Defense counsel frequently lament the difficulties of defending 401(k) investment and recordkeeping fee litigation when different judges render conflicting rulings on motions to dismiss seemingly indistinguishable...more
Editor's Overview -
As the summer heats up, so too has the U.S. Supreme Court's docket for next term where it has already agreed to hear three ERISA cases and more may be in the works. On the docket already are ERISA...more
7/16/2019
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Assignment Clauses ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Certiorari ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Final Rules ,
HRA ,
IBM ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Stock Drop Litigation
Editor’s Overview -
This month we review the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of National Elevator Industries Health Benefit Plan where the Supreme Court considered the scope of...more
3/29/2016
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Assignment Clauses ,
Applicable Large Employers (ALE) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Determination on Remand ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Lien ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
IRS ,
McCutchen v. U.S. Airways ,
Medical Expenses ,
Medical Liens ,
Montanile v Board of Trustees ,
Penalties ,
Reimbursements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
RJ Reynolds ,
RJR Nabisco ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement ,
Subrogation ,
Vesting
Editor's Overview -
This month's article reviews a few non-ERISA cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, which may, depending on the breadth of the decisions, impact ERISA litigation. First, in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, the...more
2/24/2016
/ 401k ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Representatives ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equitable Lien ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
IRS ,
M&G Polymers v Tackett ,
Montanile v Board of Trustees ,
Mootness ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Subrogation ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Wellness Programs
On January 20, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Eleventh Circuit and held that when a ERISA plan participant obtains a third-party settlement subject to a plan’s subrogation provision, and then...more
Editor's Overview -
It has been a little more than one year since the U.S. Supreme Court altered the legal landscape for litigating ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to the investment in employer stock...more
9/29/2015
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Claim Denial Letters ,
Comment Period ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Excise Tax ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Final Rules ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Costs ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Guidance ,
Plan Administrators ,
Pro Rata Allocation Rule ,
Public Information ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
SHOP Program ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Subrogation ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Valuation
Editor's Overview -
As the summer draws to a close, this month's Newsletter previews three cases that the U.S. Supreme Court already has agreed to hear that ought to be of particular interest to ERISA plan sponsors and...more
8/28/2015
/ 401k ,
Actual Injuries ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Article III ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Delta Airlines ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty to Disclose ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Final Rules ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Montanile v Board of Trustees ,
Non-Grandfathered Health Plans ,
PBGC ,
Penalties ,
Preemption ,
Reimbursements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 510 ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Subrogation ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage ,
Tax Credits ,
Trade Adjustment Assistance ,
Trade Preferences Extension Act (TPEA) ,
U.S. Treasury
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of ERISA breach of fiduciary claims against Delta Air Lines and other alleged plan fiduciaries in connection with a defined contribution plan’s investments in Delta Air Lines stock. ...more
Editor's Overview -
This month's article by Lindsey Chopin discusses Affordable Care Act ("ACA") litigation. Just five years old, the Supreme Court has considered issues related to the ACA numerous times. Two of those...more
7/29/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Chapter 11 ,
Class Certification ,
Clawbacks ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Due Process ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
General Motors ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
King v Burwell ,
Loss Causation ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Public Health Service Act ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Health Insurance Exchanges ,
UAW ,
Venue
Editor's Overview -
In this month's newsletter, Anthony Cacace analyzes the heavily anticipated Supreme Court ruling in Tibble v. Edison Intl., 135 S. Ct. 1823 (2015), where the Court held that ERISA's fiduciary duty of...more
6/26/2015
/ 401k ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Determination Letter ,
Due Diligence ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
IRS ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 409A ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tibble v Edison Int ,
Vesting
We previously reported that a split Sixth Circuit panel enforced a venue selection clause in an ERISA plan. In so ruling, the Court rejected the U.S. Department of Labor’s attempt to regulate by amicus brief and reasoned...more
The Supreme Court cast a ray of sunlight for employers by rejecting the use of a problematic inference in adjudicating claims for retiree benefits brought pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. For many years, the...more
In a decision watched closely by both employers and unions, a unanimous Supreme Court has resolved a thirty-plus year split among the circuit courts on the standards governing claims for retiree health-care benefits arising...more
With storm clouds threatening in the northeast, the Supreme Court cast a ray of sunlight for employers today by rejecting the use of a problematic inference in adjudicating claims for retiree benefits brought pursuant to...more
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in US v. Windsor, the requirement that an ERISA health plan provide health coverage for same-sex spouses has often hinged on whether an employee benefit plan was insured or...more
The employee benefits issues to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court continue to be of great significance to plan sponsors and fiduciaries. This month we review the Court's employee benefit decisions from 2013 and also...more
2/24/2014
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Appeals ,
Class Certification ,
Comcast v. Behrend ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
FICA Taxes ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
First Amendment ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co. ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
IRS ,
McCutchen v. U.S. Airways ,
MHPAEA ,
Provider Payments ,
Quality Stores ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Celebration ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Transition Relief ,
US v Windsor
This month we look at part three of our three part series on Class Actions. In part three, Robert Rachal and M. Todd Mobley address the role of experts in class certification post Wal-Mart and Comcast and how to use and...more
1/21/2014
/ Blue Cross ,
Burden of Proof ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Comcast ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Daubert Standards ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Motors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ,
Wal-Mart
Resolving a split among the Courts of Appeal, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the Second Circuit in finding enforceable a limitations provision in a long term disability ERISA plan that set forth the length of the...more
Editor's Overview -
Health care issues make the headlines once again in this month's ERISA Litigation Newsletter. Tzvia Feiertag first provides practical and timely tips for insured ERISA health plan sponsors on...more