Mealey's ERISA
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November 06, 2023
Former Fiduciaries Of ERISA Plan Ask U.S. High Court To Review Ruling In DOL Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Arguing in part that “[t]he liberal amendment standard was specifically designed to protect litigants like” them, two former retirement plan fiduciaries petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act case against them brought by the U.S. Labor secretary.
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November 03, 2023
New DOL Proposal Spurs Supplemental Briefing In ERISA Fiduciary Test Row
DALLAS — Under a Nov. 2 order, supplemental briefing in Texas federal court will address a newly proposed rule and amendments from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in an existing suit over what had been called the DOL’s “new interpretation” of a test for whether financial professionals are acting as investment advice fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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November 03, 2023
Final Settlement OK Sought Amid Attorney Fee Fight In ERISA Surgery Coverage Row
SAN FRANCISCO — With a separate and opposed attorney fee request pending, the plaintiff who sued a health plan and related entities over denial of coverage for a specialized form of liposuction to treat lipedema asked a California federal court for final approval of a class settlement that had a long road to preliminary approval.
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November 02, 2023
$900,000 Class Settlement Proposed In ERISA Case Over Annuity Calculations
MILWAUKEE — A plaintiff who argues that married retirees and beneficiaries were “shortchanged” by pension benefits calculated using allegedly outdated mortality and interest rate assumptions on Nov. 1 asked a Wisconsin federal court to approve a class action settlement with an estimated present value of $900,000.
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November 01, 2023
11th Circuit Upholds $2.67B Settlement In Antitrust Row Over Varied Challenges
ATLANTA — Rejecting all of the various challenges filed by objectors — including one that took up an Employee Retirement Income Security Act concern originally raised by the U.S. Department of Labor — an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed approval of a settlement including a $2.67 billion common fund that resolved one wing of “a multi-district antitrust class action against the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its member plans.”
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November 01, 2023
DOL’s Proposed Rule Would Expand Who Is An Investment Advice Fiduciary Under ERISA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A proposed rule that would update and expand the regulatory definition of an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act became public on Oct. 31 when the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor submitted it to the Office of the Federal Register.
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October 30, 2023
Ruling For DOL In ESG Investing Rule Case Is Appealed To 5th Circuit
AMARILLO, Texas — Twenty-six states and other plaintiffs that sued the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in Texas federal court over its 2022 investment rule concerning environmental, social and governance (ESG) all filed a notice that they are taking summary judgment for the DOL to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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October 30, 2023
Attorneys Split A Third Of $124.6M Global Settlement In ERISA Imprudence Row
NEW YORK — Noting that no objections were reported and that the independent fiduciary also assented, a New York federal judge granted final approval to a $124,625,000 global settlement for two Employee Retirement Income Security Act class actions and all of the voluminous related litigation over heavy investments in a single stock that resulted in large losses.
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October 26, 2023
Split 9th Circuit Panel Upholds Fee Denial Under EAJA In ERISA Valuation Row
HONOLULU — A split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 25 upheld denial of attorney fees and nontaxable costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) in a lawsuit over the valuation of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), with the majority holding “that the government was substantially justified in its position” and the dissenter opining that the majority used “a gross dilution of the EAJA’s standard.”
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October 25, 2023
Fee Award Denied In Dismissed ‘Impossible To Adjudicate’ COVID-19 Testing Row
NEWARK, N.J. — Following dismissal with prejudice of a medical practice’s Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over payment for COVID-19 tests, a New Jersey federal magistrate judge on Oct. 24 denied an insurer’s request for attorney fees and costs.
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October 24, 2023
$3.86M Fee Awarded In Final OK Of ERISA Settlement In SAG-AFTRA Plan Row
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge gave final approval to a class settlement of a suit against the SAG-AFTRA Health Fund and related entities over benefit cuts and a merger but awarded only $3,862,500 of the $6,866,667 in attorney fees that the plaintiffs requested.
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October 23, 2023
Attorney Fee Of $125,800 Awarded In ERISA Row Over Life Insurance Benefits
TRENTON, N.J. — After the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed that a widow was entitled to life insurance benefits totaling $188,000 and awarded her $79,050 in attorney fees for the appeal, a New Jersey federal judge awarded her $125,800 in district court attorney fees in the “particularly adversarial” Employee Retirement Income Security Act case.
