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Mealey's ERISA

October 02, 2025
ESOP Participant Prevails In Arbitration, Seeks Confirmation Of Award, Fees

PHOENIX — An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) participant who filed a putative class complaint but was forced into individual arbitration asked an Arizona federal court on Oct. 1 to confirm an $11,029.50 arbitration award and to confirm an order directing the defendants to pay $2,359,909 in attorney fees incurred during the arbitration proceedings and $132,310.97 in arbitration costs.
October 02, 2025
After Bench Trial, Judge Rules For 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries In Management Dispute

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Saying the Employee Retirement Income Security Act “demands prudence, not perfection,” a Tennessee federal judge entered judgment in favor of AutoZone Inc. and related defendants following a bench trial in the class action that was filed over several aspects of their management of a 401(k) plan.
October 02, 2025
Judge Rules For Insurer That Cut Off LTD Benefits Under Any-Occupation Standard

WILMINGTON, Del. — Upholding termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits under an any-occupation standard for a claimant who has multiple sclerosis (MS) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), a Delaware federal judge said in part that a final determination by independent appeal evaluator IMEDECS is not new evidence.
October 02, 2025
Judge Lets Dismissal Of Claims Against Exec Stand In Stock-Sale Challenge

BOISE, Idaho — Saying that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) didn’t meet “the high burden of showing the clear error necessary for reconsideration,” an Idaho federal judge let stand his dismissal of claims against a former CEO and board chair who sold part of his stock in an allegedly inflated deal that is being challenged under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
October 01, 2025
Judgment Without Monetary Relief Wraps ERISA Suit Involving ESG Efforts

FORT WORTH, Texas — Wrapping up a class action over environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and the purported proxy voting activism of nonparty investment management firms, a Texas federal judge issued a Sept. 30 judgment denying monetary damages but awarding “equitable relief to ensure that Defendants and their investment managers act solely for the pecuniary benefit of the Plan and implement compliance measures to ensure fidelity to” Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciary standards.
September 30, 2025
New York Federal Judge Deepens Standing Split In Series Of PRT Challenges

NEW YORK — Days after a different New York federal judge dismissed a similar pension risk transfer (PRT) complaint for lack of standing, a New York federal judge on Sept. 29 largely declined to dismiss a putative class case, ruling that retirees have standing because they sufficiently alleged that the PRT “created a substantial risk that Plaintiffs will not receive their benefits” and “diminished the value of Plaintiffs’ benefits.”
September 29, 2025
9th Circuit Vacates Statutory Penalties Of $765 In ERISA Documents Case

SAN FRANCISCO — Cross-appeals of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act documents case that resulted in statutory penalties of $765 were resolved against a health plan beneficiary, with the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals saying in an unpublished memorandum disposition that Netflix Inc. “disclosed all required documents as soon as administratively practicable ahead of the March 1, 2021, disaster order deadline and did not act in bad faith, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
September 26, 2025
Investment Manager’s Bid For Summary Judgment Fails In Proprietary Funds Case

LAS VEGAS — Denying summary judgment in a class action only as to an investment manager accused of improperly selecting lackluster proprietary funds for a retirement plan, a Nevada federal judge on Sept. 25 reported finding “direct evidence” that the manager “employed unsound methods”; however, the judge also determined that the plan sponsor and fiduciaries escape liability because they “acted prudently in hiring” the manager.
September 26, 2025
$8.25M Class Deal Ends ERISA Recordkeeping Case After Release Adjustments

BOSTON — Following last-minute adjustments suggested by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and an independent fiduciary, a Massachusetts federal judge on Sept. 25 granted final approval to an $8.25 million class settlement that resolved an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over a retirement plan’s allegedly excessive recordkeeping fees.
September 25, 2025
A 2nd Pension Risk Transfer Case Is Dismissed For Lack Of Standing

ALBANY, N.Y. — Nearly six months after the first two rulings on dismissal motions in a much-watched recent set of putative class actions challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs) that retirees allege increase the possibility that they won’t get all of their promised benefits because of factors including offshore captive reinsurance, a New York federal judge issued the third ruling on Sept. 24, granting dismissal without prejudice for failure “to plausibly allege any injury-in-fact sufficient to establish standing.”
September 25, 2025
Former CEO Wins Retroactive LTD Benefits In Case Involving Occupational Duties

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Finding in part that the former leader of a software company sufficiently showed “that the important duties of the average CEO include working sixty hours a week or more with frequent travel,” a Tennessee federal judge on Sept. 24 ordered that his long-term disability (LTD) benefits be reinstated retroactively through March 2021.
September 25, 2025
ERISA Complaints Target Health Plans For Offering Allegedly ‘Dominated’ Option

Two sets of plaintiffs represented by the same counsel have filed similar putative Employee Retirement Income Security Act class complaints against sponsors and administrators of self-funded health plans set up on a preferred provider organization (PPO) basis, alleging in part that they “have breached their fiduciary duty of prudence by assembling a menu of PPO options where there is no financial benefit to selecting” one option.
September 25, 2025
LTD Insurer Wins On Setoff, But Claimant Gets Attorney Fees Of Over $460K

