The Second Circuit held that plaintiffs’ allegations that the defendant suffered from a “categorical potential conflict of interest”—because it both funded the plan and was the claim’s decision-maker—did not affect the application of the arbitrary and capricious standard of review in the absence of a showing by the plaintiffs that the conflict actually affected the
Conflict of Interest
U.S. DOL Proposes Delay of Conflict of Interest Rule and Related Exemptions
By Benjamin Saper, Russell Hirschhorn & Seth Safra on
On March 1, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a 60-day delay of the conflict of interest rule and related exemptions (currently set to be applicable on April 10, 2017). The Department opened two comment periods related to the rule:
- A 15-day comment period (ending March 17, 2017) on whether enforcement of the rule
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Plan Sponsors’ Decision to Change Form of Employer Contributions Not A Fiduciary Function
By Tulio Chirinos on
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…