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October 20, 2023
ERISA Settlement With $7.2M Fund, Medical And Dental Coverage Wins Final Approval
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A New York federal judge on Oct. 19 granted final approval to a class settlement of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case against Xerox Corp. and related entities that includes a $7,225,000 settlement fund, premium-free medical coverage for some class members and reduced-premium dental coverage, with class counsel getting $1,300,500.
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October 20, 2023
$61M Settlement In ERISA Proprietary Funds Case Gets Preliminary OK
BOSTON — Preliminary approval has been granted to a $61 million class settlement with General Electric Co. (GE) and related defendants that plaintiffs said would be “the largest ever in an [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] case alleging that a retirement plan improperly offered proprietary funds,” the Massachusetts federal case docket shows.
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October 19, 2023
Dismissal Of ERISA Claim Over Record-Keeping Fees Disputed In 3rd Circuit Briefs
PHILADELPHIA — Arguing in part that “this case is even weaker than most,” a 401(k) plan sponsor and related appellees have urged the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold dismissal of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act complaint over allegedly excessive record-keeping fees.
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October 19, 2023
PCMA Urges 10th Circuit To Deny En Banc Rehearing In PBM Law Preemption Row
DENVER — Arguing in part that the appellees’ “proffered reasons” why the case is exceptionally important “rely on mischaracterization and unmoored rhetoric,” the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) has opposed en banc rehearing of an appeal in which a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act preempts four parts of an Oklahoma law pertaining to pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs).
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October 19, 2023
Class, Amici Weigh In On Rehearing Bid In ERISA Prohibited Transaction Row
SAN FRANCISCO — Contending that the appellees’ “assertion that recordkeeping and other agreements for necessary services are not subject to” the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s prohibited-transaction provision “makes no sense,” a certified class of retirement plan participants on Oct. 18 urged the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to deny a petition for panel or en banc rehearing.
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October 17, 2023
Former Twitter Employees File Amended ERISA Suit For Severance Benefits
SAN FRANCISCO — Adding a new Employee Retirement Income Security Act claim and allegations of “a campaign of deception” and benefits accruing to the company and Elon Musk instead of participants, former Twitter employees filed an amended complaint in California federal court over severance benefits they claim a putative class was promised.
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October 16, 2023
U.S. High Court Denies Review Bid In ERISA Effective Vindication Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 16 declined to review a ruling in which the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled a nonseverable class action waiver “unenforceable because it requires [respondent Marlow Henry] to waive statutory remedies” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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October 11, 2023
10th Circuit Won’t Rehear ERISA Case Where Panel Ordered Claim Reprocessing
DENVER — A ruling directing remand for claim reprocessing in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case involving coverage of residential treatment for mental health and substance use will stand, with a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issuing an Oct. 10 order denying insureds’ petition for panel or en banc rehearing.
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October 10, 2023
Trustees File Notice Of Appeal In ERISA Row Over Imputed Withdrawal Liability
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The trustees of a multiemployer pension plan filed an Oct. 9 notice of appeal to the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for a ruling dismissing their lawsuit against a Bermuda insurance and reinsurance company over $934 million in withdrawal liability.
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October 10, 2023
5th Circuit Says Former NFL Player Not Entitled To Additional Disability Benefits
NEW ORLEANS — Even though the denial of a claim for additional disability benefits under the National Football League (NFL) plan seems “disturbing,” the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said reversal of a district court’s ruling in favor of an ex-NFL player must be reversed because the former player failed to show that he had any changed circumstances that would entitle him to additional disability benefits under the plan.
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October 10, 2023
High Court Won’t Review ERISA ESOP Case Involving Effective Vindication Exception
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 10 denied a certiorari petition concerning a ruling in which a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld application of the effective vindication exception in declining to compel arbitration because a provision “directly conflicts with” statutory remedies available under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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October 10, 2023
4th Circuit Denies Rehearing In ERISA Case Involving Equitable Remedy Question
RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied a petition for panel or en banc rehearing of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case over denial of a heart transplant in which a panel partly vacated dismissal, focusing on the question of when monetary relief is equitable and splitting on an issue involving interpretation of a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
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October 10, 2023
9th Circuit Panel Won’t Revive $75M ERISA Suit Against Insurers Under Bristol
PASADENA, Calif. — In an unpublished memorandum disposition rejecting the appellant’s reliance on Bristol SL Holdings, Inc. v. Cigna Health & Life Ins. Co., a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled in part that a debt collector “lacks derivative authority to bring [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] claims as a second assignee.”