Sydney Juliano
Associate
Sydney L. Juliano is an associate in the Labor & Employment Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group, where she focuses on ERISA Litigation.
Sydney works on a variety of ERISA litigation matters, including fee- and investment-related breach of fiduciary duty claims, benefit claims, and claims by trustees of multiemployer plans for withdrawal liability and delinquent contributions. Sydney is also a frequent contributor to Proskauer’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog.
Sydney maintains an active pro bono practice, including representing clients in immigration and family court matters.
Sydney received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was an Articles Editor of the Journal of Law and Politics and Director of Coaching for the Extramural Moot Court team. While at UVA, she worked at the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida.
Subscribe to all posts by Sydney Juliano
A recent Seventh Circuit decision affirms the principle that an ERISA severance plan can reserve to the employer discretion over who is eligible for severance benefits. The case is Carlson v. Northrop Grumman Severance Plan, No. 22-1764, __ F.4th __, 2023 WL 3299703 (7th Cir. May 8, 2023).… Continue Reading
A district court in New York recently dismissed a putative class action challenging retirement plan recordkeeping and investment management fees. The case is Singh v. Deloitte LLP, No. 21-cv-8458, 2023 WL 186679 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 13, 2023). The court’s decision adds to the growing number of Second Circuit district courts relying on out-of-circuit appellate decisions to … Continue Reading
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 Eastern District of New York and the Eastern District of Wisconsin are the latest victories for defendants at the motion to dismiss stage … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit recently issued a mixed opinion in a 401(k) plan investment litigation. The Court upheld the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ fiduciary-breach claims relating to the investment management fees and performance of several of the plan’s investment options, but reinstated a claim for breach of fiduciary duty based solely on the plan fiduciaries’ alleged … Continue Reading
In April, we wrote here about the discouraging trend of opinions allowing commonly asserted breach of fiduciary duty claims in 401(k) and 403(b) plan investment litigation to survive motions to dismiss. While it may be too soon to declare a reversal of that trend, three recent decisions dismissing these types of claims present some hope … Continue Reading
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 1236954 … Continue Reading
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 discussing Hughes, … Continue Reading
A federal district court in Florida sent a proposed ERISA breach of fiduciary duty class action to individual arbitration on the basis of a plan arbitration clause that allowed for individual relief and plan-wide injunctive relief. The case is Holmes v. Baptist Health South Florida, Inc., No. 21-cv-22986, 2022 WL 180638 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 20, … Continue Reading
A South Carolina federal district court denied plaintiffs’ demand for a jury trial in an ERISA fiduciary-breach action. The court held that, because federal courts in the Fourth Circuit and elsewhere have consistently held that ERISA claims are equitable in nature even when plaintiffs seek monetary relief, jury trials are unavailable. The case is Williams … Continue Reading
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 suit in … Continue Reading
A federal district court in Maryland recently declined to certify an interlocutory appeal to the Fourth Circuit on the issue of whether financial institutions can “hardwire” a preference for their own proprietary investment vehicles into their employees’ 401(k) plans. David G. Feinberg, et al., & all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. T. Rowe Price Group, … Continue Reading
As mentioned in our earlier posts, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) provides a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for continuation coverage between April 1 and September 30, 2021 for certain assistance eligible individuals (“AEIs”). As employers and plan administrators prepare to educate AEIs about this subsidy, they cannot overlook another necessary notice: a … Continue Reading
Whether a one-time payment of benefits constitutes an employee benefit plan under ERISA has been the source of some consternation in the courts for many years. The Fifth Circuit, in Atkins v. CB&I, LLC, recently had occasion to consider the issue and held that a bonus conditioned on completing a project was not an ERISA … Continue Reading
In response to the deluge of ERISA class action breach of fiduciary duty claims, plan sponsors and fiduciaries have increasingly sought to compel individual arbitration of such claims pursuant to arbitration clauses in employment agreements or plan documents. As discussed in an earlier blog post, the Ninth Circuit previously enforced such an arbitration provision when … Continue Reading
Seventh Circuit Affirms Discretion Over Who Gets Severance Benefits
By Seth Safra and Sydney Juliano on Posted in Class Actions, ERISA Coverage, Severance
New York District Court Rejects ERISA Excessive Fee Claims as Insufficient
Two More District Courts Reject ERISA Fee and Performance Claims as Insufficient
By Tulio Chirinos and Sydney Juliano on Posted in Defined Contribution Plan Investment Litigation, Fiduciary Breach
Sixth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Some Investment Fee and Performance Claims But Allows Mutual Fund Share Class Claim to Proceed to Discovery
By Tulio Chirinos and Sydney Juliano on Posted in Defined Contribution Plan Investment Litigation, Fiduciary Breach
Defendants Secure Motion to Dismiss Victories in Three Post-Hughes Decisions
Sixth Circuit Rejects Arbitration for Proposed Fiduciary Breach Class Action
Ninth Circuit Revives Fee Challenge to Salesforce.com 401(k) Plan
District Court Enforces 403(b) Plan Arbitration Clause With Class Action Waiver But Allows For Plan-Wide Non-Monetary Relief
District Court Rejects Demand for Jury Trial in 401(k) Investment Litigation
Fifth Circuit Holds Participants Lack Standing To Challenge Plan Investment Options
By Myron Rumeld, Tulio Chirinos and Sydney Juliano on Posted in 401(k) Plans
District Court Denies Interlocutory Appeal for Novel Issue of “Hardwired” 401(k) Plans
By Sydney Juliano on Posted in 401(k) Plans
All Good Subsidies Must Come to an End: ARP’s Expiration Notice Requirements
By Sydney Juliano, Paul M. Hamburger and Katrina McCann on Posted in COBRA
Fifth Circuit Rules that Project Completion Bonus is Not an ERISA Severance Plan
By Seth Safra, Russell Hirschhorn and Sydney Juliano on Posted in ERISA Coverage
Second Circuit Rules ERISA Fiduciary-Breach Claims Are Outside the Scope of General Employment Arbitration Agreement
By Tulio Chirinos and Sydney Juliano on Posted in 401(k) Plans, Arbitration
