The U.S. Supreme Court on April 17, 2025, issued a greatly anticipated decision in which the justices unanimously held that plaintiffs alleging a prohibited transaction under Section 1106(a)(1)(C) of the Employee Retirement...more
4/23/2025
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Cost-Shifting ,
Cunningham v Cornell University ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pleading Standards ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rule 11 ,
Sanctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Matney v. Barrick Gold of North America, et al. on Sept. 6, 2023, finding that participants in an employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan...more
9/27/2023
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Benchmark Pricing ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Trust Companies ,
Pleading Standards ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retirement Plan
Courts have struggled through the years when considering the enforceability of mandatory class action waivers and arbitration provisions contained within Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plans and other...more
4/1/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Contract ,
ERISA Litigation ,
ESOP ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Motion to Compel ,
Split of Authority ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
In a pair of opinions issued on Aug. 20, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit expressly overruled its 35-year precedent that Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) disputes were not arbitrable. The...more
8/27/2019
/ 401k ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Charles Schwab ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
NLRA ,
Plan Documents ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirms a District Court's holding that Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co. was not a fiduciary with respect to its stable value fund, even though it announced the fund's...more
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a U.S. District Court's application of deferential standard to the review of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) administrator's decision based on broad...more
9/5/2018
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Accrued Benefits ,
Appeals ,
Death Benefits ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Plan Administrators ,
Preemption ,
Standard of Review ,
Summary Judgment
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Munro v. University of Southern California concluded that an arbitration provision in individual employment contracts could not be used to compel...more
7/31/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Mismanagement ,
Plan Documents ,
Retirement Funds ,
Section 409A