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Fees Breach of Duty Fiduciary Duty

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Massachusetts District Court Permits 403(b) Plan Fiduciary Breach Claims to Proceed

A federal district court in Massachusetts recently denied a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by plan participants in the Cape Cod Healthcare, Inc. 403(b) plan, which alleged that the plan’s fiduciaries breached their ERISA...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Eleventh Circuit Holds That Burden of Proof of Loss Causation is on Plaintiffs in ERISA Actions

In an August 2, 2024, decision in Pizarro v. The Home Depot, Inc., No. 22-13643 (11th Cir. Aug. 2, 2024), the Eleventh Circuit reaffirmed its position — and the position of the majority of federal circuit courts to address...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

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Second Circuit Establishes Practical Pleading Requirement for Prohibited Transaction Claims Under ERISA Section 406(a)(1)(C)

The Second Circuit recently held that in order to state a claim for a prohibited transaction pursuant to ERISA section 406(a)(1)(C), it is not enough to allege that a fiduciary caused the plan to compensate a service provider...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

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...

Magistrate Recommends 180° Course Correction on Previously Denied Motions to Dismiss In ERISA Fee Litigation Cases

In a pair of report and recommendations issued the same day, a Magistrate Judge in Wisconsin recently recommended that the district court (i) grant motions for reconsideration of prior denials of motions to dismiss claims...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Eighth Circuit Joins Growing Number of Courts Rejecting Common ERISA Fee and Investment Claims

In Matousek v. MidAmerican Energy Co., 2022 WL 6880771, __ F.4th __ (8th Cir. 2022), the Eighth Circuit joined the Sixth and Seventh Circuits in affirming dismissal of ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims alleging that the...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Seventh Circuit Provides Hope for ERISA Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries Defending Investment Fee & Performance Litigation

The Seventh Circuit recently provided a ray of sunshine in what has largely been a gloomy stretch for plan sponsors and fiduciaries defending ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims based on allegedly excessive investment and...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Ninth Circuit Revives Fee Challenge to Salesforce.com 401(k) Plan

On Friday, the Ninth Circuit became the first circuit court to rule in a 401(k) plan fee and investment litigation following the Supreme Court’s January 2022 decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, 142 S. Ct. 737...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Supreme Court Struggles to Apply “Twiqbal” in Retirement Plan Fee Cases

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hughes v. Northwestern University, No. 19-1401, just one of about 150 similar class action suits filed around the country in the last few years. The case was brought by...more

Weintraub Tobin

Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Sweeping Conservatorship Reform Bill

Weintraub Tobin on

On September 30, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California AB 1194 amending numerous statutes pertaining to conservatorships. The following are highlights: Internet Posting of Fees of Licensed Professional...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Ohio District Court Dismisses ERISA 401(k) Performance and Fee Putative Class Action

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently dismissed an ERISA putative class action lawsuit asserting fiduciary duty claims based on allegations of unreasonably high administrative fees and relatively...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

401(k) Fee Class Action Against Oshkosh Corporation Dismissed With Prejudice

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Recently, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted a Motion to Dismiss, dismissing ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, failure to monitor claims, and prohibited transaction claims in a...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

United States District Court Dismisses 401(k) Plan Recordkeeper Fee Complaint

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Recently, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania granted a Motion to Dismiss, dismissing ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims based on excessive recordkeeping fee allegations. The district...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Partially Dismisses ERISA 401(k) Fee and Performance Claims for Lack of Standing

A federal district court in New York recently granted Omnicom Group Inc.’s (“Omnicom’s”) motion to dismiss, for lack of Article III standing, claims challenging the offering of investment options in Omnicom’s 401(k) plan in...more

Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti,...

Preventative Medicine For Your 401(K) And 403(B) Plan

Multiple new lawsuits have been filed since the start of 2020.  Complications caused by the Coronavirus have not slowed the onslaught of 401(k) fee litigation across the country. Last month, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. was...more

Carlton Fields

Fidelity Beats Back ERISA Challenge: Infrastructure Fee Complaint Dismissed

Carlton Fields on

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently granted Fidelity’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that Fidelity and its affiliates violated ERISA’s fiduciary duties by receiving “infrastructure fees”...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

Fidelity Wins Dismissal from ERISA Claims Based on “Infrastructure” Fees

Several highly publicized lawsuits were brought against the Fidelity organization in 2019 in connection with Fidelity’s receipt of “infrastructure fees” from mutual fund families and other investment providers made available...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

A Back-to-School Progress Report

This is an update to our article, Back to School for ERISA Fiduciary Claims: How to Prepare for This Trend in University Litigation, which was published on August 22, 2017. As we discussed previously, over the past couple...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Georgetown University Defeats Retirement Plan Fee Litigation and “If a Cat Were a Dog, It Would Bark”

McDermott Will & Emery on

Recently, the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit brought by former Georgetown employees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) over fees and...more

Downey Brand LLP

California Courts May Scrutinize Conservator Fees

Downey Brand LLP on

Private professional fiduciaries in California are entitled to charge a reasonable fee for their services, but their fees for acting as conservators are subject to close court scrutiny. A recent California Court of Appeal...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Bloom Hergott LLP In Depp Trouble After Court Finds Oral Fee Agreement Unenforceable

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Johnny Depp won a major battle last week in his war against his former attorneys Bloom Hergott LLP. The firm alleged that it was entitled to a percentage of Depp’s gross entertainment earnings pursuant to an oral fee...more

Carlton Fields

Charges By Law Firm-Owned Vendors Challenged In Putative Client Class

Carlton Fields on

Plaintiffs signed engagement letters with the law firm Finkelstein & Partners (the “law firm”) to represent them in two separate personal injury lawsuits on a contingency basis. ...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Top US Universities Hit with Retirement Plan Lawsuits: Lessons for Plan Sponsors

The recent wave of 403(b) lawsuits against more than a dozen prominent US universities could herald similar suits for other 403(b) plan sponsors. Plan sponsors can minimize their risk by reviewing their plan governance...more

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