Mealey's (April 19, 2021, 11:49 AM EDT) -- PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 15 ruled that Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims regarding overestimated benefit statements failed as “[c]alcualtion of benefits pursuant to a formula is not a fiduciary function” but held that the plan participants must be permitted to file an amended complaint because they “plead facts adequate to allege” that their requests for statements via an online portal were “written requests”; further, the panel vacated dismissal of state law claims for professional negligence and negligent misrepresentation, finding that they were not preempted by ERISA....