ERISA Litigation Advisor
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Stay ahead of ERISA litigation trends and strategies with the ERISA Litigation Advisor blog by Jackson Lewis P.C. Get insights into recent court decisions, legal updates, and best practices for ERISA litigation. Readers can expect expert analysis, case summaries, and practical guidance for handling ERISA litigation matters.
ERISA Litigation Advisor
3w ago
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 litigation against employers is Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson et al., No. 3:24-cv-00671, currently pending in the ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
3M ago
In its recent decision in State of Utah v. Su, the Fifth Circuit remanded a challenge to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rule for investing in defined contribution retirement plans after the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. In Loper Bright, the Supreme Court overturned the ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
4M ago
A New Jersey federal district court recently granted summary judgment in defendants’ favor in an ERISA excessive fee case accusing Evonik’s 401(k) plan fiduciaries of keeping imprudent investments in the plan and of allowing participants to pay excessive recordkeeping fees. Harris, et al. v. Evonik Corp., et al., No. 20-02202, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS _____ (D.N.J. Jun. 28, 2024).
At the core of the decision was the court’s finding that Evonik’s fiduciaries followed a rigorous, prudent process for reviewing plan investments and fees. Specifically, with regard to investments, it w ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
4M ago
Recently, the Second Circuit became the latest circuit refusing to enforce individual arbitration of an ERISA class action, joining the Third, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits. The Ninth Circuit, by contrast, has held that class action ERISA claims brought on behalf of plans are subject to individual arbitration, with relief limited to the individual plaintiff’s claims.
In Cedeno v. Sassson, 100 F.4th 386 (2d Cir. 2024), plan participant Ramon Cedeno sued Argent Trust Company, the trustee of his former employer’s employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”), alleging that Argent breached its fiduciary du ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
4M ago
For the last 40 years, judges were required to defer to administrative agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous federal statutes under Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The Supreme Court upended that precedent in Friday’s 6-3 ruling in Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo, which overturned Chevron and instructs judges to rely on their own judgment in determining whether an agency’s regulation falls within its authority.
Chevron’s repeal has both immediate and concrete impacts on ERISA’s interpretation, as well as the potential for significant, broader effects. For ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
4M ago
Conflicting orders on motions to dismiss from two California courts foreshadow issues for a new theory of ERISA liability. Employers have faced a recent wave of novel ERISA class actions that challenge the reallocation of defined contribution plan forfeitures. Such plans often include provisions requiring participants to work for the employer for a defined period before their right to any employer contributions in their account vests. When a participant terminates employment before vesting, their unvested, forfeited employer contributions are swept into the plan’s forfeiture account. The ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
5M ago
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear Rose v. PSA Airlines, Inc., Case No. 23-734, which raised the question of whether a remedy known as “surcharge” falls under ERISA’s equitable remedies provision. Surcharge, in simple terms, resembles monetary damages. Historically, courts used it to address losses resulting from a trustee’s breach of duty or to prevent unjust enrichment.
Plaintiff Rose brought the action back in December 2019 on behalf of her deceased son’s estate. Rose’s complaint alleged that her son’s employer, PSA Airlines, wrongly refused to cover th ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
6M ago
A California federal court recently granted an employer win in an ERISA excessive fee case when it dismissed a proposed class action brought by an ex-employee of Schenker, Inc., a transportation logistics company. Partida v. Schenker Inc., No. 22-cv-09192-AMO, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58297 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2024). In the past few years, hundreds of employers have been hit with proposed class actions challenging their “excessive” retirement plan fees. Plaintiffs have had mixed results in court. Here, the court reasoned that, although Plaintiff had established standing, t ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
7M ago
A New York federal court recently denied former hospital employees’ request for leave to file a Third Amended Complaint (“TAC”) after dismissing their Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) for lack of standing and failure to state a claim. Boyette v. Montefiore Medical Ctr., No. 22-cv-5280 (JGK), 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63150, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 5, 2024). The court reasoned that the proposed amended complaint contained “substantively the same defects” as its predecessor.
Former Montefiore employees challenged the healthcare center’s management of its 403(b) retirement plan, alleg ..read more
ERISA Litigation Advisor
1y ago
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting’s trial victory in a 250,000-member class action suit alleging that Aon breached ERISA’s fiduciary duties.
Aon was initially the Lowe’s 401(k) plan’s investment advisor and later was engaged as the plan’s 3(38) delegated fiduciary. The plaintiffs’ fiduciary breach claims alleged that, after being retained as a delegated fiduciary, Aon transferred plan assets to an Aon fund with an unproven track record that underperformed. Plaintiffs also claimed that Aon’s sales efforts to acquire delegated fiduciary work and their recommendation to ..read more