While the term “co-pay” might suggest a sharing of costs between patients and their health plans, a recent study by the University of Southern California Schaeffer Center found that almost a quarter of patients are paying more than the full price for their prescription drugs under their insurance plans due to “clawbacks.” A prescription drug
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Ninth Circuit Deepens Circuit Split Over Whether Delinquent Contributions Are Plan Assets
By Neil V. Shah on
The Ninth Circuit held that employer contributions due to a Taft Hartley fund are not plan assets until they are actually paid to the fund, irrespective of whether the plan document defines plan assets to include unpaid employer contributions. As a result, a fund could not hold a contributing employer’s owner and treasurer personally liable…
Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Bring ERISA Fee Litigation Case
By Tulio Chirinos on
A federal district court in Georgia dismissed claims by participants in Delta Air Lines, Inc.’s 401(k) plan who alleged that Delta breached its ERISA fiduciary duties by allowing the plan to invest in funds that allegedly charged excessive fees and unperformed against comparable funds. Consistent with rulings in other jurisdictions, the court held that plaintiffs…
No Standing To Pursue Fiduciary-Breach Claim Where Plan Became Overfunded During Litigation
By Steven A. Sutro on
The Eighth Circuit held that defined benefit pension plan participants who alleged breach of fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction claims under ERISA lacked standing to assert their claims because, during the course of the litigation, the plan became overfunded. Plaintiffs brought suit after the plan lost $1.1 billion, which plaintiffs claimed arose from imprudent investments…