News & Analysis as of

Arbitration Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Arbitration Agreements

Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties... more +
Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties to arbitration agree in advance to be bound by the arbitrator's decision. Arbitration is an alternative to litigation, but it shares many of the familiar features of litigation. Namely, parties to arbitration hold hearings before neutral decision-makers, present evidence and argue the merits of their position. Parties often choose arbitration due to its perceived advantages over litigation. Those perceived advantages include greater efficiency and flexibility, and lower costs. less -
Proskauer - California Employment Law

For At Least One Employer, Reliance on an Outdated Arbitration Agreement Proved to be a Losing Gamble

As we have reported time and again, California courts have applied extra scrutiny to employee arbitration agreements in recent years, and have not hesitated to deny arbitration where there is a reasonable basis for doing so. ...more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Holds Arbitration Agreement Unenforceable Against Spouse of Former Employee

Carlton Fields on

In Lubin v. Starbucks Corp., the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals considered defendant Starbucks’ appeal of an order denying its motion to compel arbitration of the plaintiffs’ lawsuit alleging that Starbucks sent deficient...more

Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph

The Role of Delegation Clauses in Motions to Compel Arbitration When Your Family Member Signs an Arbitration Agreement

It happens every so often: someone signs an agreement to arbitrate legal claims, the agreement has a solid clause delegating arbitrability issues to an arbitrator, and then a member of that person’s family files a claim in...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

You shouldn’t waive your participant rights under an arbitration provision

I’m glad that the Sixth Circuit has joined other Federal appeals courts in stating that arbitration provisions are invalid as a prospective waiver of rights and remedies guaranteed under ERISA....more

Carlton Fields

Second Circuit Rejects Enforcement of Class Waiver and Arbitration Agreement Under FAA, Finds That Provisions Impermissibly...

Carlton Fields on

The plaintiff sued the trustee of his retirement plan, his former employer, and others for breach of fiduciary duties in connection with the plan’s purchase of shares of the employer’s parent company for more than fair market...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Second Circuit Holds that Plan Arbitration Provisions that Force Plaintiff to Surrender Statutory Right To Plan-Wide Relief Are...

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

The Second Circuit recently ruled that an ERISA plan’s arbitration provision was not enforceable because the provision barred plan-wide relief. Cedeno v. Sasson, 2024 WL 1895053 (2d Cir. May 1, 2024). The Court decision...more

Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP

Second Circuit Casts Doubt on Overly Restrictive Arbitration Clauses in ERISA Plans

Employers in New York, Connecticut and Vermont should revisit their employee benefit plan documents if they believe that any of their plans may have an arbitration clause for the resolution of Employee Retirement Income...more

Alston & Bird

Class Action & MDL Roundup 2023 Q3 - Catching the Class Action Waive(r)

Alston & Bird on

Welcome back to the Class Action & MDL Roundup! This edition covers notable class actions from the third quarter of 2023. In this edition, a mistake is just a mistake, “99.99%” isn’t 100% clear, and faxes aren’t always...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

District Court Finds Arbitration and Class Action Waiver Provision Enforceable in Retirement Plan

The Eastern District of Kentucky recently became the latest court to weigh in on arbitration and class action waiver provisions in ERISA-governed defined contribution plans. In Merrow v. Horizon Bank, the court found such a...more

Kilpatrick

Supreme Court Declines to Clarify Enforceability of Mandatory Arbitration for Fiduciary Breach Claims

Kilpatrick on

Are mandatory arbitration provisions with class action waivers a simple solution to the onslaught of class action litigation that has plagued 401(k) plans in recent years? The results so far have been mixed. Some courts have...more

Robinson Bradshaw

Tenth Circuit Prohibits Class-Action Waivers in Benefit Plan Documents

Robinson Bradshaw on

It is no secret that many businesses minimize risk by requiring arbitration of disputes on an individual basis. The exposure created by a single claim pales next to that presented by a class claim, asserted under Rule 23, on...more

Fisher Phillips

SCOTUS Review: 8 Key Rulings from Last Term that Impact the Workplace and 3 Issues We’re Watching

Fisher Phillips on

Many employers looked to the Supreme Court last term for clarity in cases with a significant impact on the workplace. The justices continued to shape the employment law landscape by ruling on an array of issues involving...more

Robinson+Cole ERISA Claim Defense Blog

Sixth Circuit Rejects Arbitration Of Certain ERISA § 502(a)(2) Claims, Ruling That Employee Consent To Arbitration May Not Bind...

