News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty Forfeiture

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

Mayer Brown

The Current State of the Law in ERISA Forfeitures Cases

Mayer Brown on

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

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Forfeitures, Fiduciary Failures, and Cigna: Another Lesson in ERISA Risk

Another week, another Adams v. Goliath story in the world of ERISA litigation—and this time, Goliath is Cigna. The company is now facing its second lawsuit in as many months over how it handled forfeitures in its $13 billion...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

A Friendly DOL Amicus Brief on Forfeitures

On July 9th, the Secretary of Labor filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit relating to the appeal of Hutchins v. HP, Inc. In that case, a participant claimed that forfeitures should have been used to offset plan...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

UBS Faces Forfeiture Lawsuit

UBS has found itself the latest target in the growing wave of ERISA litigation surrounding the handling of forfeitures in 401(k) plans. In Czakoczi v. UBS AG et al., filed in the District of New Jersey, the allegations mirror...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Northrop Grumman is target for another Schlicter case

If there’s a Mount Rushmore of ERISA class-action litigators, you better believe Jerry Schlichter’s face is carved into it—probably right next to a 408(b)(2) disclosure and a stack of mutual fund fee charts. And once again,...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

What is an Improper Use of Forfeiture Case Worth? Intuit Settlement Provides Perspective

On Friday, May 16th, plaintiff’s counsel in the Rodriguez v. Intuit Inc. case filed a motion to support a settlement of $1,995,000.  The motion appears to reflect a good compromise between the parties … and as they say, a...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

Shipman & Goodwin LLP

Plan Forfeiture Litigation: A Trend to Watch

Shipman & Goodwin LLP on

The most recent wave of ERISA litigation is focused on the use of plan forfeitures in 401(k) plans, with the newest case, Armenta v. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. being filed just last week. Although, for years, many...more

Holland & Knight LLP

An Emerging Trend in ERISA Class Action Litigation: 401(k) Forfeiture Suits

Holland & Knight LLP on

There has been a recent uptick in ERISA class actions challenging the use of 401(k) plan forfeitures. Forfeitures are employer contributions that participants forfeit when they leave employment before those contributions vest...more

Carlton Fields

Practical Thoughts for Sponsors About Current ERISA Forfeiture Litigation

Carlton Fields on

A notable trend in ERISA litigation has emerged as in-house attorneys look to mitigate the risks of coming waves of class action litigation. Beginning in late 2023, there have been several challenges to the use of forfeiture...more

The Wagner Law Group

District Court Grants Motion to Dismiss Forfeiture Complaint

The Wagner Law Group on

Last year, we alerted you to the filing of several class action lawsuits alleging that plan fiduciaries violated their duties of prudence and loyalty under Title I of ERISA by using forfeitures to reduce employer...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

Attention: Forfeitures and Other Unallocated Accounts in Retirement Plans Need Review

Warner Norcross + Judd on

Recent developments spotlight issues with forfeiture and other unallocated accounts in defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans: •The IRS has set the deadline for plan forfeiture use. •Participants in...more

The Wagner Law Group

Forfeiture Cases – Update

The Wagner Law Group on

Last year, we alerted you to the filing of several class action lawsuits alleging that plan fiduciaries violated their duties of prudence and loyalty under Title I of ERISA by applying forfeitures to reduce employer...more

Williams Mullen

PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation

Williams Mullen on

On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt discusses pending court cases regarding the proper use of forfeitures that arise under defined contribution plans. He outlines how these new...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

How to Prevent a Lawsuit Over Retirement Plan Forfeitures

There has been a rash of lawsuits recently challenging how forfeitures are used in retirement plans. (Forfeitures are the amounts remaining when the unvested portion of a participant’s account is forfeited.) The novel theory...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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Conflicting Decisions Foreshadow Upcoming Disputes in ERISA 401(K) Forfeiture Class Actions

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Conflicting orders on motions to dismiss from two California courts foreshadow issues for a new theory of ERISA liability. Employers have faced a recent wave of novel ERISA class actions that challenge the reallocation of...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Use of Plan Forfeitures Not the Slam Dunk It Used to Be

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

A recent rash of class action lawsuits in California claim that using forfeitures to reduce future employer contributions to tax-qualified retirement plans runs afoul of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)....more

The Wagner Law Group

District Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Forfeiture Complaint

The Wagner Law Group on

In December, we suggested, contrary to popular opinion, that serious attention should be given to the filing of several class action lawsuits alleging that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by applying forfeitures to reduce...more

Jones Day

Another 401(k) Plan Sponsor Faces Novel Suit Regarding its Use of Forfeiture Funds

Jones Day on

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") plaintiffs' bar has found a new way to allege that 401(k) plan sponsors have breached their fiduciary duty....more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Forfeitures Account - The Next New Topic of ERISA Litigation Trends & Should You Be Concerned?

Bricker Graydon LLP on

A handful of new ERISA litigation cases (including McManus v. Clorox Co., N.D Cal. No. 4:23-cv-05325) are taking aim at forfeiture accounts and trying to pull them into the never-ending list of ways in which retirement plan...more

Dickinson Wright

Mastering Retirement Plan Forfeitures: A Deep Dive into IRS’s 2023 Proposals & Fiduciary Litigation Trends

Dickinson Wright on

When a participant terminates employment without being fully vested in their qualified retirement plan account, the non-vested portion of the account is a “forfeiture.” While forfeitures are a common element of most...more

Nossaman LLP

Felony Forfeitures Statutes Tested Again: A Tale of Two States’ Pension Reform Statutes–One Forfeiture Survives and One Does Not

Nossaman LLP on

The constitutionality of California’s felony forfeiture statute, as applied by the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), survived yet another challenge in September 2023,...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - March 2023

The March Monthly Minute highlights new proposed deadlines for use of retirement plan forfeitures, unsuccessful efforts to overturn the final ESG rule, and ACA penalty increases for 2024. Sorry Not Sorry: Biden Vetoes...more

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