Synopsis: A new Third Circuit decision has allowed an ERISA fee complaint to stand even though there were no specific allegations of fiduciary errors in the process of selecting investment options and fees. ...more
6/6/2019
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Breach of Duty ,
Circumstantial Evidence ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Discovery ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Putative Class Actions
Seyfarth Synopsis: There is a deep circuit split on who bears the burden of proving loss causation on ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims. ...more
Synopsis: A recent decision by the District Court from the Southern District of New York shows why it often makes sense to consider, on a privileged basis, the universe of potential defendants to a withdrawal liability...more
Synopsis: Many parties to ERISA litigation and arbitration pay lip service to the burden of proof, put on their respective cases and leave it to the trier of fact to decide which side deserves the victory. ...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: 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
Synopsis: Supreme Court has agreed to decide the fate of class waiver provisions in mandatory arbitration agreements, which may spark a new trend in ERISA benefits litigation.
On January 13, 2017, the United States...more
1/25/2017
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Class Certification ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS
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
In April, the Department of Labor issued new regulations under ERISA related to individuals who offer investment advice to ERISA plans, their fiduciaries, or participants for a fee.
The DOL now says that a fiduciary is...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court’s Spokeo decision is sure to impact ERISA litigation. Expect ERISA plaintiffs to focus more on alleging a “concrete” injury, and ERISA defendants to argue more often that the claim cannot...more
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
The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit now is the first federal appellate court to decide whether a defined benefit plan sponsored by church-affiliated organization is a church plan under ERISA. The Court held that a...more
On May 12, 2015, we reported at here on a non-ERISA case accepted for review by the Supreme Court in the 2015-16 Supreme Court Term that has ERISA Litigation implications. Now, as that Term is set to begin on October 5,...more
9/18/2015
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Comcast ,
Comcast v. Behrend ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Summary Plan Description ,
Tyson Foods ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo
Many asset buyers believe that, as long as they do not agree to ERISA Section 4204’s sale of assets exception to withdrawal liability, they will acquire the seller’s assets free and clear of any prior contribution history and...more
8/8/2015
/ Asset Purchaser ,
Buyers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Pension Funds ,
Sale of Assets ,
Sellers ,
Successor Liability ,
Withdrawal ,
Withdrawal Liability
ERISA sets forth complex reporting, disclosure, vesting and funding rules for most private sector employee benefit plans. It also provides a private claim upon which relief may be granted in federal court for violations of...more