F.4th __, 2022 WL
Ninth Circuit Revives Second Excessive Fee 401(k) Plan Litigation
On Friday, for the second week in a row, the Ninth Circuit reversed dismissal of a 401(k) plan excessive fee litigation challenging the offering of retail share classes of mutual funds instead of cheaper institutional share classes. As with its decision reviving the other 401(k) plan litigation (discussed in detail here), the Ninth Circuit
Ninth Circuit Revives Fee Challenge to Salesforce.com 401(k) Plan
On Friday, the Ninth Circuit became the first circuit court to rule in a 401(k) plan fee and investment litigation following the Supreme Court’s January 2022 decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, 142 S. Ct. 737 (2022). In Davis v. Salesforce.com, Inc., No. 21-15867 (9th Cir. Apr. 8, 2022), the Ninth Circuit, without
[Podcast]: Key ERISA Fee and Investment Litigation Developments and the Impact of Hughes v. Northwestern University
In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, Myron D. Rumeld, partner and co-chair of Proskauer’s ERISA Litigation group and senior associate Tulio D. Chirinos, review the current state of affairs with respect to the litigation challenging the fees charged and investments offered in defined contribution plans; and The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University where the court reversed and remanded the Seventh Circuit’s decision affirming dismissal of a 403(b) plan excessive fee litigation.
The Supreme Court Declines to Establish Pleading Standard for Defined Contribution Plan Excessive Fee Litigation
To the disappointment of many in the ERISA community, the Supreme Court issued a six-page opinion on January 24th that declined to opine on most of the issues that were before the Court in Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401 (U.S. Jan. 24, 2022). In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Sotomayor, in which
District Court Partially Dismisses ERISA 401(k) Fee and Performance Claims for Lack of Standing
A federal district court in New York recently granted Omnicom Group Inc.’s (“Omnicom’s”) motion to dismiss, for lack of Article III standing, claims challenging the offering of investment options in Omnicom’s 401(k) plan in which the plaintiff participants did not invest. The court denied Omnicom’s motion to dismiss, however, with respect to the remainder of
Fifth Circuit Holds Participants Lack Standing To Challenge Plan Investment Options
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal, for lack of standing, of a fiduciary breach representative action against American Airlines and its 401(k) plan investment committee. Ortiz v. American Airlines, Inc., No. 20-10817, 2021 WL 3030550 (5th Cir. July 19, 2021). As discussed in an earlier post, two former American Airlines employees brought this
Tenth Circuit Addresses Damages for Excessive Recordkeeping Fee Claims
One of the multitude of recent cases challenging the recordkeeping fees of 401(k) plans recently made its way to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ramos v. Banner Health, No. 20-1231, — F.3d —- (10th Cir. June 11, 2021). Following a bench trial that resulted in a determination that the fiduciaries of Banner Health’s