This is a great article by Chris Carosa in Forbes, on the history of developing business by inventing a new subcategory in an existing field and then filling it. Although the article is in Forbes, Chris is probably better known as the force behind the retirement industry publication Fiduciary News, which to my recollection,
Is It a Breach of Fiduciary Duty to Include Target Date Funds In 401(k) Plans?
Not long after I first started writing this blog, the Seventh Circuit began trying to preemptively squelch excessive fee litigation by, at heart, insisting that the invisible hand of the market would never have allowed the type of overcharging of fees claimed by the plaintiffs in those cases and that plan fiduciaries therefore could not
How Should Courts Analyze Arbitration Clauses in ERISA Plans?
Here’s an excellent client alert, out of Holland and Knight, on the question of mandatory arbitration provisions in ERISA benefit plans. The alert discusses a recent federal district court decision out of Arizona requiring the participant in an ESOP to arbitrate her claim, rather than bring a putative class action case in federal court,
A Few Thoughts On Litigation Over Executive Retention and Departure
One of my partners, Mark Poerio, an expert on executive compensation, has written a client alert discussing what companies can consider doing proactively to encourage executives to stick around rather than move onto greener pastures. In short, they are all different ways to make the current position “greener,” so to speak, than competing pastures.
Did the Massachusetts Appeals Court Just Demand that Insurers Up Their Game When It Comes to Investigating Claims?
There is an interesting new decision by the Massachusetts Appeals Court concerning the liability of insurers under Massachusetts law for wrongful failure to settle a claim. Under the Massachusetts rubric, an insurer has an obligation to make at least reasonable efforts to settle a claim against its insured once the insured’s liability has become reasonably
When Does An Insured Have to Reimburse Its Insurer for Amounts Paid by the Insurer On a Claim?
Well, this is something. I think the partner who mentored me as a junior associate and I started reserving insurers’ rights to recover defense costs back from insureds if the claim at issue turned out to be uncovered thirty years ago – and someone has finally convinced a Massachusetts court to order an insured to
Why Old Fashioned Good Faith, And Not Regulation, Is The True Key To A Well-Run ESOP
I have an interesting relationship with ESOPs, both as a matter of my personal preference for corporate designs that place at least some of the value of a company in the hands of those who create that value, and from the perspective of a lawyer who has spent many years litigating ESOP disputes. The two
An Interesting Commentary on the State of the Fiduciary Liability Insurance Market
I didn’t want July to pass without commenting on The Fid Guru’s excellent blog post reviewing excessive fee litigation over the first half of the year and the corresponding state of the fiduciary liability insurance market. I particularly appreciated the extensive discussion of the history of the market for fiduciary liability coverage, as it
Attorney Fee Awards in Chapter 93A and ERISA Litigation
Twenty years or so ago, I represented an insurer in a $20 million insurance bad faith and Chapter 93A claim in which one of the key issues was whether the insurer was right to rely on the advice of a terrific lawyer, Tom Burns (the Burns in the Boston firm Burns and Levinson), who had
What Does Bobby Bonilla Day Teach Us About Deferred Compensation Agreements?
Bobby Bonilla day is celebrated every July 1st, as the day on which the retired outfielder is paid $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets, which the Mets will continue to do until the last payment in 2035. Its usually recognized in the media as the punchline of a joke about the Mets and their previous