Patent Infringement: Successful Litigation Stays the "Course"
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
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
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
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently concluded that investment advisor Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb must face a proposed class action under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) for breach of fiduciary duty relating to its...more
The defendants moved to compel arbitration of a complex dispute concerning the parties’ investment in medical marijuana companies. The plaintiff claimed that the defendants breached a non-compete agreement and fiduciary...more
The Ninth Circuit, in back-to-back opinion and memorandum decisions in Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp., overruled long-standing precedent that ERISA claims are not arbitrable. The plaintiff, a former Schwab employee, filed a...more
The Ninth Circuit recently issued two decisions in Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp.: the first overrules the decision in Amaro v. Continental Can. Co., 724 F.2d 747 (9th Cir. 1984) (Dorman, – F.3d –, No. 18-15281, 2019 WL...more
On August 20, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned its long-standing precedent, and ruled statutory claims under ERISA are subject to arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act....more
Plaintiffs, current and former employees of the University of Southern California (“USC”), were participants in two USC-sponsored ERISA contribution plans. In order to participate in the plans, individual employees were...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which the plaintiff filed a FINRA arbitration against his broker alleging suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, failure to supervise, and other claims. The...more
In Munro v. University of Southern California, No. 17-55550, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 20522 (9th Cir. July 24, 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that employees alleging an ERISA breach of fiduciary duty...more
• The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has ruled that the arbitration provision of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) does not apply to the plaintiff's class representative because she had "cashed...more
But decision leaves open many questions . . . With the Supreme Court’s Epic Systems decision laying to rest many of the primary arguments used to avoid arbitration, case law continues to develop regarding how arbitration...more
In a published decision issued yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that collective claims for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty under ERISA were not subject to the arbitration agreements in...more
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently held that Tennessee’s Trust Code and broad trust-instruments authorize a Trustee’s execution of a pre-dispute arbitration clause. That isn’t a per se breach of fiduciary duty, but the...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which a plaintiff filed a breach of fiduciary duty claim in federal court and opposed defendants' efforts to move the claims to arbitration. The plaintiff claimed...more
As discussed in an earlier article, the North Carolina Supreme Court recently held, in King v. Bryant, that physicians have a fiduciary relationship with their patients due to the special relationship of trust and confidence...more
New York’s First Department finds there was no clear manifestation parties had abandoned a forum selection clause by a later agreement which mandated arbitration in London. In 2000, the parties entered into two agreements:...more
In a 3-2 split decision, a New York appellate court determined that a forum selection clause providing for litigation in New York courts had not been explicitly terminated and thus trumped agreements to submit to arbitration...more
The Tennessee Court of Appeals at Jackson recently enforced a NY choice-of-law provision against an arbitration challenge, holding that courts determine contract-formation issues, while arbitrators decide the scope and...more