On December 14, 2018, District Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the Affordable Care Act or ACA (a/k/a “ObamaCare”) is unconstitutional and therefore...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Ninth Circuit declined to enforce an agreement to arbitrate ERISA Section 502(a)(2) claims, but did not rule out enforcement in other ERISA claim contexts....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Seventh Circuit has now applied a clear error standard of review to a withdrawal liability arbitrator’s interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement, thus enhancing the role of the arbitrator in...more
1/16/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitrators ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Litigation ,
Pension Funds ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Standard of Review ,
Unions ,
Withdrawal Liability
Seyfarth Synopsis: A district court in New York has held that a plaintiff cannot assert claims against a plan in which she did not participate and cannot assert claims of fiduciary breach without plausible allegations of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court appears to have barred equitable tolling under ERISA Section 413’s six-year statute of repose for fiduciary breach claims, subject only to well-pled allegations and proof of fraud or...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court has held unanimously that a 1980 amendment to ERISA means that a pension benefit plan need not be established by a church in order to be exempt from ERISA rules, including most...more
6/6/2017
/ Advocate Health Care v Stapleton ,
Church Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
IRS ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Religious Institutions ,
SCOTUS
Seyfarth Synopsis: The 2016 elections had the effect of hardening the Red-Blue divide in the country. A number of Blue cities in Red States are enacting ordinances that implement the progressive political agenda, which of...more
The Seventh Circuit has stymied an EEOC attempt to declare that employer wellness plans violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The court decided that the issues raised by the suit are moot, and deferred to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari in three Church Plan cases presents the possibility that many Church Plans thought for years to be exempt from ERISA rules, including its funding rules, will now have...more
12/15/2016
/ Actual Injuries ,
Advocate Health Care v Stapleton ,
Article III ,
Certiorari ,
Church Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Future Harm ,
IRS ,
Kaplan v St. Peters Healthcare System ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Religious Institutions ,
Rollins v Dignity Health ,
SCOTUS ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing
On January 25, 2016, in Amgen, Inc. v. Harris, 2016 WL 280886, the Supreme Court sent a strong message to the lower courts, plaintiffs and ERISA fiduciaries that pleading standards for breach of fiduciary duty prudence claims...more
Two recent Supreme Court decisions, and a recent Sixth Circuit analysis on remand from the Supreme Court, offer a roadmap of sorts on ERISA litigation. In both decisions, the Supreme Court did away with presumptions, and at...more