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Mealey's ERISA

  • May 09, 2025

    6th Circuit: Saving Clause Keeps ERISA From Preempting N.H. Regulatory Proceeding

    CINCINNATI — Affirming a ruling against BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Inc. (BlueCross or BCBST) in a dispute involving coverage for fertility treatments, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 8 agreed with application of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act “saving clause” and a Tennessee federal court’s conclusion that the focus of a New Hampshire regulatory proceeding was BCBST’s role as an insurer, not its role as an ERISA fiduciary.

  • May 09, 2025

    On De Novo Review, Judge Rules That LTD Claimant Is Physically Disabled

    LOS ANGELES — Taking issue with numerous aspects of an insurer’s decision to terminate long-term disability (LTD) benefits, a California federal judge concluded that “[a] preponderance of the evidence shows [that the claimant’s] medical symptoms related to spondylolisthesis, lumbar region status post lumbar fusion, and chronic pain render him disabled under the terms of the Plan.”

  • May 09, 2025

    Magistrate Would Dismiss STD Benefits Case As Moot But Let Claimant Seek Fees

    CINCINNATI — Defendants that voluntarily reversed the challenged termination of short-term disability (STD) benefits and paid up after being sued could still be liable for attorney fees under the recommendation an Ohio federal magistrate judge issued in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act case.

  • May 07, 2025

    Citing Smith, 6th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of ERISA Row Over Record-Keeping Fees

    CINCINNATI — Citing Smith v. CommonSpirit Health and saying that “many of our sister circuits have found implausible similar complaints,” the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 6 upheld dismissal of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act putative class action over 401(k) record-keeping and administrative (RKA) fees.

  • May 07, 2025

    5th Circuit Won’t Dismiss Attorney Fee Appeal In ERISA Disability Benefits Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — Without explanation, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied a former National Football League player’s motion to dismiss the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan’s appeal of an award of more than $1.25 million in attorney fees and costs.

  • May 06, 2025

    ERISA, Breach Of Contract Claims Fail In Row Over ‘Pre-Separation Programs’

    CHICAGO — Dismissing a putative class action over United Airlines Inc. early retirement programs with leave to amend but expressing skepticism “that the plaintiffs can cure the problems with the complaint,” an Illinois federal judge ruled in part that a policy the airline announced in 2017 “does not constitute an . . . employee welfare benefit plan” that is governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • May 06, 2025

    5th Circuit Upholds Ruling Against Decedent’s Children In ERISA Beneficiary Row

    NEW ORLEANS — In an unpublished per curiam opinion affirming dismissal of a lawsuit that a decedent’s children by his first wife filed over a distribution made to his second wife, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court that the children didn’t plausibly plead that the 401(k) plan sponsor and trustee were functional fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and didn’t sufficiently plead that the plan administrator “conveyed a material misrepresentation or failed to provide adequate plan information.”

  • May 05, 2025

    Class Largely Prevails On Summary Judgment In ERISA Early Retirement Row

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action is headed toward a bench trial on just a few remaining claims after a Kansas federal judge resolved exclusion and partial summary judgment motions, ruling in part that the plan at issue “does not permit Defendants to deny early retirement benefits regardless of the type of work the participants perform for Covered Employers.”

  • May 05, 2025

    After $38.76M Jury Verdict, Deal Is Reported In ERISA Fees Challenge

    NEW YORK — Just over a week after a federal jury returned a $38,760,232 verdict in favor of a class of retirement plan participants who challenged the record-keeping and administration fees of a multiple employer retirement plan (MEP), a New York federal judge on May 2 stayed all deadlines in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act case on a report of “a settlement in principle.”

  • May 02, 2025

    Appellant Urges 9th Circuit To Revive Putative Class ERISA Forfeiture Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — A much-watched attempt to revive a putative class Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuit over use of forfeited nonvested matching retirement contributions has commenced, with the appellant filing his opening brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 1.

  • May 02, 2025

    ERISA ‘Excessive Fee’ Settlements, Proposals Under $5M

    Class settlements below $5 million have been finalized or proposed in 25 “excessive fee” Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases between late January and late April.

  • May 02, 2025

    LTD Insurer Wins Summary Judgment In Dispute Over Nervous Disorders Provision

    TRENTON, N.J. — Citing the analysis in a nonprecedential 2009 Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision, a New Jersey federal judge upheld termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits for a former clinical nurse instructor under a mental or nervous disorders provision.

  • May 02, 2025

    11th Circuit Sets Argument In Appeal Involving ERISA Exhaustion Precedent

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has set oral argument for May 13 in a dispute where appellants seek the overturn of longstanding circuit precedent concerning exhaustion of administrative remedies in Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuits.

