This is an interesting point, to me anyway, and a point that, for me, falls in that odd space between too short for a good blog post but too long for a tweet. I have written before that, because I seldom use blog posts to simply pass on others’ work and instead usually post substantive
Can You Avoid Being Investigated by the Department of Labor?
I think pretty highly of the Department of Labor when it comes to ERISA governed plans, and feel they do a pretty good job across the board. That doesn’t mean, though, that you want to be investigated by them if you are a plan sponsor. It’s a little like being audited by the IRS &ndash
Ayres is Wrong, and Hecker is Wrong: Establishing a Fiduciary Breach Through Excessive Fees
A further thought on Ayres’ focus on what he calls dominated funds, namely funds with higher than necessary fees that nonetheless contain a disproportionate amount of a 401k plan’s assets, and whether their inclusion by a plan sponsor should be seen as a fiduciary breach. As I discussed in a recent post, it’s
Tussey v. ABB – Opening Up New Avenues for Excessive Fee Litigation and Putting the Final Nail in the Coffin of Hecker v. Deere
This Forbes opinion piece by Yale Professor Ian Ayres is interesting for two things, one of broader relevance and one of interest perhaps to me alone. In it, he argues that our analysis of excessive fees as a potential fiduciary breach should not be based solely on fees in general, but also on an analysis
The First Circuit’s Wary Relationship to the Moench Presumption
By the way, speaking of Fifth Third Bancorp, I take exception at the assertion (see here, for instance) that every circuit to consider the issue has effectively adopted the Moench presumption, although with some dispute over how and when to apply it. The First Circuit, which tends to favor fact specific resolutions of complex
One Judge’s Vote on the Likely Outcome of Fifth Third Bancorp
Wow, what a great piece by Rob Hoskins summing up the law throughout the circuits on the Moench presumption, by means of a review of a new decision by the Eastern District of Missouri on the issue. I highly suggest reading at least Rob’s “Moench Presumption for Dummies” if you want to have a
What Rochow Teaches Us About Amara Remedies, and What It Doesn’t
You know, I have been wanting to sit down for weeks – at least – to write about Rochow v. Life Insurance Company of America, initially with regard to the extraordinary remedy initially imposed by the court and then later with regard to the Sixth Circuit’s decision to return to the issue by hearing
If an Appeal is Filed and Nobody Knows It, Is it an Appeal?
There are many variations on the old question that, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, did it really fall. I am sure, like me, you have heard many versions of that question that are not fit to be reprinted in a PG-13 rated blog.
But I
Reinsurance, Arbitrations and the Ever Increasing Authority of the Arbitrator
There has been a literal rush of interesting decisions out of the First Circuit and the Massachusetts District Court in the last few weeks, and I am going to try to catch up and comment on them over the next few days. One that jumped out at me, for various reasons, is a decision on whether
Excessive Fee Litigation Remains a Hot Topic
There’s a nice overview from Bloomberg BNA on plan fee litigation, and its status in the courts at this point in time. The article opens up by setting the stage:
Plan fee litigation had a big year in 2013, with divisive appellate court decisions affecting standards of judicial review, statutes of limitations and functional fiduciary