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. Supreme Court recently granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit's decision in Cunningham v. Cornell University, 86 F.4th 961 (2d Cir. 2023). In doing so,...more
Chavez v. Plan Benefit Services, Inc., 108 F.4th 297 (5th Cir. 2024), began when three employees of a single employer sued the service providers of their health and welfare benefit plan for allegedly charging excessive fees...more
10/31/2024
/ Article III ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Standing
In Hughes v. Northwestern University, current and former participants in Northwestern University's defined-contribution retirement plans filed litigation on behalf of the plans' participants asserting that the University, its...more
2/25/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SCOTUS
In Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A., the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit's judgment that defined benefit plan participants lack standing to pursue claims of fiduciary...more
6/9/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank