The Northern District of California dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit alleging a 401(k) plan’s sponsor and fiduciaries included unreasonably expensive funds in the plan’s investment lineup. The court previously dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims without prejudice, finding their complaint failed to plead facts from which the court could infer the defendants breached their fiduciary duties. In
Failure to Identify Specific Viable Alternative Action Dooms Stock Drop Claim
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of an ERISA employer-stock drop putative class action, holding that the plaintiff’s failure to identify specific, viable alternative actions that plan fiduciaries should have taken instead of the challenged actions was fatal to her claim. In so holding, the Ninth Circuit joined the Second, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth
Ninth Circuit: ERISA Does Not Bar Forum Selection Clauses
Aligning itself with other circuit courts that have ruled on the issue, the Ninth Circuit recently held that ERISA does not bar forum selection clauses in benefit plans. The background of the case and the Ninth Circuit’s ruling are straightforward. Plaintiff filed a putative class action in the Northern District of California challenging the management
Second Circuit: Investment Advisor Not Covered by Plaintiff’s Employment Arbitration Agreement
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 alleged mismanagement of a profit-sharing plan sponsored by DST Systems, Inc. Cooper v. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc.,
U.S. Supreme Court: Courts Can Review Railroad Retirement Board’s Refusal to Reopen Claims
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts can review decisions by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board denying claimants’ requests to reopen prior benefits denials. Salinas v. U.S. R.R. Ret. Bd., No. 19-199 (Feb. 3, 2021).
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BlackRock 401(k) Plan Class Action Headed for Trial
A class action alleging that BlackRock entities favored their own proprietary funds when selecting investment options for BlackRock’s 401(k) Plan is headed for trial after Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. denied both parties’ motions for summary judgment on January 12, 2021. Baird v. BlackRock Inst’l. Trust Co., No. 17-1892 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 12, 2021)
U.S. Supreme Court: State Law Regulating Pharmacy Benefit Managers is Not Preempted by ERISA
An Arkansas law regulating pharmacy benefit managers’ (PBMs) generic drug reimbursement rates, and affecting the cost of prescription drugs provided under ERISA-governed benefit plans and the administration of those plans, is not preempted by ERISA, the U.S. Supreme Court has held unanimously. Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, No. 18-540, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 5988
Supreme Court to Consider Appealability of Railroad Retirement Board Decisions
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the second of several ERISA disputes this term, the first issue we discussed as the term began, October 5, 2020. Monday, November 2, 2020, the Justices will consider whether the Railroad Retirement Board’s denial of a claimant’s request to open a prior benefits decision is a “final decision” reviewable
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear the First of Several ERISA Disputes This Term
The Supreme Court, whose new term begins today, the first Monday in October, will consider a number of cases impacting employee benefits and benefits litigation. This is the first in a series analyzing these cases as they are heard by the Court. The first issue up concerns prescription drug benefit regulation, and later in the
COBRA Notice Litigation: Cases Are Mushrooming and Settlements Are, Too
Imagine something as simple as a COBRA notice that complies with law, but is not identical to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) model notice, leading to six- or seven-figure class action litigation settlements?
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