In most cases, denials of ERISA plan benefits by administrators who have been granted discretionary authority to interpret and apply the plan are reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard, and may only be reversed if the denial was arbitrary and capricious. Such deference, however, is not without limits, and there are circumstances in which
ERISA Litigation
It’s November 11th, Do You Know When Your Private Investment Fund’s VCOC Annual Valuation Period Is?
Similar to the old school public service announcements that used to tell us the time of day and asked us if we knew where our children were, Proskauer wants to make sure fund managers are complying with their applicable “venture capital operating company” (“VCOC”) obligations.
A manager of a private investment fund that accepts investments…
No Monetary Harm, No Foul? Not Quite, but American Airlines Not Required to Pay Any Monetary Damages in ERISA ESG Breach of Loyalty Case
On September 30, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a final judgment on damages in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., No. 4:23-cv-552 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 30, 2025), which related to challenges that American Airlines and its employee benefits committee (“AA”) violated their ERISA fiduciary…
Eleventh Circuit Holds Pension Fund Correctly Applied Partial Withdrawal Liability Credit
In Perfection Bakeries Inc. v. Retail Wholesale & Dep’t Store Int’l Union & Indus. Pension Fund, No. 23-12533, 147 F.4th 1314 (11th Cir. Aug. 1, 2025), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that an employer’s credit for a prior partial withdrawal from a multiemployer pension plan must be applied at the second step of the four-step statutory…