Pretty much since I started writing this blog I have talked about how, in my experience, commercial arbitration is not a panacea and often is not a better forum than litigation for resolving disputes. My main point has always been that it depends on the particular dispute and on the details of a party’s position,
More Education is Always Better than Less: American Conference Institute’s Upcoming Seminar on 401(k) Risks
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that my goal for the week was to move rapidly through several items that had caught my attention over the last week or so, and that I wanted to pass on to readers of this blog. I thought the next one I would mention is this conference in New York
401(k) Plans and Increasing Liability Risks for Fiduciaries
Coming off the holiday weekend, I have a long list of items I want to pass on or talk about. I will try to put up as many as I can over the next few posts, to work through the backlog. I thought I would start with this one, because it ties two of the
More on Preemption and Health Care Reform in California
I posted a couple of days back about California’s interest in enacting a state health care reform law that, like the current law in Massachusetts and the Maryland Fair Share Act that was struck down by the courts, operates at least in part by imposing new obligations on employers who provide health insurance to their
Another View on Whether a Cashed Out 401(k) Participant Has Standing to Sue for Losses Under ERISA
Judge Tauro, of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, has weighed in lately on some of the more cutting edge and currently unsettled issues in ERISA litigation, such as the impact of ERISA preemption on the powers of a state agency. This week, he ventured into the now hot topic
But I Digress: Robert Plotkin on Patent Applications and Changes at the PTO
Ever mystified by what goes on inside that black box with the colorful flat screen on top that sits on your desk at work? Me too, and when I am I check in with my colleague Robert Plotkin, a patent prosecutor who specializes in computer patents. Robert is a fine source of expertise on
California, Health Insurance and ERISA Preemption
There’s an entertaining little story today in the Boston Globe on the question of whether, in the next few weeks, the California legislature and the Governor will roll out a state plan to reform health insurance by adding fees and other obligations to the employer provided health care system with the intent of providing universal
Bad Faith Failure to Settle and the Obligations of Excess Carriers
I wanted to return for a moment to a decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from earlier this month, Allmerica Financial Corporation v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds’ London, in which the court held that an excess carrier that had issued a follow form policy to an insured was not bound by or required
When Does Plan Language Mandate De Novo Review?
I wanted to take a moment over the next couple of posts to return to a couple of cases from earlier this month that are worth a look and a comment, but that I haven’t had a chance to talk about yet. One of them is a decision by Judge Lindsay of the United States
Latest Events at the Anne B. Kingsley Ovarian Cancer Foundation
I think every blog should have an official charity or good cause, and this one’s is the Anne B. Kingsley Ovarian Cancer Foundation. Not only is it a truly good cause, but it also falls under this blog’s bailiwick, given that the Foundation’s founder is long-time insurance industry executive Robert Kingsley. The Foundation is