On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 2024 WL 3208360 (U.S. 2024), which overturned its 1984 decision in Chevron USA Inc. v. National Resource Defense Council, 467 U.S. 387 (1984). In its decision, the high Court abandoned the so-called “Chevron Doctrine,” its 40-year-old precedent that required courts to defer to federal agencies’ Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that upheld a Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors and overturned a lower court injunction that had prevented the law from going into effect. The Sixth Circuit decision also addressed a similar ban under Kentucky law, but the high Court did not accept a petition to review the Kentucky law. Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled in favor of Christian-owned businesses and individuals who sued over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) preventive care mandates. The appellate Court agreed with the district court that the federal task force that recommended mandated preventive care services was unconstitutional. However, the Fifth Circuit lifted the district court’s nationwide injunction Read More

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2024-55, which concerns exceptions to the 10% additional tax under section 72(t) of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). These exceptions include emergency personal expenses and domestic abuse victim distributions from qualified retirement plans. Section 72(t)(1) imposes an additional 10% tax on a distribution from qualified retirement plans unless the Read More

A federal district court has rejected a bid by healthcare providers to enforce independent dispute resolution (IDR) awards against an insurer under the No Surprises Act (NSA). The case is Guardian Flight LLC v. Health Care Serv. Corp., 2024 WL 2786913 (N.D. Tex. 2024). Guardian Flight LLC, an air ambulance service provider, sued an insurer after it refused to pay a certified IDR entity’s award for disputed Read More

A California federal district court judge has dismissed a novel proposed class action suit against HP involving the company’s alleged misuse of 401(k) funds forfeited by former workers. The judge reasoned that nothing in federal benefits law compelled HP to use the funds for plan expenses rather than to reduce its employer contributions. The case is Hutchins v. HP Inc. et al., case number 5:23-cv-05875, U.S. District Read More

Five pharmacy industry groups have filed an amicus brief supporting the Oklahoma insurance commissioner’s petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court concerning a recent Tenth Circuit decision. That ruling partially invalidated a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The case is Glen Mulready et al. v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, case number 23-1213, U.S. Supreme Read More

Former plan participants in the Credit Union Retirement Plan Association (CURPA) multi-employer 401(k) plan have reached a deal to settle an ERISA suit over excessive fees. The case is Lucero, Brenda et al. v. Credit Union Retirement Plan Association et al., case number 3:22-cv-00208, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. CURPA, a Wisconsin-based professional employer organization, provides Read More

Novel ERISA Suit Challenging Employer’s Use of Forfeited 401(k) Funds Moves Forward In the first suit of its kind, a California federal district court judge refused to dismiss a suit against Qualcomm Inc. by retired workers, who alleged that the company had misspent forfeited 401(k) funds obtained when workers left the company before the employer match to their 401(k) plan had fully vested. The former workers Read More

Tesla’s general counsel has announced that its shareholders recently approved a multibillion-dollar compensation package for its CEO, Elon Musk. The shareholders also approved moving the company’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas. Nonetheless, Musk's compensation package remains an issue in ongoing litigation in Delaware. Earlier this year, the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected Musk’s proposed compensation Read More