DOL Offers Guidance to Retirement Plan Sponsors
On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Depart of Labor (through the Employee Benefits Security Administration) issued helpful regulatory guidance for retirement plans. That guidance is set forth here and here.
Author: Andrew Holly
The “War” Between Out-of-Network Providers and Insurers Spreads into COVID-19 Territory
For insight into the ongoing “war” between “out-of-network” medical providers and the entities that insure and administer group health plans, see a recent article by Nick Bullard and Andrew Holly.
Court Allows Claim for Multiemployer Pension Default Based Upon Failure to Provide Information
A relatively novel decision today from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York could significantly expand the power of multiemployer pension plans to demand information from participating employers. In Nat’l Ret. Fund v. Intercontinental Hotels Grp. Res., LLC, 2020 U.S. Dist....
Class Action Counsels’ Reach Expands to “Fee” Claims against Small and Mid-Size 401(k) Plans
So-called 401(k) “fee” cases first appeared on the scene in 2006, when a personal injury firm filed a group of lawsuits against sponsors and fiduciaries of large 401(k) plans. Originally, these lawsuits targeted allegedly “excessive fees” charged to plan participants. But the claims have morphed...
Some Thoughts about How to Manage Plan Investments During a Time of Market Volatility
Andrew Holly and Nick Bullard have provided thoughts on how ERISA fiduciaries can perform their duties and minimize litigation risk during these difficult times. You can read their thoughts here.
Will the Supreme Court Review Standards for Pleading 401(k) Fiduciary Breach Cases?
As we have discussed on several different occasions, the Supreme Court has found itself inundated with ERISA cases. The Seventh Circuit’s decision in Divane v. Nw. Univ., 953 F.3d 980 (7th Cir. 2020) (discussed just prior to this post) provides an opportunity for the Supreme...
The Seventh Circuit Opines on What a Plaintiff Must Plead for a 401(k) Imprudence Claim to Go Forward
As ERISA watchers know, courts have been inundated with lawsuits alleging fiduciary breaches with respect to 401(k)/403(b) plans sponsored by universities and healthcare providers. The Seventh Circuit issued another decision identifying exactly what a complaint must allege in order to get past the initial pleading...
The Supreme Court Provides Guidance on ERISA’s “Actual Knowledge” Statute of Limitations
Vanessa Szalapski and Steve Lucke have provided an in-depth analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision in Intel Corp. Inv. Policy Comm. v. Sulyma, 140 S. Ct. 768 (2020) at the Dorsey Health Law Blog. In Sulyma, the Supreme Court defined what constitutes “actual knowledge” under...
Circuit Courts Define when a Stable Value Fund Issuer’s Control over Credited Interest Rate Makes It an ERISA Fiduciary
Two recent cases from the Eighth and Eleventh Circuits have provided further clarity as to when a stable value fund sponsor’s control over the fund’s credited interest rate make is a de facto ERISA fiduciary. (The credited interest rate generally refers to the rate of...
The Supreme Court (Again) Addresses Fiduciary Standards for Company Stock Investments
On January 14, 2020, the Supreme Court—for the third time in six years—issued an opinion discussing the legal standard for alleging a breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the retention of company stock in a 401(k) plan. See Ret. Plans Comm. of IBM v....
Eighth Circuit Holds That a Silent Arbitration Clause Precludes Class-Wide Arbitration
The Eighth Circuit just waded into the issue of whether a mandatory arbitration provision allows for a class-wide arbitration. In Catamaran Corp. v. Towncrest Pharm., 946 F.3d 1020 (8th Cir. 2020), the Eighth Circuit held that a mandatory arbitration provision in a contract between a...
Sick of ERISA? The Supreme Court Declines to Hear First Circuit 401(k) Investment Case
On January 13, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Putnam Investments, LLC v. Brotherston, a case that had generated considerable attention after the First Circuit issued its decision in October 2018. The First Circuit’s decision discussed a number of important ERISA topics, but Putnam sought...
Supreme Court Accepts Cert in PBM Preemption Case
The Supreme Court has just granted certiorari in another ERISA case—Pharm. Care Mgmt. Ass’n v. Rutledge, 891 F.3d 1109 (8th Cir. 2018). In Rutledge, the Eighth Circuit held that ERISA preempts an Arkansas’ statute regulating pharmacy benefit managers’ drug reimbursement rates with pharmacies. Following prior...
Fifth Circuit Strikes Down ACA’s Individual Mandate, for Now
The “ACA Wars” continue, with the Fifth Circuit holding that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is unconstitutional. In Texas v. United States, 945 F.3d 355 (5th Cir. 2019), the Fifth Circuit addressed yet another challenge to the ACA, this time stemming from Congress’ decision...
Fifth Circuit Clarifies When a Plan Participant Can Obtain Attorneys’ Fees under ERISA
The Fifth Circuit just helped clarify when a plan participant can recover attorneys’ fees following a procedural remand of an ERISA claim for benefits. In Ariana M v. Humana Health Plan of Texas, the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s claim...
First Circuit Refuses to Excuse Tardy Claim for Benefits Appeal under the “Substantial Compliance” Doctrine
In Fortier v. Hartford Life & Acc. Ins., the First Circuit held that the “judicially created” substantial compliance doctrine did not save an untimely appeal from a denial of long-term disability benefits. In Fortier, the plaintiff appealed from the denial of her claim for long-term...
…More on the Final Fiduciary Rule
So April has finally arrived … and so has the final fiduciary rule–as Andrew Holly mentions in our prior post. It comes about 40 years after the Department of Labor first published a fiduciary rule. That was before 401(k) plans and when ETFs were nothing...
Final Fiduciary Rule
Today the Department of Labor released its long-anticipated revisions to ERISA’s definition of who is a fiduciary. (See next post for links.) Although the DOL claims to have “streamlined” the rule in response to industry criticism (and extended the implementation period), this rule may significantly...
