Earlier this year, ERISA fiduciary breach defendant Parker-Hannifin filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court that, if granted, could settle a circuit split created by the Sixth Circuit regarding the correct pleading standard for ERISA class actions challenging defined contribution plan investment performance. Johnson v. Parker-Hannifin, 122…

Although the Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services believe that wellness programs are delivering on their promise of improving health and reducing costs, one type has recently become the ire of the plaintiffs’ bar: the tobacco surcharge.  To date, plaintiffs have filed nearly 30 suits against plan…

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…

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 _____…

An ERISA action alleging breaches of fiduciary duty recently cleared the pleadings stage in Minnesota district court, narrowly avoiding a complete dismissal. See Schave v. CentraCare Health Sys., No. 22-cv-1555 (WMW/LIB), 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13786 (D. Minn. Jan. 27, 2023).

In Schave, a CentraCare employee challenged the healthcare provider’s handling of its…

A New York district court recently summarily dismissed, with prejudice, a 401(k) plan participant’s putative class action complaint alleging breaches of fiduciary duty.  Falberg v. Goldman Sachs Grp., Inc., No. 19-cv-9910, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167064 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 14, 2022).  The Plaintiff alleged that the Plan fiduciary-Defendants breached their duties of prudence and loyalty…

A New York federal court recently held that a service provider for employer-sponsored retirement plans was not liable as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) when it used participant information to encourage certain plan participants to roll over assets into its more expensive managed account program.  Carfora v. Teachers Ins. Annuity…

Plaintiffs must plead a “sound basis for comparison—a meaningful benchmark” — to sustain their claims of imprudent investment and excessive fee against a 401(k) plan, the federal appeals court in St. Louis has held, dismissing a class action lawsuit for breached of fiduciary duties under ERISA. Matousek v. MidAmerican Energy Co., No. 21-2749 (8th…

On June 21, 2022, CommonSpirit Health defeated a putative class action brought by former employees who alleged that the company mismanaged their 401(k) plan by offering higher-cost, actively managed investment options when lower-cost index funds with better returns were available. The plaintiffs also alleged that the plan’s recordkeeping and investment management fees were excessive when…

The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392 (June 24, 2022), overruling Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, has far-reaching consequences across many areas. This special report examines the potential impact Dobbs will have on employee benefits litigation.

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