Longtime readers of this blog know that I don’t comment on my own on-going cases, but that I will pass along interesting decisions from my cases, without much comment or analysis, when I think they provide some value to readers. In that vein, attached is a recent 22 page opinion in favor of one of
Pensions as a Moral Issue, and the Role ERISA Can Play
When you approach the Moakley federal courthouse in Boston from the direction of Boston proper, your eye is invariably drawn to a series of quotes engraved on the courthouse wall. I have walked to that courthouse an untold number of times, and still, each time, I read the quotes as I go by as though
Valuation and Appraisal Risks for ESOP Fiduciaries
Chris Rylands and Lisa Van Fleet‘s recent, very pithy summary of the Department of Labor’s enforcement initiatives with regard to ESOPs has been rattling around in my head for a couple of weeks now. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am by their ability to set out, in a couple
Despite Kirkendall, Never Assume You Don’t Have to File an Administrative Appeal
This is interesting, right on the heels of all the discussion about the Second Circuit, in Kirkendall, not requiring a participant to exhaust administrative remedies by appealing a benefit determination before filing suit. As I noted in my discussion the other day about Kirkendall, the Court did not require an appeal because the
Some Thoughts on Kirkendall v. Halliburton
I have passed along on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SDRosenbergEsq) some of the better reviews that have crossed my desk of the Second Circuit’s recent decision in Kirkendall v. Halliburton, Inc., in which the Court held that a plan participant did not have to exhaust administrative remedies in an ERISA plan where the plan document itself
Is the Risk of Relapse a Disabling Condition for Purposes of an LTD Policy?
There are limits, though vast, to the degree to which words, even in the hands of the most careful draftsperson, can accurately capture concepts, particularly when those concepts concern future events and possibilities. There are likewise limits, though vast, to the degree to which people can anticipate future events. I have written more than once
A Football Story for Super Bowl Sunday, or Why Alex Smith Would Make a Great Fiduciary
Many, but probably not all of you, know the story of Alex Smith, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback. Long derided in the early part of his career, he came into his own over the past two seasons, succeeding especially well this past season, according to mathematical standards widely accepted among the football loving public as
A Belated Discovery and a New Blog to Recommend: ERISA Pundit
I am, for a change, flabbergasted and struck dumb: most people who know me will tell you I am seldom either. Luck, though, just landed me on ERISA Pundit, Warren von Schleicher’s well-written and insightful blog. Warren’s writing reminds me of a dirty, not really secret, secret about lawyers, especially litigators, which is that all
Going the Way of the Horse and Buggy: Comments on the Future, or Lack Thereof, of Pensions
These are two oddly complimentary stories, that tie closely to topics I have discussed regularly on this blog, including, among others, the difficulty faced by smaller shops of running a pension or other benefit plan, and the fact that no one at all wants to run a pension anymore. The first story is about a
They Are Called Prohibited for a Reason
We – meaning lawyers who do civil side work involving ERISA plans – mostly think about the rules against prohibited transactions from two perspectives. The first concerns whether clients can structure certain transactions or engage in specific plan actions without running afoul of the prohibited transaction rules. The second arises in litigation, where we either