NEW YORK — After a second bench trial on the stipulated record in a case challenging termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits, a New York federal judge resolved calculation issues largely in favor of the insurer and resolved an attorney fee dispute in favor of the claimant.
September 24, 2025
In Advisory Opinion, DOL Weighs In On Lifetime Income Strategy Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Sept. 23 advisory opinion, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) addressed a question regarding whether a lifetime income strategy (LIS) program can meet certain qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) requirements.
September 24, 2025
Judge Talks Attorney Fees Justification In Granting Final OK To $7.9M ERISA Deal

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Devoting several pages to explaining why he overruled the lone objection to awarding a third of the $7.9 million class settlement for attorney fees, a Connecticut federal judge granted final approval to the deal resolving an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case concerning alleged underperformance that the plaintiff claimed was caused by a now-bankrupt hedge fund management company directing all the assets of its 401(k) plan into proprietary hedge and mutual funds that used “alternative” investment strategies.
September 23, 2025
Claimant With Back Pain Is Due LTD Benefits Under ‘Regular Occupation’ Standard

EUGENE, Ore. — Saying in part that reviewers “discredited Plaintiff’s subjective symptom testimony of chronic pain in contradiction to objective medical evidence in the record without providing a reasonable explanation,” an Oregon federal judge ruled that a desk worker was entitled to benefits during the plan’s “regular occupation” period but that the question of whether she was disabled under the subsequent “any occupation” period “is not properly before the court.”
September 23, 2025
Magistrate Judge OKs Attorney Fees In Case Where She Ordered LTD Claim Remanded

SAN FRANCISCO — Saying in part that the balance of the considerations outlined in Hummell v. S.E. Rykoff & Co. supports the request, a California federal magistrate judge granted the requested $139,770 in attorney fees and costs in a long-term disability (LTD) case where she previously concluded “that the plan did not follow the administrative rules or apply the correct plan definition” and remanded “without ordering reinstatement of the policy or an award of retroactive payments.”
September 22, 2025
Suit Over Out-Of-Network Mental Health Providers Partly Survives Dismissal

MINNEAPOLIS — Ruling that some claims asserted under the No Surprises Act (NSA) and Employee Retirement Income Security Act survive dismissal in a putative class action concerning out-of-network mental health providers, a Minnesota federal judge concluded in a Sept. 19 order that the named plaintiff sufficiently alleged that the health plan sponsor and claims administrator “breached a fiduciary duty when they failed to inform [her] of material information, including” non-network provider reimbursement rate (NNPRA) “pricing methods and methodology used to calculate reimbursement rates.”
September 22, 2025
Split 3rd Circuit Reverses Ruling Against Employer In Overtime Contribution Case

PHILADELPHIA — Saying in part that “the phrase ‘hours paid’ does not require increased contributions to multiemployer plans for overtime hours,” a split Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued a nonprecedential opinion on Sept. 19 reversing judgment against an employer; the majority did not reach “questions relating to determining pre- and post-judgment interest under” the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, but the dissenter opined that, among other things, imposing 18% postjudgment interest on delinquent contributions was an abuse of discretion.
September 19, 2025
LTD Claimant Urges 1st Circuit To Reverse Ruling That Hinges On ‘Working’

BOSTON — Arguing in part that a long-term disability (LTD) plan’s use of “working” is ambiguous and therefore must be construed in his favor, an independent financial adviser filed an appellant brief urging the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse summary judgment against him, to order that his benefits be reinstated and to award him interest and attorney fees and costs.
September 19, 2025
11th Circuit Affirms Ruling For Insurer That Wouldn’t Cover Nose Surgery

ATLANTA — Saying in part that reviewers highlighted the lack of “clinical documentation that the procedures performed were medically necessary,” the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an unpublished per curiam opinion upholding summary judgment for a health insurer that wouldn’t cover nose surgery in a dispute that involves preauthorization.
September 18, 2025
Settlement Of Over $20.5M Wins Final OK In Medical Benefits For Retirees Case

SAN FRANCISCO — Noting that the claims relied “on evidence of oral misrepresentations and a lack of written plan amendment purporting to terminate the at-issue retiree medical benefits,” a California federal magistrate judge granted final approval to a $20,545,000 settlement under which the average gross recovery for members of the opt-out settlement class is estimated at $30,710.01.
September 18, 2025
3rd Circuit Rules Against Yellow Corp. In Regulatory Row Over Withdrawal Liability

PHILADELPHIA — Resolving a direct appeal that involved “the novel issue” of whether two Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) regulations are valid, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge’s ruling upholding the regulations in a multibillion-dollar withdrawal liability dispute regarding federal special financial assistance (SFA) that was awarded to multiemployer pension plans.
September 17, 2025
9th Circuit Won’t Let Bankrupt Company Assign Withdrawal Liability Deal

SAN FRANCISCO — Issuing a per curiam opinion in a dispute over a contract that greatly reduced withdrawal liability to a multiemployer pension fund, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the challenged ruling on a different ground than the lower court had, holding “that the contract is a financial accommodation, without reaching whether it is executory”; the appellant, which signed the contract before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, unsuccessfully sought a ruling that would let it assign the agreement to its acquirer.
September 17, 2025
Panel Rehearing Bid Fails In LTD Benefits Dispute Involving Jury Verdict

ATLANTA — In a per curiam order issued without explanation in a dispute where a federal jury sided with a long-term disability (LTD) insurer, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for panel rehearing, letting stand its ruling vacating a judgment of nearly $450,000 for the insurer on its unjust enrichment claim but upholding dismissal of a breach of contract counterclaim.