Two courts. Two opposite rulings. One critical question: Do plaintiffs have standing to challenge pension risk transfers under ERISA?...more
The first two district court opinions deciding whether plaintiffs have Article III standing to challenge pension risk transfers have reached opposite conclusions. One case will proceed to discovery, and the other has been...more
4/2/2025
/ Annuities ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Jurisdiction ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Standing
Seyfarth Synopsis: The 7th Circuit recently held that insurers and administrators must provide claimants an opportunity to respond to new information relied on for adverse benefit determinations, even if the claim predated...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent 10th Circuit decision holding that in order for the abuse of discretion standard to apply in litigation the claims administrator must provide participants with actual notice of discretionary...more
8/10/2020
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Claim Procedures ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Judicial Review ,
Notice Requirements ,
Plan Administrators ,
Standard of Review
Synopsis: Two Courts of Appeal reach opposite results on ERISA preemption, thus continuing the judicial quest for a definitive meaning of ERISA preemption. Stay tuned for more such decisions, and yet more Supreme Court...more
10/23/2019
/ Anti-Assignment Clauses ,
Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Joint Tortfeasors ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Motorcycle Accidents ,
Policy Terms ,
Preemption ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Third-Party
Synopsis: A recent decision of the federal district court for the Southern District of New York warns ERISA fiduciaries that even innocent mistakes that do not misuse plan assets or unjustly enrich the fiduciaries can cause...more
8/5/2019
/ Breach of Duty ,
Clerical Errors ,
Damages ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equitable Surcharge ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Plan Administrators ,
Plan Documents ,
Summary Plan Description
Seyfarth synopsis: The Second Circuit reversed dismissal of an ERISA stock drop class action finding plaintiff alleged enough to plausibly show that disclosure of alleged corporate problems would not have done more harm than...more
12/19/2018
/ 401k ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Common Stock ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Retirement Plan ,
Stock Drop Litigation
Seyfarth Synopsis: An employer, which had paid medical expenses on behalf of an employee’s dependent son, made comments about the company’s rising healthcare costs several months before firing the employee. The Sixth...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a strong decision for insurers, the Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the administrator, rejected plaintiff’s conflict of interest argument, and found that it was not arbitrary for the...more
In Ariana M. v. Humana Health Plan of Texas, Inc., No. 16-20174 (5th Cir. Apr. 21, 2017), the Firth Circuit concluded that Texas’ ban on discretionary clauses in certain insurance policies did not require a de novo review of...more