News & Analysis as of

Employee Benefits ERISA Litigation Appeals

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

In a Rare Move, the DOL Backs the Employer in a Forfeiture Allocation Case—But Don’t Pop the Champagne Just Yet

Sometimes, in the strange world of ERISA litigation, you get a surprise. And in Hutchins v. Hewlett Packard, we got one: the Department of Labor, yes, that DOL, the one whose name alone strikes fear into the heart of many...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Intel Wins: Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Anti-Private Equity Lawsuit

After six long years of litigation, Intel’s 401(k) plan design just got a big legal endorsement. A three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit dismissed a lawsuit filed by plan participants who claimed that including hedge funds...more

Haynes Boone

DOL Approves the Use of Forfeitures to Offset Employer Contributions

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In a lawsuit currently under appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the court has been asked to decide whether the plan administrator violated its fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty under ERISA when...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The Forfeiture Fiasco: Why the DOL and Common Sense are on the Right Side of the HP Case

It’s not often you see the U.S. Department of Labor jumping into the legal ring to back plan sponsors, but when they do, you know something bigger is at stake than just one plan participant’s gripe. That’s exactly what...more

Saul Ewing LLP

The Friday Five: Five ERISA Litigation Highlights - July 2025

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This month’s Friday Five explores recent ERISA disability benefit decisions involving key issues such as when attorney’s fees should be decided and factors used in determining venue transfer. It also explores retroactive...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

First Circuit Concludes Employee’s Wrongful Termination, Other State Law Claims are Preempted by Federal Law

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (covering Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island) recently awarded a victory to employers litigating claims “related to” certain employer-sponsored...more

King & Spalding

Appeals Court Revives Company’s Suit against Blue Cross for Breach of ERISA Fiduciary Duty

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On May 21, 2025, the Sixth Circuit revived a company’s lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) for breaching its fiduciary duties under ERISA as a third-party administrator (TPA). The plaintiff company,...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Excessive Fee Case Against DENSO International

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The Sixth Circuit recently granted an employer win in an ERISA excessive fee case when it affirmed the dismissal of a proposed class action brought by current and former employees of DENSO International America, Inc., a...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Sixth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of ERISA Healthcare Fee Suit Against Third-Party Administrator

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There has been a recent rise in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) litigation against third-party administrators (TPAs) and other service providers challenging their management of self-funded health...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Seventh Circuit Affirms that Employer’s Withdrawal Liability Cannot Be Based on Post-Rehabilitation Plan Contribution Increases

We recently reported on a district court decision holding that the Central States Pension Fund’s calculation of withdrawal liability should not have included contribution rate increases imposed after the Fund’s implementation...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Supreme Court Clarifies ERISA Prohibited Transaction Pleading Standards

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On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, resolved a circuit split and established a plaintiff-friendly pleading standard for ERISA prohibited transaction claims in Cunningham v. Cornell University,...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

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Supreme Court Establishes Lower Pleading Standard for Prohibited Transaction Claims

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Cunningham v. Cornell University that plaintiffs can satisfy the requirements for pleading prohibited party-in interest transactions under ERISA section 406(a) without...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

Maynard Nexsen

Burden at the Crossroads: Pizarro Paves the Way for Potential Supreme Court Review

Maynard Nexsen on

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

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Second Circuit Adopts “Meaningful Benchmark” Pleading Standard in ERISA Cases

In Singh v. Deloitte LLP, et al., No. 23-1108, 2024 WL 5049345 (2d Cir. Dec. 10, 2024), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s dismissal of a complaint alleging that plan fiduciaries caused an...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Lessons from Ryan S. v. UnitedHealth Group for the 2023 MHPAEA Proposed Rule

A recently decided US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit case, Ryan S. v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., offers some useful insights on the enforcement by private litigants of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The LHD/ERISA Advisor: ERISA Exhaustion Requirement Not Satisfied by Verbal Appeal When Plan Required Written Appeal

In Ligotti v. United Healthcare Services, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106992 (S.D. Fla., June 8, 2021), a Florida district court held that a health care provider challenging claim denials on behalf of his patients cannot satisfy...more

Goodwin

ERISA Litigation Update - October 2021

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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

Foley & Lardner LLP

An Alternative Approach to an ERISA Litigation Conundrum

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Recently, a three-judge panel in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a district court dismissal of an out-of-network provider’s claims against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (“BCBSIL”). The unanimous...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The LHD/ERISA Advisor - October 2020: Second Circuit Allows Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim to Proceed Based on Misrepresentation...

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP on

In Sullivan-Mestecky v. Verizon Communs. Inc., 961 F.3d 91 (2d Cir. 2020), the Second Circuit held that a claim under Section 502(a)(3) of ERISA could proceed, where the beneficiary pled that the plan and its agents...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The LHD/ERISA Advisor - October 2020: Tenth Circuit Finds District Court Applied Wrong Standard of Review in Evaluating Plan...

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In Lyn M. v. Premera Blue Cross, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 23395 (10th Cir. July 24, 2020), the Tenth Circuit held that a district court had applied the wrong standard of review and incorrectly evaluated an ERISA plan...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Employee Benefit Plan Review – From the Courts

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Ninth Circuit Affirms Decision Rejecting Suit Seeking Early Retirement Benefits - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed a district court’s decision rejecting a plaintiff’s lawsuit seeking to overturn...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The LHD/ERISA Advisor: Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal in Fibromyalgia Disability Case

In Demko v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31102 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2019), the Ninth Circuit affirmed Unum Life's determination that a Hollywood executive diagnosed with fibromyalgia was not disabled from...more

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