  • May 01, 2025

    Deal Reported In ERISA Forfeiture Case That Survived Dismissal

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — The parties in a putative class case in which key Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims regarding the use of forfeited nonvested retirement plan contributions to offset the plan sponsor’s required contributions survived dismissal have notified a California federal court that they have reached an unspecified proposed settlement.

  • April 30, 2025

    Citing Wit, Judge Adds Subclass In ERISA Suit Seeking Reprocessing

    SAN FRANCISCO — In an amended order repeatedly citing an August 2023 Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in a similar case, a California federal judge modified the class definition to add a subclass in a case seeking reprocessing of mental health and substance use disorder treatmentclaims, denying a competing motion for decertification.

  • April 30, 2025

    Multiemployer Fund Gets 2nd Circuit Win In Special Financial Assistance Row

    NEW YORK — Saying it does not “read the pertinent provision of the SFA [special financial assistance] statute to exclude plans based solely on a prior termination,” the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 29 reversed a ruling that upheld a Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) decision that termination of a multiemployer fund made the fund ineligible for the SFA program under which it had sought $132 million.

  • April 28, 2025

    5th Circuit Gives DOL 30 Days To Reconsider Biden-Era ESG Rule

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 28 declined to “permit an open-ended abeyance” but gave the U.S. Department of Labor and its Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer (together, the DOL) 30 days to reconsider a challenged 2022 investment rule concerning environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

  • April 28, 2025

    U.S. High Court Skips 2nd ERISA Prohibited Transaction Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an April 28 orders list, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a ruling that the petitioners said pertained to whether “a routine, arm’s-length agreement for plan services” can be a prohibited transaction under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act; the denial follows a unanimous April 17 reversal the high court issued in a different ERISA prohibited transaction case.

  • April 28, 2025

    Claimant Files Appeal In LTD Documents Case After Insurer Wins Summary Judgment

    ATLANTA — A long-term disability (LTD) claimant is taking his case to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after a Florida federal judge sustained an insurer’s objections to a recommendation that competing summary judgment motions be resolved in the claimant’s favor in the dispute involving failure to submit income documents.

  • April 25, 2025

    Judge OKs Adding Some Claims, Including Forfeiture Ones, In Fiduciary Duty Suit

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Partly granting plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a second amended complaint in their putative class action over management of defined-contribution retirement plans, a Michigan federal judge cited McManus v. Clorox Co. in allowing them to add new claims concerning the common practice of using forfeited nonvested retirement plan contributions to offset the plan sponsor’s required contributions.

  • April 25, 2025

    7th Circuit Issues First Impression Ruling Involving Withdrawal Liability

    CHICAGO — Noting that the interpretation dispute involved “presents a question of first impression for the courts of appeals,” the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 24 upheld a ruling against a multiemployer fund, rejecting the argument that part of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA) “simply lays out some examples of contribution rate increases to be included in calculating an employer’s withdrawal liability, rather than establishing the only exceptions to the general prohibition against including contribution rate increases.”

  • April 24, 2025

    5th Circuit Upholds Ruling Against Decedent’s Sisters In ERISA Life Insurance Row

    NEW ORLEANS — Affirming judgment against a decedent’s sisters in a dispute over life insurance proceeds, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an unpublished seven-page opinion rejected the sisters’ arguments that the appellees lack standing under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and that the decedent “did not substantially comply with the change-of-beneficiary requirements.”

  • April 24, 2025

    Federal Jury Awards Class Nearly $39M In ERISA Fees Challenge

    NEW YORK — A rare Employee Retirement Income Security Act jury trial resulted in a unanimous April 23 verdict awarding $38,760,232 in damages to a class of retirement plan participants who challenged the record-keeping and administration fees of a multiple employer retirement plan (MEP), according to a text-only entry on the New York federal court docket.

  • April 24, 2025

    Defendants Prevail In Suit Over STD, LTD Benefits; Notice Ruled Insufficient

    HARRISONBURG, Va. — Resolving three motions in favor of the defendants, a Virginia federal judge upheld denial of short-term disability (STD) benefits on the basis that the plan administrator “engaged in principled and reasoned decision-making while considering sufficient evidence,” also ruling that the claimant didn’t exhaust administrative remedies as to long-term disability (LTD) benefits and is now time-barred from doing so.

  • April 23, 2025

    Settlement Of Over $20.5M Proposed In Retiree Medical Benefits Termination Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — A putative Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over termination of retiree medical benefits would be resolved for $20,545,000 under a settlement that the plaintiffs have asked a California federal court to grant preliminary approval.