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.
Arbitration
Sixth Circuit Rules Retiree Healthcare Benefits Claim Is Not Arbitrable
By Russell Hirschhorn & Kyle Hansen on
The Sixth Circuit, in a split decision, held that a dispute between a union and an employer regarding retiree healthcare benefits was not arbitrable because the issue of retiree healthcare benefits was not encompassed within the collective bargaining agreement’s (CBA’s) grievance procedures.
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied-Industrial and Service Workers…
Ninth Circuit Enforces Forum Selection Clause in 401(k) Plan
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…
Second Circuit Rules ERISA Fiduciary-Breach Claims Are Outside the Scope of General Employment Arbitration Agreement
By Tulio Chirinos & Sydney Juliano on
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…