A panel of the Fifth Circuit affirmed a Texas federal court decision to dismiss a Texas personal injury law firm’s $2.1 million referral fee lawsuit against an Ohio law firm. The Fifth Circuit agreed with Ohio law firm Morgan Verkamp that its reply to one unsolicited email from the Texas law firm of Danziger & De Llano did not create sufficient connections to subject it to Texas law. The case is Danziger & De Read More
401(k) Fee Complaint Survives Dismissal Post-Hughes
In the first court decision since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University et al., case number 19-1401, a Georgia federal district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in declining to dismiss their complaint concerning costly 401(k) plan fees and underperforming funds. In Goodman v. Columbus Reg’l Healthcare Sys., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13489 (M.D. Ga. Jan. 25, 2022), participants in Read More
Supreme Court Revives Northwestern University Workers’ Class Action Lawsuit Alleging ERISA Violations
In Hughes v. Northwestern University et al., case number 19-1401, Supreme Court of the United States, the high Court unanimously vacated and remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The Supreme Court found that the lower court had erred in finding that the ultimate decision-making authority resting in the retirement plan participants was sufficient to excuse the allegedly imprudent Read More
Eleventh Circuit Emphasizes Effectiveness of SPD Disclaimers
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a federal district court’s grant of summary judgment to Allstate Insurance Company in Klaas v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2021 U.S App. LEXIS 38473 (11th Cir. Dec. 28, 2021). In that case, retired Allstate employees sued in a consolidated ERISA class action suit over Allstate’s decision to stop paying premiums on retirees’ life insurance policies. As Read More
D.C. Federal Judge Pares Down H-2B Wage Rule Challenge
A D.C. federal district court judge has dismissed the claims of Louisiana crawfish peelers who filed suit over a wage determination rule concerning the H-2B guest worker program. They claim that they have experienced decreases in their pay rates because the rule allows employers to submit their prevailing wage data instead of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, the judge did permit the Read More
Defensive Plan Provisions Designed to Prevent ERISA Lawsuits
Plan sponsors may consider adding three different types of defensive provisions to their retirement plans to help cut down on the number of participants filing claims alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). These defensive provisions can include claims procedure requirements, plan limitation periods, mandatory arbitration clauses, and class action waiver and venue provisions. All Read More
2nd Circuit Finds Grocer Not Liable for $58M Payment to Teamsters Pension Fund
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that C&S Wholesaler Grocers, Inc. (C&S) was not responsible for a $58 million payment to a Teamsters pension fund. A unanimous three-judge panel of the court noted that an ERISA provision could make a successor liable for pension payments in some circumstances. However, the panel concluded that the provision did not apply in the case Read More
On Remand from Supreme Court, Eighth Circuit Rules That ERISA Does Not Preempt State PBM Regulation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently issued its decision in Pharm. Care Mgmt. Ass'n. v. Wehbi, 2021 WL 5355916 (8th Cir. 2021), after reconsidering its prior ruling on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court. The Eighth Circuit reversed course from the prior ruling and concluded that ERISA did not preempt a North Dakota state law that governed relations between pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers Read More
New Audit Rules for Employee Benefits Plans Take Effect
After the U.S. Department of Labor expressed concerns about the quality of audits in employee benefit plans, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) released a Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS 136) to address those concerns. Originally slated to go into effect in 2020, AICPA delayed implementing the audit rules for one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, SAS 136 will apply to Read More
Former Washington NFL Team Employees Share Workplace Misconduct Incidents with House Committee
The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Reform Committee held a two-hour roundtable discussion on February 3, 2022, with six former Washington Football Team (WTF) employees concerning sexual harassment and workplace misconduct claims under the team's owner Dan Snyder. An attorney for Snyder has categorically denied the accusations by former employees, some of which arose for the first time during the Read More
