The R.J. Reynolds defendants have again prevailed against allegations that they breached their fiduciary duties by divesting the RJR 401(k) plan of funds invested in Nabisco stock. Following remand by the Fourth Circuit, the district court held that a hypothetical fiduciary “would” have divested the plan of the Nabisco investments in the same time and
Employer Stock Fund
Supreme Court Denies Review of Fourth Circuit Loss Causation Case
By Lindsey Chopin on
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to grant certiorari to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision in RJR Pension Investment, et al. v. Tatum, 761 F.3d 363 (4th Cir. 2014). As we previously reported here, a divided panel of the Fourth Circuit held that, because the plaintiff proved that the plan fiduciaries acted imprudently…
Courts Continue to Apply Presumption of Prudence While Awaiting the USSC’s Views
By Todd Mobley on
As the employee benefits world awaits the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dudenhoeffer v. Fifth Third Bancorp, two federal courts recently dismissed employer stock-drop cases brought under ERISA on the ground that plaintiffs failed to overcome the presumption that a fiduciary’s decision to remain invested in employer stock was prudent. See Smith v. Delta…
District Court in Tenth Circuit Adopts Presumption of Prudence
By Aaron Feuer on
A district court in the Tenth Circuit adopted the presumption of prudence in dismissing a class action alleging that the defendants violated their fiduciary duties by allowing participants to continue investing in company stock at a time when the employer was allegedly experiencing significant financial difficulties. In re Chesapeake Energy Corp. 2012 ERISA Class Litig.…
SunTrust Plan Participants’ Stock-Drop Claims Tossed A Second Time
By Joseph Clark on
A federal district court in Georgia recently dismissed a suit brought by participants in the SunTrust Bank 401(k) savings plan alleging fiduciary breaches based on defendants’ decision to continue permitting investment in SunTrust stock while its value declined during the subprime mortgage crisis. The court had previously granted in part and denied in part SunTrust’s…
Second Circuit Dismisses Stock-Drop Claim Based on Moench Presumption of Prudence
In Slaymon v. SLM Corp., 2012 WL 6684564 (2d Cir. Dec. 26, 2012), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of an employer-stock class action in a summary order. Plaintiffs were employees of SLM Corp. (also known as Sallie Mae) who alleged that the fiduciaries of two Sallie Mae retirement plans breached fiduciary…