In Hawkins v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-3156, __ F.4th __, 2022 WL 1236954 (6th Cir. Apr. 27, 2022), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that an arbitration clause contained in certain individual employment...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Sixth Circuit Rejects Arbitration for Proposed Fiduciary Breach Class Action

The Sixth Circuit, in a matter of first impression for that Circuit, held an arbitration clause contained in an individual employment agreement did not apply to ERISA fiduciary breach claims brought on behalf of a defined...more

Miller Canfield

Arbitration of Fiduciary Breach Claim Cannot Be Compelled by Relying on Individual Employment Agreements

Miller Canfield on

In Hawkins, et al. v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-3156, __ F.4d __ (2022), plaintiffs brought a class action pursuant to Section 502(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), alleging that their former employer...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Courts Continue to Split Over Enforceability of Benefit Plan Arbitration Provisions

Holland & Knight LLP on

Courts around the country continue to approach the enforceability of class-action waivers and arbitration provisions in ERISA plan documents differently. This alert discusses recent decisions addressing these issues in ERISA...more

McDermott Will & Emery

New Nationwide Ban against the Enforcement of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in Sexual Misconduct Cases

McDermott Will & Emery on

On February 10, 2022, the US Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the Act), a bipartisan bill that invalidates and renders unenforceable predispute arbitration...more

Kilpatrick

Second Circuit bypasses the “construe ambiguities in favor of arbitration” rule in reversing order compelling arbitration

Kilpatrick on

Takeaway: Parties seeking to compel arbitration often rely on the rule announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Construction Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 24-25 (1983), providing that where an...more

Morgan Lewis

Second Circuit: 401(k) Fiduciary Breach Claims Not Subject to Arbitration

Morgan Lewis on

In a 2-1 split decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a lower court’s decision that an arbitration agreement signed by an employee as part of his employment required that he arbitrate any fiduciary...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Second Circuit: Investment Advisor Not Covered By Plaintiff’s Employment Arbitration Agreement

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently concluded that investment advisor Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb must face a proposed class action under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) for breach of fiduciary duty relating to its...more

American Conference Institute (ACI)

[Virtual Event] 18th NATIONAL FORUM ON ERISA Litigation - November 18th - 19th, 10:45 am - 1:30 pm EST

Join us virtually to ensure that you are equipped with the latest updates and strategies to prevent, manage and defend against rising, costly ERISA disputes. There has never been a more critical time to “compare notes”...more

Fisher Phillips

A Simplified View Of The Supreme Court’s 2019-2020 Workplace Law Term

Fisher Phillips on

Supreme Court decisions are often the most challenging pieces of legal guidance to understand. They are rarely straightforward and usually contain so much analysis that it becomes hard to get to the bottom of what was...more

Carlton Fields

“Grossly Excessive” Arbitration Award Overturned Due to “Evident Material Miscalculation”

Carlton Fields on

An arbitration award rendered pursuant to section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) was overturned upon a finding that the award was “grossly excessive” and based on an “evident material miscalculation.” ...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

No Class Arbitration Available in PBM Case

The Eighth Circuit recently concluded that there was no contractual basis to conclude that a pharmacy benefit manager agreed to class arbitration with four pharmacies because the agreement did not use the word “class” or...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Arbitrator To Decide Whether ERISA Fiduciary Claims Should Be Arbitrated

A federal district court in Texas referred to arbitration a 401(k) plan participant’s ERISA breach of fiduciary duty action based on allegations that certain plan investment options charged excessive fees...more

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