Tulio Chirinos
Associate
Tulio D. Chirinos is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group and the Workplace Investigations Practice Group.
Tulio works on a wide variety of ERISA and non-ERISA plan litigation matters, including fee and investment litigation cases, breach of fiduciary duty claims and benefits claims. He also represents management in workplace investigations and litigation of employment-related matters, including claims of unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Tulio focuses his pro bono efforts on immigration matters where he has represented several juveniles from Central America in their asylum petitions and special immigrant juvenile status (SIJ) petitions.
Tulio is the author of several ERISA-related articles, including several focusing on ERISA fee and investment litigation that appeared in the Benefits Law Journal (2016-2023), Bloomberg BNA, and Law360. He is a contributing author to Chapter 10 (Fiduciary Responsibility) of BNA’s Employee Benefits Law treatise. He is also the co-editor and a frequent contributor to Proskauer’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog.
Prior to joining Proskauer, Tulio clerked for the Federal Public Defender’s office for the Middle District of Florida. Tulio is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Army National Guard and served three tours of duty in Iraq, Kuwait, and Jordan.
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On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit issued its opinion in Hughes v. Northwestern University, concluding that participants in two Northwestern 403(b) plans plausibly pled fiduciary-breach claims based on allegations of excessive recordkeeping and investment management fees, but dismissed their claim that too many investment options caused them “decision paralysis.” In so … Continue Reading
A district court in the Southern District of Ohio and one in the Western District of Wisconsin reached opposite conclusions on motions to dismiss claims for fiduciary breach based on allegations that recordkeeping fees were unreasonably high. Dismissal was granted in Sigetich v. The Kroger Co., No. 21-cv-697, 2023 WL 2431667 (S.D. Oh. Mar. 9, … Continue Reading
In a striking reversal of approach beginning in the summer of 2022, the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin went from denying, in whole or in part, virtually every motion to dismiss ERISA lawsuits targeting plan recordkeeping fees and investment fund selections to granting all of them. This nearly 180 degree pivot comes … 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
In Krutchen v. Ricoh USA, No. 22-cv-678, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206792 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 15, 2022), a Pennsylvania district court dismissed an ERISA excessive fee complaint for failing to provide enough information about alleged comparator plans that allegedly paid less for recordkeeping services. The decision is notable for delivering defendants a victory in the … Continue Reading
In Matousek v. MidAmerican Energy Co., 2022 WL 6880771, __ F.4th __ (8th Cir. 2022), the Eighth Circuit joined the Sixth and Seventh Circuits in affirming dismissal of ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims alleging that the plan fiduciaries allowed the plan to pay excessive recordkeeping and administrative fees and offered imprudent investment options. Background … 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 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 … Continue Reading
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 … 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, 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 declined … 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
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 … 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
In the first decision since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hughes v. Northwestern Univ., No. 19-1401, 595 U.S. ___ (U.S. Jan. 24, 2022) (discussed further here), a Georgia federal district court held in favor of plaintiffs and declined to dismiss allegations that defendant’s 401(k) plan included costly and underperforming funds and charged excessive recordkeeping fees. … Continue Reading
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 Justice … Continue Reading
A Kentucky federal district court ruled that a participant in CommonSpirit Health’s 401(k) plan failed to state plausible claims for breach of fiduciary duty related to the fees and performance of actively managed target date funds and recordkeeping fees. The court first rejected plaintiff’s claim that the plan fiduciaries should have offered a passively managed … 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
On April 1, 2021, the Ninth Circuit became the third circuit court to conclude that a forum-selection clause in an ERISA 401(k) plan is enforceable. The Ninth Circuit thus denied a petition for mandamus seeking to overturn a district court decision transferring an ERISA action from the Northern District of California to the District of … 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
Among the many claims brought by plaintiffs challenging investment offerings in defined contribution plans is the claim that plans should offer stable value funds in lieu of more conservative capital preservation funds, such as money market funds and deposit accounts that are insured by the U.S. government. Plaintiffs have argued that stable value funds are … Continue Reading
Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a decision by the Eighth Circuit holding that ERISA plan participants lack Article III standing to sue for breach of fiduciary duty to recover investment losses in a defined benefit fund that was not underfunded. The Court concluded that the participants lacked a concrete stake in the dispute … Continue Reading
Northwestern University’s Alternative Explanations Not Strong Enough To Defeat ERISA Excessive Fee Claims
District Courts Reach Opposite Conclusions on 401(k) Excessive Fee Claims
Wisconsin District Court Rulings Signal Potential New Trend Favoring the Defense of ERISA Fee and Investment Performance Lawsuits
New York District Court Rejects ERISA Excessive Fee Claims as Insufficient
ERISA Fee Complaint Dismissed in Pennsylvania District Court, Extending Favorable Trend
Eighth Circuit Joins Growing Number of Courts Rejecting Common ERISA Fee and Investment Claims
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
Seventh Circuit Provides Hope for ERISA Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries Defending Investment Fee & Performance Litigation
Fifth Circuit Rules that DOL Advisory Opinion Is Subject to Judicial Review and Invalidates DOL Advisory Opinion on Health Insurance
By Myron Rumeld, Tulio Chirinos and Jay Jensen on Posted in Department of Labor
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 Second Excessive Fee 401(k) Plan Litigation
Ninth Circuit Revives Fee Challenge to Salesforce.com 401(k) Plan
[Podcast]: Key ERISA Fee and Investment Litigation Developments and the Impact of Hughes v. Northwestern University
By Myron Rumeld and Tulio Chirinos on Posted in 403(b) Plans, Benefits Brief Podcast, ERISA Coverage
District Court Enforces 403(b) Plan Arbitration Clause With Class Action Waiver But Allows For Plan-Wide Non-Monetary Relief
District Court Declines to Dismiss 401(k) Fee Litigation Case in First Decision Post-Hughes
By Kyle Hansen and Tulio Chirinos on Posted in 401(k) Plans, Defined Contribution Plan Investment Litigation, Fiduciary, Fiduciary Breach
The Supreme Court Declines to Establish Pleading Standard for Defined Contribution Plan Excessive Fee Litigation
District Court Dismisses Investment and Recordkeeping Claims Against 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries
By Tulio Chirinos and Jessica Guarracino on Posted in 401(k) Plans, Fiduciary Breach
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
Ninth Circuit Enforces Forum Selection Clause in 401(k) Plan
By Russell Hirschhorn, Myron Rumeld, John E. Roberts, Joseph Clark, Tulio Chirinos and Kyle Hansen on Posted in 401(k) Plans, Arbitration
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
American Airlines 401(k) Plan Not Required To Offer Stable Value Fund
By Russell Hirschhorn, Seth Safra and Tulio Chirinos on Posted in 401(k) Plans
U.S. Supreme Court Holds ERISA Defined Benefit Plan Participants Without Monetary Losses Lack Article III Standing to Assert Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims
By Russell Hirschhorn and Tulio Chirinos on Posted in Standing
