On April 19, 2021, in Wilson v. Craver, No. 18-56139, 2021 WL 1523253 (9th Cir. Apr. 19, 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an ERISA stock-drop lawsuit brought against fiduciaries of Edison International’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), holding that the plaintiff failed to meet the “more harm than good” pleading standard set forth in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, 573 U.S. 409, 428 (2014).
Category: ERISA Litigation
ERISA Litigation Roundup: Forum Selection Clause in Plan Recognized as Valid
A Ninth Circuit panel in In re Becker has held that the district court properly enforced a forum selection clause in an ERISA-sponsored 401(k) plan in litigation on alleged improper plan management.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
ERISA Litigation Roundup: Another Court Finds 401(k) Plan Participant Data Is Not a Plan Asset
The Southern District of Texas is the latest court to reject breach of fiduciary duty claims based on a party’s use of participant data.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Supreme Court Decision Caps Big Week in Litigation for Pharmacy Benefit Managers
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision on Thursday of last week that will impact state-level regulation of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) by holding that an Arkansas law regulating PBMs was not preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The decision capped off a busy week in litigation for PBMs as on Monday the Second Circuit held that a business transaction between a PBM and an insurer was not a fiduciary act under ERISA. Although the cases involve distinct issues, they provide some clarity for PBMs on the interplay between business decisions and litigation risks, and some expectation for future regulation at the state-level.
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Plan Sponsor and Plan Administrator Escape 401(k) Plan Cybertheft Suit, But Recordkeeper Remains
An Illinois district court issued a split decision in a case involving the cybertheft of retirement plan assets, allowing the plan administrator and plan sponsor to be dismissed, but requiring the recordkeeper to defend allegations that it breached its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Bartnett v. Abbott Laboratories, et. al. (N.D. Illinois, Case No. 1:20-cv-02127) is one of several recent lawsuits filed against plan sponsors and recordkeepers for allowing cyber-thieves to pilfer large distributions from participants’ retirement plan accounts.
Heide Bartnett, a former employee of Abbott Laboratories (Abbott) and participant in Abbott’s 401(k) plan, alleges that a hacker accessed her 401(k) account online, changed the password, added a new bank account and requested a $245,000 distribution from the 401(k) plan’s recordkeeper, Alight Solutions LLC (Alight) to be deposited into the newly added account. The imposter also called Alight several times to ask questions about the distribution.
Federal Courts Continue to Dismiss ERISA Stock-Drop Claims Post-Jander
Ever since the Supreme Court’s decision in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, 573 U.S. 409 (2014), plaintiffs’ attorneys have been trying to crack the code for pleading an ERISA duty-of-prudence claim against fiduciaries of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) following a drop in the company’s stock price. Those attempts have been largely unsuccessful, with the notable exception of Jander v. Retirement Plans Committee of IBM, 910 F.3d 620 (2d Cir. 2018), vacated and remanded, 140 S. Ct. 592, reinstated, 962 F.3d 85 (2d Cir. 2020). When the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Jander, many ERISA lawyers expected the Court to clarify how a plaintiff could satisfy the Dudenhoeffer standard while still preventing meritless stock-drop claims. But as it often does, the Supreme Court ducked the issue and remanded the case without addressing the merits.
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Tenth Circuit Interpretation of ERISA Notice Requirement Impacts Plan Administrator’s Right to Deferential Standard of Review
When an ERISA plan delegates authority to the plan administrator to interpret the plan documents for benefit determinations, the plan administrator typically is entitled to a deferential standard of judicial review, and courts will look for abuse of discretion rather than impose a de novo standard of review. In Lyn M. v. Premera Blue Cross, – F.3d –, 2020 WL 4249129 (10th Cir. Jul 24, 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit limited the deferential standard of review, holding that a de novo review applied when the plan administrator did not adequately disclose to the plan participants the instrument delegating discretionary authority to the plan administrator.
Split Supreme Court Awards U.S. Bank a Win in ERISA Pension Lawsuit
In a 5-4 decision in Thole v. U.S. Bank N.A., the Supreme Court found that participants in a defined benefit pension plan lacked Article III standing to sue under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for alleged mismanagement of that plan, finding the plaintiffs suffered no concrete injury that could be redressed by the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs were former employees of U.S. Bank who, having retired as vested participants in its defined benefit plan, had already begun receiving fixed monthly payments. They filed a class action lawsuit under ERISA in 2013 against the plan sponsor and numerous plan fiduciaries, alleging that defendants breached their fiduciary duties by investing plan funds in the investment managers’ mutual funds, paying excessive management fees, and making imprudent investment decisions that led to $750 million in losses to the plan. The trial court dismissed the lawsuit after the plan, which was underfunded when the suit was filed, became overfunded when the company contributed $311 million to bring the plan into compliance, which the court found mooted plaintiffs’ claims. The Eighth Circuit affirmed on the basis that the overfunded nature of the plan removed plaintiffs’ statutory standing under ERISA to sue.
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Preventing an ERISA Litigation Outbreak After COVID-19 – Part 2: Cybertheft of 401(k) Plan Distributions
To address growing concerns over an increase in ERISA litigation claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Faegre Drinker’s ERISA litigation team developed the “Preventing an ERISA Litigation Outbreak After COVID-19” alert series to help clients navigate the fiduciary and plan liability issues associated with COVID-19. Part Two of our series examines the potential for fraudulent 401(k) distributions as an unexpected result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Security Act (CARES Act), and highlights steps plan sponsors and recordkeepers can take to mitigate the risk of these cybercrimes.
View Part One of this series, which provides guidance to assist ESOP fiduciaries in carrying out their duties during the pandemic.
Preventing an ERISA Litigation Outbreak After COVID-19 – Part 1: ESOPs
In addition to raising a host of regulatory issues for employee benefit plans, including compliance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to cause a sharp rise in ERISA litigation in the coming months. Faegre Drinker’s ERISA litigation team will be issuing a series of alerts designed to help clients navigate the fiduciary and plan liability issues associated with COVID-19. Part One of our series provides helpful guidance for ESOP fiduciaries carrying out their duties during this uncertain time.
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