Suzanne Wynn has the story of the day when it comes to ERISA litigation, as she posts on the Seventh Circuit’s application of LaRue to exactly the type of case that, had the Supreme Court ruled otherwise, would have gone away without any potential liability on the part of the fiduciaries or, for that matter,
Legal Rights That Are Protected In Courts, May Well Be Lost In An Arbitration
I haven’t commented in the past on this, because there was too much else going on directly on point with ERISA. However, as many of you may know, the Supreme Court issued an opinion a week or two back in essence concluding that parties may not contract between themselves to allow a court to review
The Meaning of Justice Roberts’ Concurrence in LaRue
There’s nothing really new in this piece for those who have already closely followed and studied the LaRue decision (how’s that for opening with a bang?), but this column on the decision in the April 2008 issue of Metropolitan Corporate Counsel magazine by two Proskauer attorneys is interesting. They focus on playing out the meaning
Some Quirks About QDROs
Wow, QDROs (otherwise known as qualified domestic relations orders) are all the rage these days, aren’t they? QDROs concern the intersection of divorce/family law and ERISA governed benefit plans, in particular retirement plans. As a general rule, a QDRO is a court order in a state divorce proceeding that, if it meets certain requirements, has
Choosing a Defendant in ERISA Litigation
In the First Circuit, the proper party defendant in an action concerning ERISA benefits is the party that controls administration of the plan; in other circuits, that’s not so plain. The question to which this is the answer is, who do you sue to recover benefits due under an ERISA governed plan. Here’s a timely
The Hard Headed Business Case for ERISA Preemption of State Health Insurance Mandates
Why does ERISA preemption matter in the health insurance context, and why do many people think it should preclude state health insurance mandates, such as the Wal-Mart law already deemed preempted in Maryland and the San Francisco ordinance that is currently the subject of litigation over the question? Leaving aside the legal reasons why the
A Blog to Pass Along, and Some Thoughts About the Supreme Court’s Interest in ERISA
Lots going on, lots to talk about. Let’s start with this one, which, coincidentally, allows me to kill two birds with one stone. You may recall that some time back I mentioned that I had come across two interesting blogs that I wanted to pass along, one of which was The Float, covering primarily
Back to the Well: Fiduciaries and Subprime Assets
I guess this is the flip side of all the grief that is starting to come down on fiduciaries for excessive – or at least what seems to plaintiffs’ lawyers to be excessive in hindsight – exposure to the subprime mortgage mess in pension and 401(k) holdings: pension plan fiduciaries now adding such exposure to
Back From Trial, But the World Kept Spinning In the Interim
My trial finally concluded late yesterday after two weeks, with the jury returning a verdict in favor of my client (pause here for self-congratulatory pat on the back). While I was able to get some posts up last week, during the first week of trial, events during trial this past week left me with no
More Supreme Court Interest in ERISA Remedies Cases
The Supreme Court continues to look for ERISA cases to serve as vehicles for exploring the current and proper parameters of that statute, and last week requested from the Solicitor General’s office the government’s views on a potential ERISA case for the Court’s docket, Amschwand v. Spherion Corp. This in and of itself is