Yesterday, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services announced a non-enforcement policy with respect to final regulations issued under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (“MHPAEA”) in September 2024. The Departments recently indicated that this policy was imminent when they requested that litigation challenging the final regulations be
District Court Holds Pension Fund Misapplied Prior Partial Withdrawal Liability Credit
By Neil V. Shah & Sydney Juliano on
A federal district court in Illinois became the first court to rule that an employer’s credit for a prior partial withdrawal should be applied at the end of the statute’s “waterfall” for calculating withdrawal liability. The case is Consumers Concrete Corp. v. Central States, S.E. and S.W. Areas Pension Fund, Nos. 23-cv-2695 & 23-cv-3005…
Seventh Circuit Affirms that Employer’s Withdrawal Liability Cannot Be Based on Post-Rehabilitation Plan Contribution Increases
By Justin Alex & Neil V. Shah on
We recently reported on a district court decision holding that the Central States Pension Fund’s calculation of withdrawal liability should not have included contribution rate increases imposed after the Fund’s implementation of a rehabilitation plan. In Central States, S.E. & S.W. Pension Fund v. Event Media Inc., Nos. 24-1739 & 1740-42, 2025 WL 1185368…
Supreme Court Establishes Lower Pleading Standard for Prohibited Transaction Claims
By Myron Rumeld & Sydney Juliano on
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Cunningham v. Cornell University that plaintiffs can satisfy the requirements for pleading prohibited party-in interest transactions under ERISA section 406(a) without alleging facts disproving the availability of a statutory exemption for such transactions, such as where no more than reasonable compensation is paid for necessary services. No. 23-1007 (U.S. Apr. 17, 2025). As a result, plaintiffs may be able to withstand motions to dismiss such claims even where the underlying pleadings are found insufficient to sustain a fiduciary breach claim based on the same conduct. Recognizing the risks posed by potentially frivolous claims proceeding into discovery, the Supreme Court coupled its ruling with specific advice as to how district courts can mitigate these risks.