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Breach of Duty Employee Benefits Employee Stock Ownership Plans

Holland & Knight LLP

Arkansas Court Declines to Dismiss Challenge to ESOP Releveraging Transaction

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The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas issued its written decision in Shipp v. Central States Manufacturing, Inc. on July 5, 2024, declining to dismiss the case against Central States Manufacturing Inc....more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Five Things on the Department of Labor’s Radar for Employee Benefit Plans

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All qualified retirement plans are subject to a myriad of requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is charged with enforcing the...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: Why Aren’t Courts Conducting the 'Context-Specific' Inquiry Into Complaints That the Supreme Court Requires?

Recently, several appellate-level court decisions have affirmed dismissals of ERISA fiduciary-breach claims involving 401(k) plans. These decisions followed the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in a 403(b) case, in...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

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

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Important Recent ESOP Developments 

There were several significant legal developments relating to employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) last year. This information memo will summarize a few of the most important developments. ...more

Polsinelli

ESOPs Win Big in Hawaii Court Case

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The Federal District Court for Hawaii recently determined that no violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) were established by the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) in a breach of...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

ERISA Litigation Roundup: Northern District of Illinois Dismisses ERISA Stock-Drop Suit

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed an ERISA stock-drop lawsuit brought against fiduciaries of Kraft Heinz Food Company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), holding...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Denies Interlocutory Appeal for Novel Issue of “Hardwired” 401(k) Plans

A federal district court in Maryland recently declined to certify an interlocutory appeal to the Fourth Circuit on the issue of whether financial institutions can “hardwire” a preference for their own proprietary investment...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Thinking ESOPs: What the Supreme Court’s Decision in a 401(k) Fee Case Could Mean for ESOPs

The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a challenge to the dismissal of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 401(k) excessive fee case. The case involves a question about whether jury trials are...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Failure To Identify Specific Viable Alternative Action Dooms Stock Drop Claim

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The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of an ERISA employer-stock drop putative class action, holding that the plaintiff’s failure to identify specific, viable alternative actions that plan fiduciaries should have...more

Polsinelli

Illinois Court Strikes Down ESOP’s Arbitration Provision

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Over the past few years, qualified retirement plans, including employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) have been adding provisions requiring participant breach of fiduciary duty claims to be resolved through mandatory...more

Dechert LLP

A Look at the Current State of ERISA Class Action Litigation

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This OnPoint is the first in a series that will examine important trends and developments in class action litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).  Here, we look at the current litigation...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Stock Drop Litigation Cases Are On The Rise: Will Your Retirement Plan Be A Target?

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Key Takeaways- •Stock price plunges caused by COVID and current market conditions create fertile ground for stockholder litigation, including claims by participants in retirement plans funded with employer securities that...more

American Conference Institute (ACI)

[Event] ERISA Litigation – Valuable insights on how to prevent, manage and defend against rising, costly ERISA disputes - November...

Ensure that You are Equipped with the Latest Updates and Strategies to Prevent, Manage and Defend Against Rising, Costly ERISA Disputes - This annual event is your best opportunity to gain best practices for your everyday...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

You Misunderstood the Valuation: Court Rejects ESOP Fiduciary Breach Suit - Employee Benefits Alert

A federal trial court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a participant in an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) claiming that fiduciaries of the ESOP caused it to overpay for stock of the company in a leveraged transaction....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Second Circuit Gives New Life to Stock Drop Claim

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Seyfarth synopsis: The Second Circuit reversed dismissal of an ERISA stock drop class action finding plaintiff alleged enough to plausibly show that disclosure of alleged corporate problems would not have done more harm than...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

For Your Benefit- Fall-2018

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After a long period of relative stability enjoyed by sponsors of qualified retirement plans, several significant modifications have been made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Act), following closely on the heels of...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

ESOP Trustees And Administrators: Draft Your Plans Strategically

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One challenge faced by ESOP trustees and administrators in recent years are challenges from the plaintiff’s bar in the form of class action lawsuits frequently filed by attorneys representing purported classes of participants...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Tenth Circuit Follows Majority Of The Circuit Courts And Holds Plaintiff Bears The Burden Of Proving Causation In ERISA Breach Of...

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On June 5, 2017, in Pioneer Centres Holding Co. Employee Stock Ownership Plan & Trust v. Alerus Fin., N.A., Case No. 15-1227, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that the plaintiff bears the burden on each...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

U.S. Supreme Court Seeks Solicitor General’s Input on Co-fiduciary Indemnification

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the government’s views on a petition for certiorari asking the Court to decide whether ERISA permits a cause of action for...more

Holland & Knight LLP

District Court Rules on ERISA Liability of Board and ESOP Advisory Committee Members in ESOP Transactions

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On Sept. 1, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued its decision in the Antioch employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciary litigation. The court held that the Antioch Board of Directors...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Fifth Circuit Decision Includes Important Holdings for ESOP Fiduciaries

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed on May 3, 2016, the holdings of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on numerous issues involving the sale of closely held stock from a...more

Carlton Fields

SCOTUS v. the Ninth Circuit on Failure to Enforce ERISA Stock-Drop Pleading Standard

Carlton Fields on

In a terse per curiam opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court in Amgen Inc. v. Harris, No. 15-278 (U.S. Jan. 25, 2016), made clear that it expects lower courts to faithfully apply the pleading requirements for “stock-drop” cases...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Supreme Court Meant What It Said On Employer Stock Funds

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On January 25, 2016, in Amgen, Inc. v. Harris, 2016 WL 280886, the Supreme Court sent a strong message to the lower courts, plaintiffs and ERISA fiduciaries that pleading standards for breach of fiduciary duty prudence claims...more

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