I have talked in other posts about the rights of plans and their administrators to recoup overpayments of benefits directly from the beneficiary, and of the creative lawyering that has been employed – although generally without much success – by overpaid plan participants in the hope of avoiding paying the funds back. The United States
Waterfront Property and the Costs of Homeowners Insurance
Rising home insurance costs in beachfront areas is a trendy topic, and the Boston Globe weighed in on it yesterday, in this article discussing consumers on Cape Cod joining together to question the industry’s rate setting. The article’s lead (or lede, as I have learned from former newspaper reporter turned lawyer and blogger David Rossmiller)
Beck v Pace International Union
Well, my trial’s still ongoing, and I find myself short of time to really comment in any detail on the latest details in the always percolating and never quiet world of ERISA and insurance law. However, I do still find time to continue my own reading on the subject, and so I am able to
Patent Infringement Trial
Today’s post is sort of a place holder, in a way. My associate Eric Brodie, who is my crack science guy, and I are starting a patent infringement trial this morning in federal court that is expected to last two or three weeks. As a result, I don’t know how much I will be posting
Integrating Electronic Discovery with Business Practices
I have a bit of a lawyer geek’s fascination with the electronic discovery amendments to the federal rules of civil procedure; they exist at an interesting intersection of evidence, discovery, and business management issues, each of which alone is interesting to me but that in combination, as they are with regard to these amendments, become
Preemption and Health Insurance Benefits
Maryland has given up the fight over its Wal-Mart bill, which essentially targeted Wal-Mart and tried to force it to increase the health care benefits provided to its employees; as many of you will recall, the Fourth Circuit and the district court both found the act to be preempted by ERISA. Most commentators, including this
Architects and Copyrights – Who Holds the Rights in the Design of a Building?
I have a confession to make: I like houses. I remember an old Arlo and Janis cartoon, in which they respond to a bad day by pulling out the plans for their dream home, which they know they will never build, and add another elaborate room to it: that’s me. And so I greatly enjoy
Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, and The Psychological Effect on Litigants
Here is a very neat and interesting paper contrasting defined benefit plans – i.e. pensions – with defined contribution plans – i.e. 401(k) plans – and addressing, in particular: (1) the decline in the former in the workplace and replacement by the latter; and (2) the problems engendered by that change. In essence, the authors
Introducing Pension Governance LLC
I have talked before about my tendency to veer from my appointed rounds when something more interesting appears on the horizon than that which I had planned to work or post on, and today is another one of those days. I came in full of grand hopes to discuss insurance coverage for intellectual property risks
The Supreme Court’s Next Words on Fiduciary Duties and Pension Plans
Here is a terrific and in-depth review of the underlying facts and issues in the pending Supreme Court case of Beck v. Pace International Union, which is scheduled to be argued later this month, and which involves the extent, if any, to which fiduciary obligations apply to a decision to terminate a pension plan