News & Analysis as of

Employee Benefits Class Action Benefit Plan Sponsors

Husch Blackwell LLP

Employers Continue to Face ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits, With Mixed Results

Husch Blackwell LLP on

Recently, companies have seen a spate of class action lawsuits challenging the legality of tobacco cessation wellness programs and related tobacco surcharges imposed by their employer-sponsored health benefit plans....more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

401(k) Forfeiture Litigation: Implications for Plan Sponsors

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

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Whole Foods settles class action case

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

DLA Piper

Supreme Court Opens the Door to Increased ERISA Litigation

DLA Piper on

The US Supreme Court has issued a unanimous opinion that could lead to an increase in litigation for prohibited transaction claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA)....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Court Lowers Bar to Pleading Prohibited Transactions, Despite “Serious Concerns” of Meritless Litigation

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In a unanimous decision reversing dismissal of prohibited transaction claims based on fees paid to defined contribution plan recordkeepers, the Supreme Court held that ERISA’s prohibited transaction exemptions are affirmative...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Northern District of California Dismisses 401(k) Forfeiture Suit with Prejudice

Holland & Knight LLP on

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

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - January 2025

The January Monthly Minute highlights a recent Texas court decision holding ESG investing violated ERISA and a new development in the J&J prescription drug case that found plaintiff lacked standing to sue, and also digs into...more

Miller Canfield

American Airlines Breaches Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty with BlackRock ESG Funds in 401(k) Plans

Miller Canfield on

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

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - October 2024

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

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Dismisses Challenge to Use of Plan Forfeitures

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

Bricker Graydon LLP

The Health Plan Fiduciary Maze: New Lawsuit Highlights Need to Navigate Carefully in the Era of Transparency

Bricker Graydon LLP on

Earlier this month, a Mayo Clinic employee filed a proposed class action against the clinic, arguing that the clinic’s employee health plan and its third-party administrator (TPA) Medica, underpaid for services performed by...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Ninth Circuit: Changes to a Services Agreement Require Consideration of Indirect Compensation

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

Groom Law Group, Chartered

COBRA Notice Litigation Update: Recent Decision Signals Some Skepticism of Plaintiffs’ Claims

Since 2016, plaintiffs’ counsel have filed over 70 putative class actions, mostly against large plan sponsors, alleging deficiencies in election notice requirements as mandated under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget...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

Holland & Knight LLP

Low-Cost Index Funds in the Crosshairs of New 401(k) Lawsuits

Holland & Knight LLP on

Since late July, at least 10 lawsuits have been filed against large 401(k) plan sponsors that offer certain BlackRock Inc. target-date funds (TDF) among their investment options. In an unexpected pivot away from the 401(k)...more

Goodwin

ERISA Litigation Update - April 2022

Goodwin on

Welcome to Goodwin’s ERISA Litigation Update. Litigation involving ERISA-governed benefits plans has exploded in recent years. Lawyers in our award-winning ERISA Litigation practice have extensive experience litigating these...more

Clark Hill PLC

Supreme Court Declines to Close Floodgates on 401(k) and 403(b) Fee Litigation

Clark Hill PLC on

The past 15 years have witnessed a steady stream of lawsuits alleging that employers’ 401(k) or 403(b) plans forced participants into underperforming or overpriced investment options, or that plan participants’ accounts were...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

This case will be the mother of all battles

With so many fee litigation cases over the last few years, I was concerned that the Federal court was getting sick of cases where plaintiff’s attorney just merely pleaded that the costs of the plan were too much and. it was a...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Protecting Against the ERISA Litigation Surge

Woodruff Sawyer on

ERISA litigation has exploded in the past few years, particularly cases alleging excessive fees. Last year was the high-water mark for ERISA class actions with over 200 cases filed, an 80% increase from 2019. 2021 is on track...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Khan v. PTC, Inc.—Three Important Lessons From An Otherwise Unremarkable 401(k) Fee Case

According to Bloomberg Law, class actions challenging 401(k) plan fees are increasing at a record pace. The underlying claims in these class action suits fall into predictable categories that are all too familiar: excessive...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

California District Court Again Dismisses ERISA Lawsuit Challenging 401(k) Plan’s Fees

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The Northern District of California dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit alleging a 401(k) plan’s sponsor and fiduciaries included unreasonably expensive funds in the plan’s investment lineup. The court previously dismissed...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

Burr & Forman

COBRA Litigation – 2020’s Latest Gift

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The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“COBRA”) became law on April 7, 1986. For most of its nearly 35-year history, litigation involving COBRA has been relatively quiet. Most COBRA claims are tag-alongs, added...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

M&T Settlement shows the problem of using proprietary funds

Plan sponsors with their proprietary funds have a unique problem. Using proprietary funds will lead to litigation and not using them, makes them look bad in the eyes of competitors. A 401(k) plan sponsor not using their funds...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Class Certification Denied in ERISA Health Coverage Lawsuit

A federal district court denied class certification to health plan participants who claimed the plan promised them lifetime benefits. The court found too many individualized questions about what the plan told each...more

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