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Retirement Plan Fiduciary Duty Corporate Counsel

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

A&O Shearman

Supreme Court’s Cornell decision sets low pleading bar for ERISA claims

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In a decision poised to change the landscape of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) litigation, on April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court held in Cunningham et al. v. Cornell University et al. that a claimant...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

Every Little Thing … Employer Considerations as New 401(k) Lawsuit Includes Extensive Claims

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

Snell & Wilmer

Five Things to Know about the DOL’s New VFCP Self-Correction Feature Taking Effect Next Week

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By Amberlee Lapointe On January 14, 2025, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) released updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”), along with a News Release and Fact Sheet...more

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

Retirement Plan Update – Forfeitures are New Focus of Fiduciary Breach Litigation

Many employer-sponsored defined contributions plans, including 401(k) profit sharing plans and money purchase pension plans include a vesting schedule – a period over which a plan participant earns a nonforfeitable right to...more

Kaufman & Canoles

ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation Client Alert - January 2025

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On January 16, the Department of Labor released long-awaited guidance on how to determine the value of employer stock in purchase and sale transactions involving an ESOP. Unfortunately for those in the ESOP community hoping...more

A&O Shearman

ESG Investing Takes A Blow In Texas Federal Court

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On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled, following a four-day bench trial, that an airline breached ERISA fiduciary duties when investing...more

Williams Mullen

Annual Employee Benefits Compliance Checklists - Corporate Counsel

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The following checklist highlights key issues for corporate counsel with respect to employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements....more

Nossaman LLP

Relying on Loper, Fifth Circuit Sends Chevron-based decision Back to District Court, calling ESG Rule into Question

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On July 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (“District Court”) that upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more

Mintz

Federal Judge Certifies Class Objecting to ESG Investments by Retirement Fund

Mintz on

On May 22, 2024, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) ordered that the plaintiffs claiming that investment managers breached their fiduciary duty due to their ESG-focused investing be certified as a class for purposes of the...more

Morgan Lewis

The ESG Investing Debate: 2023 Year-end Updates

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Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has been subject to increased US state and federal regulation over the last several years, and 2023 continued that status quo. As of January 1, 2024, 20 states have...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

ERISA Litigation Roundup: Seventh Circuit Sets Forth Pleading Standard in ERISA Duty of Prudence Claims in Hughes v. Northwestern...

On March 23, 2023, the Seventh Circuit issued a long-awaited decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, the case remanded from the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision of the same name. See Hughes v. Northwestern University, 142...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

ERISA Case Signals New Theories for Plaintiffs’ Bar

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Seyfarth Synopsis: After focusing most of its attention on retirement benefit plans, a recent complaint filed in the District of Connecticut shows that the plaintiffs’ bar is turning to health and welfare plans as targets for...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

DOL Final Rule on ESG Factors to Take Effect February 1, 2023

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The Final Rule clarifies the application of ERISA’s fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty to the selection of plan investments that incorporate ESG goals. On November 22, 2022, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released a...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Failure to Identify Sound Comparisons Sinks ERISA Fee, Investment Claims in Eighth Circuit

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Plaintiffs must plead a “sound basis for comparison—a meaningful benchmark” — to sustain their claims of imprudent investment and excessive fee against a 401(k) plan, the federal appeals court in St. Louis has held,...more

Fisher Phillips

Reducing Your 401(k) Litigation Risks – 10 Questions Employers Need to Ask ASAP

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Here’s the scenario: Your company has had a 401(k) plan for the past 25 years. Employees appreciate the retirement benefit, and it seems to be operating well with very few questions or concerns from your employees. You’re...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

In ERISA Excessive Fee Cases, the Pendulum May Be Swinging Back In Favor of Plan Sponsors

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A new decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in a so-called “excessive fee” case is good news for plan sponsors, particularly following the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year in Hughes v....more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

ERISA Litigation Roundup: In the Aftermath of Hughes, Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Excessive Fee Lawsuit

On August 29, 2022, the Seventh Circuit decided Albert v. Oshkosh Corporation, affirming a district court’s dismissal of breach of fiduciary claims related to Oshkosh Corporation’s management of its 401(k) plan, and striking...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

ERISA Litigation Roundup: Ninth Circuit Partially Reverses Dismissal of Two Proposed Class Actions

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially reversed the dismissal of two proposed class actions alleging mismanagement of separate 401(k) plans in violation of ERISA. In Davis v. Salesforce.com, Inc., 2022 WL...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Arbitration under ERISA: A Roadmap for Enforcement

As costly class action retirement plan litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) proliferates, mandatory individual arbitration has become an increasingly appealing alternative for certain benefit...more

Fisher Phillips

The Top 14 Workplace Law Stories from January 2022

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It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more

McGuireWoods LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Reinforces ERISA Fiduciary Duty to Monitor Investment Options

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On Jan. 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Hughes v. Northwestern University, and remanded the case for further consideration, bringing new life to current...more

Akerman LLP

DOL to Begin Enforcement of New Fiduciary Advice Exemption

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On December 18, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (the DOL) adopted Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02, Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees (PTE 2020-02 or the Exemption), a new prohibited...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Another Swing in DOL Investment Position

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Reminiscent of the DOL’s about-face on ESG investing by ERISA fiduciaries [discussed here], this week the DOL has issued a “supplemental statement” on its view of the use of private equity investments in...more

Verrill

Thoughts on the DOL’s Proposed ESG Regulation

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The latest installment in the regulatory back-and-forth over the investment of ERISA-governed retirement plan assets based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors arrived on October 14, 2021 in the...more

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