News & Analysis as of

Arbitration Breach of Duty Fiduciary Duty

Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties... more +
Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties to arbitration agree in advance to be bound by the arbitrator's decision. Arbitration is an alternative to litigation, but it shares many of the familiar features of litigation. Namely, parties to arbitration hold hearings before neutral decision-makers, present evidence and argue the merits of their position. Parties often choose arbitration due to its perceived advantages over litigation. Those perceived advantages include greater efficiency and flexibility, and lower costs. less -
Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Sixth Circuit Again Invalidates ERISA Plan Arbitration Clause

The Sixth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s dismissal, and order requiring arbitration of, a proposed class action alleging fiduciary breaches in connection with the Kellogg Company 401(k) plan. Fleming v. Kellogg...more

Carlton Fields

Second Circuit Rejects Enforcement of Class Waiver and Arbitration Agreement Under FAA, Finds That Provisions Impermissibly...

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The plaintiff sued the trustee of his retirement plan, his former employer, and others for breach of fiduciary duties in connection with the plan’s purchase of shares of the employer’s parent company for more than fair market...more

Freiberger Haber LLP

Collateral Estoppel Held Not To Bar Later-Filed Malpractice Action

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In Villaver v. Paglinawan, 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 04159 (2d Dept. Aug. 7, 2024) (here), the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the dismissal of a legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and intentional infliction...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

In Split Ruling Second Circuit Declines to Compel Arbitration of ERISA Plan Claims

They say that April showers bring May flowers, but there were no flowers for ERISA plan sponsors and fiduciaries on May 1 when the Second Circuit held, in a ruling that provoked a vigorous dissenting opinion, that an ERISA...more

Kilpatrick

Supreme Court Declines to Clarify Enforceability of Mandatory Arbitration for Fiduciary Breach Claims

Kilpatrick on

Are mandatory arbitration provisions with class action waivers a simple solution to the onslaught of class action litigation that has plagued 401(k) plans in recent years? The results so far have been mixed. Some courts have...more

Winstead PC

Texas Supreme Court Holds That The Incorporation Of AAA Rules Can Delegate Scope Issues To The Arbitrator, Which May or May Not...

Winstead PC on

The Texas Supreme Court held that arbitration clauses in trust documents may be enforced regarding claims by beneficiaries against trustees. In Rachal v. Reitz, a beneficiary sued a trustee for failing to provide an...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Individual Arbitration of ERISA Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims – Is it Possible and, if So, Is It Worth It?

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As plan sponsors and fiduciaries cope with the increased volume of class action Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) lawsuits, some have considered the prospects of reducing their exposure through arbitration...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

LLC Operating Agreements: Indemnity, Arbitration, and Equity

LLC operating agreements frequently provide for indemnity to the LLC’s manager. This is consistent with the statutory default rule embodied by California Corporations Code section 17704.08(a), which provides for indemnity...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Claims in Favor of Arbitration in Dispute over Sale of Pittsburgh Penguins

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Wildfire Productions, L.P. v. Team Lemieux LLC, C.A. No. 2021-1072-PAF (Del. Ch. June 29, 2022) - The Federal Arbitration Act and the public policy of Delaware favor the resolution of disputes through arbitration....more

Holland & Knight LLP

Court Compels Proposed ESOP Class to Individual Arbitration Based on Plan Document

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Historically, courts around the country have approached the enforceability of class action waivers and arbitration provisions in ESOP and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plan documents differently,...more

Robinson+Cole ERISA Claim Defense Blog

Sixth Circuit Rejects Arbitration Of Certain ERISA § 502(a)(2) Claims, Ruling That Employee Consent To Arbitration May Not Bind...

In Hawkins v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-3156, __ F.4th __, 2022 WL 1236954 (6th Cir. Apr. 27, 2022), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that an arbitration clause contained in certain individual employment...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Sixth Circuit Rejects Arbitration for Proposed Fiduciary Breach Class Action

The Sixth Circuit, in a matter of first impression for that Circuit, held an arbitration clause contained in an individual employment agreement did not apply to ERISA fiduciary breach claims brought on behalf of a defined...more

Miller Canfield

Arbitration of Fiduciary Breach Claim Cannot Be Compelled by Relying on Individual Employment Agreements

Miller Canfield on

In Hawkins, et al. v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-3156, __ F.4d __ (2022), plaintiffs brought a class action pursuant to Section 502(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), alleging that their former employer...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Uniform Arbitration Act Did Not Permit the Court of Chancery to Confirm or Vacate an Interim Partial Arbitration Award...

Morris James LLP on

Astrum Fund I GP, LP v. Maracci, C.A. No. 2020-0919-PAF (Del. Ch. Jan. 27, 2022) - Maracci v. Astrum Fund I GP, LP, C.A. No. 2021-0073-PAF (Del. Ch. Jan. 27, 2022) A limited partnership agreement’s dispute resolution...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Courts Desperately Need Contextual Clues in Disputes Over Enforceability of Arbitration Provisions

Enforcement of an ERISA plan’s arbitration provision has become a hotly litigated issue. Plaintiffs and courts often raise two objections to arbitration provisions in ERISA plans, including ESOPs. The first is whether...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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Seventh Circuit Rejects Plan’s Attempt to Compel Individual Arbitration of Participant’s Fiduciary Breach Claims

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Recognizing that the Plan contained an unambiguous arbitration  provision, and that “ERISA claims are generally arbitrable,” the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals nonetheless found that arbitration could not...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Upholds Well-Pled Claims Relating to Former Fiduciaries’ Retention of Derivative Arbitration Award

Morris James LLP on

Optimiscorp v. Atkins, C.A. No. 2020-0183-MTZ (Del. Ch. July 15, 2021) - In Optimiscorp, the Court upheld claims against former directors and officers of plaintiff Optimiscorp arising out of the defendants’ failure to turn...more

Goodwin

Litigation Insights - July 2021

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FOREWORD - On behalf of the new and expanding Goodwin London litigation team I am delighted to welcome you to our first ever ‘Litigation Insights’: a series of quarterly updates on important and interesting developments...more

Littler

Are ERISA Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Arbitrable?

Littler on

Over the years, attempts to arbitrate breach of fiduciary duty claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Section 502(a)(2) have had varying results.  One court recently recognized that “whether any...more

Goodwin

ERISA Litigation Update - April 2021

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

Holland & Knight LLP

Courts Split on Class Action Waivers, Arbitration Provisions in ERISA Litigation

Holland & Knight LLP on

Courts have struggled through the years when considering the enforceability of mandatory class action waivers and arbitration provisions contained within Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plans and other...more

Kilpatrick

Second Circuit bypasses the “construe ambiguities in favor of arbitration” rule in reversing order compelling arbitration

Kilpatrick on

Takeaway: Parties seeking to compel arbitration often rely on the rule announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Construction Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 24-25 (1983), providing that where an...more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

401(k) Fiduciary Breach Claims Not Subject to Arbitration, Second Circuit Decides

Reversing a lower court’s decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion in Cooper v. DST Systems, Inc., et al., finding that an arbitration agreement signed by an employee as part of his...more

Morgan Lewis

Second Circuit: 401(k) Fiduciary Breach Claims Not Subject to Arbitration

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In a 2-1 split decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a lower court’s decision that an arbitration agreement signed by an employee as part of his employment required that he arbitrate any fiduciary...more

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