News & Analysis as of

Class Action Breach of Duty Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

A class action is a type of legal action where a representative individual or group of individuals can bring a claim on behalf of a larger group or class who share a common legal interest.
Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - October 2024

The October Monthly Minute highlights two recent retirement plan cases, one in which the court sides with the plan and emphasizes plan administrative review over specific investment results and another where plaintiffs are...more

Goodwin

Supreme Court Grants Review in ERISA Class Action Challenging Plan Sponsor’s Recordkeeping Arrangement

Goodwin on

Key takeaway: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to address the pleading standards for prohibited-transaction claims under 29 U.S.C. § 1106(a). On October 4, 2024, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Cunningham v....more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Johnson & Johnson Case Sparks Concerns Over Future Excessive Health Fee Litigation

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Recent scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers, also known as “PBMs,” has resulted in various lawsuits alleging that the high drug costs they charge violate ERISA. Among the first lawsuits in what appears to be a wave of new...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Eleventh Circuit Reiterates that Burden of Proving Loss Causation Stays with Plaintiffs

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the fiduciaries of the Home Depot 401(k) plan, who defended against claims that they breached their fiduciary...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Arkansas Court Declines to Dismiss Challenge to ESOP Releveraging Transaction

Holland & Knight LLP on

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

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

Mayer Brown

Northern District of Texas Expands Fiduciary Exposure by Permitting ESG Proxy Voting Theory to Go to Trial

Mayer Brown on

Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - INTRODUCTION - On June 20, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “court”) denied a motion for summary...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

Groom Law Group, Chartered

ERISA Group Health Plans – The New Target in Fee Cases

Earlier this year, a Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) employee brought a class action complaint (the “Complaint”) against J&J alleging fiduciary breaches under ERISA related to the prescription drug coverage under J&J’s self-funded...more

Troutman Pepper

EDVA Judge Allows Pension Investment Expert to Testify in Class Action ERISA Case

Troutman Pepper on

A recent decision by Senior District Judge Robert Payne on a Daubert motion in class action litigation against a pension fund offers some helpful lessons on challenging expert witnesses in the EDVA. Trauernicht v. Genworth...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

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

Foley & Lardner LLP on

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

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

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Massachusetts District Court Grants Motion to Dismiss 401(k) Fiduciary Breach and Prohibited Transaction Claims

A federal district court in Massachusetts dismissed ERISA fiduciary breach and prohibited transaction claims against 401(k) plan fiduciaries, ruling that the prohibited transaction claims were time-barred and the fiduciary...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Welfare Plan Class Action Litigation Underscores Importance of Minding Your Fiduciary Duties

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

As mentioned in our recent blog post, the recently filed class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson et. al., D.N.J., No. 1:24-cv-00671 (Feb. 5, 2024)) over alleged excessive prescription...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

California District Court Denies Motion to Dismiss 401(k) Excessive Fee and Underperformance Claims

A California district court recently denied a motion to dismiss claims that the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan breached their ERISA fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty by selecting underperforming, high-cost investments...more

Littler

Michigan Court Dismisses ERISA Class-Action

Littler on

Fiduciaries of 401(k) and other retirement plans continue to be targeted by class action lawsuits brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) challenging fiduciary decisions regarding investment options...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Tenth Circuit Dismisses Claims Related to High-Cost Funds, High Recordkeeping Fees

Holland & Knight LLP on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Matney v. Barrick Gold of North America, et al. on Sept. 6, 2023, finding that participants in an employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Ninth Circuit: Changes to a Services Agreement Require Consideration of Indirect Compensation

A recent Ninth Circuit decision has generated considerable controversy amongst employee benefits practitioners by holding that plan fiduciaries engaged in prohibited transactions when they amended the plan’s existing...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Eighth Circuit’s “Meaningful Benchmark” Requirement for 401(k) “Excessive Fee” Lawsuits Continues to Generate Dismissals

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

On August 21, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota largely dismissed—for a second time—a putative ERISA class action challenging “excessive” fees and “poor” performance in a 401(k) plan. Fritton v....more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Two District Courts Reach Conflicting Holdings Over Excessive Recordkeeping Fee Claims

Two District Courts have reached conflicting decisions on the same day when ruling on substantially similar allegations that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by paying too much for recordkeeping services, with one court...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Dismissal Streak Continues in BlackRock Target Date Fund Litigation

A third district court has dismissed with prejudice a complaint alleging that defendants breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by offering 401(k) plan participants the option to invest in BlackRock LifePath Index Target...more

Littler

Federal Court Dismisses Case Alleging Breach of ERISA Fiduciary Duties in 401(k) Class Action

Littler on

Fiduciaries of retirement plans continue to be plagued by class actions brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) challenging their fiduciary management of investment options and participant fees. A...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Northwestern University’s Alternative Explanations Not Strong Enough To Defeat ERISA Excessive Fee Claims

On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit issued its opinion in Hughes v. Northwestern University, concluding that participants in two Northwestern 403(b) plans plausibly pled fiduciary-breach claims based on...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Court Finds Named Plaintiffs Inadequate to Represent Proposed Class on ERISA Excessive Fee Claims

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision from the Eastern District of Michigan serves as a reminder that—while courts are often quick to certify classes in ERISA cases—plaintiffs must satisfy the requirements of Rule 23 and that...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Tech company agrees to fork over $1 million in class action case

Coriant agreed to pay $1 million to resolve claims it violated its fiduciary duties under ERISA while administering its 401(k) plan. Coriant was an optical telecommunications company that was acquired by another company in...more

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