Just read the transcript of Monday’s oral argument in LaRue, which you too can read right here. Interesting argument, and interesting lines of questions from the court, although I am skeptical as to how much guidance as to the court’s thinking one can draw from the Justice’s questions themselves. In many ways, the
Grand Irony, or Just a Need for Better Litigation Tactics: Protecting the Severely Injured Plan Participant Against Reimbursement Claims under ERISA
Roy Harmon and the Workplace Prof have the story of a severely injured worker whose settlement with the tortfeasor was effectively taken, in its entirety, by the plan administrator – Wal-Mart – on a reimbursement claim in accordance with the administrator’s rights under Sereboff. Roy Harmon has a nice factual discussion of the problem
LaRue v DeWolff, Broberg and the Concept of Administration Risk in ERISA Plans
Oral argument at the Supreme Court is scheduled for Monday in LaRue v DeWolff, Broberg & Associates, which presents the technical question of whether a loss to only one participant’s 401(k) plan is actionable as a breach of fiduciary duty causing a loss to the plan, but which on a broader level concerns the
A Top Blog at the LexisNexis Insurance Law Center
Some years back, I was on a job interview when I was asked a question by a senior partner in a fairly good sized firm. When I began my answer with the comment that I was loathe to brag, he interrupted me to say that it was a job interview, so if there was ever
High Health Care Costs and the Impact on Fair Share Acts
Okay, I mentioned on Friday that I had come across some other interesting blogs and sites over the last few weeks that I wanted to pass along, and that I would do so over the next few days. I jumped off track on doing that right off the bat with this morning’s post on insurance
Insureds, Prior Knowledge and Insurance Coverage
One of the more ambiguous and gray areas in insurance coverage law is the question of when an insured is or should be aware that a claim is on its way. The law recognizes that this can certainly occur at some point before the insured actually is handed suit papers by a process server, but
ERISA, Subprime Lending and Mortgage Meltdown
One of the great things about writing this blog is that the technology of blogging – like links to other blogs and so-called trackbacks, showing who else on the internet is quoting a post – brings writers, topics and other bloggers onto my radar screen who I would otherwise miss out on. That cumbersome, semi-tech
Let My People Go, or Something Like That: Granting Parties Greater Freedom to Construct an Arbitration Regime
There was an interesting post yesterday on the Wall Street Journal Law Blog – which by its topics provides a nice little overview of the zeitgeist of the legal world at any given moment – on arbitration as an alternative to litigation. The post discusses a column from the Financial Times supporting the growth of
Pay or Play Acts: There’s No Free Lunch
I have written before that the underlying structural problem with fair share and similar acts, like the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act, that seek to mandate the provision of health insurance by employers is twofold: first, they play at the margins of a problem that is fundamentally about the base economics of health care
A Primer on Fiduciary Status Under ERISA
I liked the recent opinion in Bonilla v. Bella Vista Hospital, Inc., out of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (not available online from the court, but here’s a Lexis cite for it: 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79939) for really only one reason, namely this terrific overview of the law of