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Background - In a wave of class-action litigation beginning around 2023, plaintiffs have alleged violations of fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and prohibited transaction rules in...more
Since September 2023, ERISA plaintiff’s firms have filed approximately 60 class action lawsuits challenging the longstanding practice of plan sponsors using plan forfeitures to offset their employer contributions in 401(k)...more
UnitedHealth Group is the latest big-name employer to get hit with a class action lawsuit over how it handles 401(k) forfeitures. The case, Kotalik et al. v. UnitedHealth Group Inc., accuses the company and its plan...more
On May 22, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision to reject a class action lawsuit brought against fiduciaries of Intel defined contribution retirement plans that challenged the plan managers’ decision...more
The May Monthly Minute brings you up-to-date on mental health parity enforcement relief, as well as smoker surcharge and prohibited transaction litigation. Nonenforcement of 2024 Mental Health Parity Regulations - Earlier...more
Whole Foods Market has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company failed to prudently manage the administrative fees of its $1.9 billion 401(k) plan, resulting in millions in losses for employees....more
The April Monthly Minute showers readers with some eye-opening case law updates, ranging from a $38.8M jury verdict in a 401(k) fee case, to a pair of cases involving Elevance (f/k/a Anthem) health plan coverage exclusions....more
On April 17, the Supreme Court unanimously resolved a circuit split in Cunningham v. Cornell University, holding that plan participants need only allege that fiduciaries engaged in a “prohibited transaction” under the...more
ERISA breach of fiduciary duty class actions have surged in recent years, prompting courts to grapple with complex questions about how these claims should be pleaded and litigated. Among the most consequential and unresolved...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has decided not to dismiss a class action lawsuit against The Clorox Company and the employee benefits committee of The Clorox Company 401(k) Plan. The lawsuit...more
by Alex Smith A recently filed lawsuit related to Swiss Re’s 401(k) plan stands out because of the extensive assortment of allegations...more
The March Monthly Minute brings you three recent case updates addressing 401(k) forfeiture utilization, TPA responsibility for recovering self-insured plan’s fraudulently paid claims, and continued PBM litigation in the wake...more
In Hutchins v. HP Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed – with prejudice – the plaintiff's claims challenging the use of forfeited employer 401(k) contributions. This is the latest...more
ERISA class action litigation against retirement plan fiduciaries remains a prominent feature of the legal landscape this year. These lawsuits typically involve allegations that plan fiduciaries acted imprudently in...more
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an opinion in Spence v. Am. Airlines, Inc. (N.D. Tex. Jan. 10, 2025) holding that fiduciaries of two American Airlines 401(k) plans...more
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that American Airlines and its employee benefit committee (EBC) breached their fiduciary duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement...more
Whether, and the extent to which, a plan fiduciary can consider nonpecuniary environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives in selecting plan investments has been a hot-button issue for many years, with the view on...more
On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a much-anticipated ruling in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., which marks the first time that a federal judge has written an on-the-merits...more
The October Monthly Minute highlights two recent retirement plan cases, one in which the court sides with the plan and emphasizes plan administrative review over specific investment results and another where plaintiffs are...more
A recent summary judgment decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in an ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) class action challenging the alleged impact of environmental, social,...more
A federal district court recently granted a motion to dismiss claims that defined contribution plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence, and violated ERISA’s anti-inurement and prohibited...more
Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - INTRODUCTION - On June 20, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “court”) denied a motion for summary...more
All qualified retirement plans are subject to a myriad of requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is charged with enforcing the...more
In August 2023, American Airlines, Inc. moved to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against the airline for allegedly jeopardizing employees’ retirement savings by investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG)...more
A recent Ninth Circuit decision has generated considerable controversy amongst employee benefits practitioners by holding that plan fiduciaries engaged in prohibited transactions when they amended the plan’s existing...more