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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The EEOC has published a sample notice intended to help employers comply with the notice requirement under the new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) final rule (published on May 17, 2016). The final rule requires employers offering wellness programs that collect employee health information to...
The ADA is one of those places where benefits law and employment law overlap. That’s when we work with our friends over in Dorsey’s Labor & Employment Group. Jessica Shiffman and Joel O’Malley have a recent post on their “Quirky Questions” blog on the ADA and...
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...
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...
We had a great client Dorsey Roundtable this morning to discuss employer stock in retirement plans. It’s been a few years now since the 2013 blockbuster opinion from the Supreme Court (back when they had 9 justices) in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer that gave...
This is Part 3 of our series on State Retirement Plans. We have to admit this has been eye-opening. We are pleased to see Lee Schafer’s column in the StarTribune on the topic this weekend. (Strib) Retirement Policy We are in a bad place when...
Background — fiduciary obligations vs. ERISA’s specific nod to employer stock. Courts have long struggled to determine how to reconcile ERISA’s rules explicitly allowing participants in defined contribution plans to invest in so-called “company stock funds” (i.e., funds only holding the stock of the employer) with...
<strong>Andrew Holly</strong>Andrew represents clients in a wide range of complex civil matters.
<strong>Nick Bullard</strong>Nick is a trial partner in Dorsey’s office in Minneapolis. ...
<strong>Tim Arends</strong>Chair of the Benefits and Compensation practice group, Tim devot...
<strong>Shannon Bjorklund</strong>Shannon provides advice and litigation assistance to companies...
<strong>Tim Goodman</strong>Tim Goodman works with employers on medical plans, retirement pl...
<strong>Alan Iverson</strong>Alan is a litigator in Dorsey’s trial group with a focus on cli...
<strong>Stephen P. Lucke</strong>Steve represents businesses, employers, insurers, and fiduciarie...
<strong>Marianne O'Bara</strong>Marianne works regularly with numerous non-U.S. companies and t...
<strong>Kirsten Schubert</strong>Kirsten helps clients large and small navigate all aspects of com...
<strong>Michael Voves</strong>Employee Benefits, Minneapolis
