In this update on the litigation challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule, we note that there has been a sixth lawsuit filed and oral arguments in two other cases. (Our previous reports are available here, and our Client Alert on the new rule is available here.) Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a Christian … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, there are five pending lawsuits challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule. Our Client Alert on the new rule outlines the significance of the rule and the implications of the expanded definition of “fiduciary” for investment advisors and other related service providers. First, with respect to the litigation pending … Continue Reading
The Tenth Circuit held that a pension plan consultant, who misstated the amount of monthly pension payments that a pension plan participant would receive in retirement, was not a fiduciary under ERISA. Plaintiffs Trent and Wendy Lebahn, who were participants in the National Farmers Union Uniform Pension Plan, claimed that the Plan, its Pension Committee … Continue Reading
As we previously reported here, there have been five lawsuits challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule. (Our Client Alert on the new rule is available here.) On July 8, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed its first formal response to these lawsuits in The National Association for Fixed Annuities v. … Continue Reading
On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor released its Final Rule addressing when a person providing services to an employee benefit plan or individual retirement account (IRA) is considered to be providing investment advice that is subject to ERISA’s fiduciary standard. As discussed in our Client Alert, available here, the rule expanded the … Continue Reading
Today, the U.S. Department of Labor will release its highly-anticipated Final Rule and Exemptions addressing when a person providing investment advice with respect to an employee benefit plan or individual retirement account is considered to be a “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code. According to a … Continue Reading
Continuing a trend in other Circuits, the Eighth Circuit held that a service provider that was contracted to provide the 401(k) plan’s investment options does not act as an ERISA fiduciary when, consistent with the terms of a contract it negotiated at arms’ length, it passes through operating expenses to participants. The Court also rejected the plan’s … Continue Reading
On April 14, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its highly anticipated re-proposed regulation addressing when a person providing investment advice with respect to an employee benefit plan or individual retirement account (IRA) is considered to be a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its highly anticipated re-proposed regulation addressing when a person providing investment advice with respect to an employee benefit plan is considered a fiduciary under ERISA. The DOL stated that it believes its proposal is necessary because the current regulatory scheme no longer adequately protects plans, participants, beneficiaries, and … Continue Reading
A federal court recently dismissed ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims asserted by Delphi Beta Fund, LLC, a hedge fund, against two of its bank lenders, because there was no precedent for applying ERISA’s fiduciary duties to a third party lender to a hedge fund. See Delphi Beta Fund, LLC v. Univest Bank and Trust … Continue Reading
A class of former LandAmerica Financial Group employees agreed to a $5 million settlement of stock-drop claims arising from LandAmerica’s 2008 bankruptcy, and have submitted the agreement for court approval. LandAmerica filed for bankruptcy following the 2008 collapse of its title insurance subsidiary. … Continue Reading
Defendants Ameriprise Financial, Inc., the fiduciary committees of the Ameriprise 401(k) plan, and individual committee members agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a class of participants in the Ameriprise 401(k) plan for $27.5 million.… Continue Reading
A federal district court in New Jersey held that oral misrepresentations may support a breach of fiduciary duty claim under ERISA. Plaintiff Richard Lees was hired by American Re–Insurance Company, although he was paid by another entity called SMS. When American sought to transfer Lees to its payroll, Lees allegedly agreed to the transfer only … Continue Reading
A federal district court in Iowa dismissed a putative class action complaint brought by several 401(k) plan sponsors who alleged that Principal Life Insurance Company breached its fiduciary duties to the plans by charging excessive fees in connection with certain investment options and services provided to plan participants. The court determined, among other things, that … Continue Reading
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the decision of a district court that Plaintiff Patrick Russell, a 401(k) plan participant, had knowingly waived his right to assert an ERISA stock-drop claim based on, among other things, the alleged imprudence of maintaining an employer stock fund as an investment option. Russell argued that the district court erred by … Continue Reading
Plan trustees often look to settle ERISA fiduciary breach claims brought against them as a way to put the past behind them. Assuming there is enough fiduciary liability insurance coverage available to pay the proposed settlement sum, the trustees may be prepared to put aside their desire to vindicate themselves for a challenged course of … Continue Reading
A district court in Pennsylvania concluded that a decedent’s life insurance plan beneficiaries were entitled to equitable surcharge where the plan administrator failed to, among other things, inform the decedent about the need to convert her group policy to an individual policy. Weaver Brothers Insurance Associates, Inc. v. Braunstein, 2014 WL 2599929 (E.D. Pa. June … Continue Reading
A federal district court in California awarded relief in the form of surcharge to a life insurance plan beneficiary who claimed that a plan administrator failed to provide complete and accurate information in response to inquiries about how to prevent coverage from lapsing. In so ruling, the court stated that the plan administrator’s response to … Continue Reading
The Second Circuit recently held that Morgan Stanley and others were not de facto ERISA fiduciaries by virtue of having authority and means to fund company contributions with stock rather than cash. In so ruling, the Court explained that at the time of the decision to fund contributions with company stock, the stock was not … Continue Reading
In Golden Star Inc. v. MassMutual Life Ins. Co., 2014 WL 2117511 (D. Mass. May 20, 2014), a district court addressed two issues that have become hotly contested in 401(k) plan fee litigation: (1) whether and when a plan provider’s possession or exercise of discretion over fees confers fiduciary status; and (2) whether, to be … Continue Reading
In Malcolm v. Trilithic, Inc., 2014 WL 1324082, No. 1:13-cv-00073 (S.D. Ind. Mar. 31, 2014), the Southern District of Indiana held that plan fiduciaries were under no duty to investigate allegations that a false sale had been included in the company’s records as a way of “puff[ing] up [its] receivables account and profitability” to present … Continue Reading
It is generally understood that communications between clients and lawyers are privileged and that the substance of those conversations may not be divulged to third parties except in the rarest of circumstances. In the employee benefits world, however, plan sponsors and fiduciaries are often surprised to learn that this cardinal rule does not always … Continue Reading
The Eleventh Circuit recently dismissed a participant’s fiduciary breach claims against SunTrust’s 401(k) plan fiduciary committee members on the ground that the claims for imprudently selecting certain investment options was time barred by ERISA’s six-year statute of limitations. Fuller v. Suntrust Banks, Inc., 2014 WL 718309 (11th Cir. Feb. 26, 2014). Plaintiff Barbara Fuller argued … Continue Reading
The Third Circuit recently found that while a life insurance company acts as a fiduciary in choosing to use a retained asset account to distribute benefits, it did not breach its fiduciary duties in making that choice. When an insurer creates a retained asset account as the method by which it will distribute benefits, it … Continue Reading
