Here’s an excellent client alert, out of Holland and Knight, on the question of mandatory arbitration provisions in ERISA benefit plans. The alert discusses a recent federal district court decision out of Arizona requiring the participant in an ESOP to arbitrate her claim, rather than bring a putative class action case in federal court,
Benefit Litigation
The Eleventh Circuit Says – Correctly – That the Widow of a Deceased Employee Can Recover Life Insurance Benefits Even Though the Deceased Employee Was Never Enrolled in the Plan Due to the Plan Administrator’s Mistakes
One of my partners emailed me the other day with kind words about my blog, and I responded that there was plenty to write about these days when it comes to ERISA and insurance. Amusingly, this morning’s inbox ended up presenting the perfect exemplar. I was sitting down to write some follow up comments on…
According to the Second Circuit, the DOL Claim Regulations Actually Do Mean What They Say
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Benefit Litigation, Long Term Disability Benefits
I am of two minds when it comes to ERISA decisions out of the Second Circuit. My first is to naturally jump to the conclusion that, in the immortal words of Willy Loman, attention must be paid, simply because of the Court. Then I remember the long retired big law partner from my…
Retaliation, Section 510 and the Timing of Terminations
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Section 510 of ERISA makes it illegal to take any job action for the purpose of interfering with an employment benefit that would otherwise have been due to the employee. The classic formulation of such a claim is terminating an employee right before a pension would have vested, simply to avoid owing the benefit; some…
Monticello, Operational Errors in ERISA Plans, and the New Frontier of Litigation
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I recently visited Monticello, a place, being a history buff, I had always meant to tour; suffice it to say, it did not disappoint. Among other things, it was an interesting reminder of an oft-forgotten point, namely that for many years, the American “frontier,” for all intents and purposes, is what is now modern…
A Perfect Example of the Evolution in Equitable Relief: Recovering Group Life Benefits After Enrollment Errors By The Life Insurer
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I have returned to blogging after stepping away for awhile from regular posting for a number of reasons ; foremost among them, however, is wanting to talk regularly about the continuing evolution in this area of the law toward a more even playing field for both employees and employers, and away from the many structural…
At the Intersection of the NFL Draft, ERISA, Divorce, Venue and Spousal Benefits
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Is there a more hyped sporting event with less substance than the NFL Draft? Does everyone on the internet drive traffic to their sites by linking to the draft if at all possible? Well, of course the answer to both questions is yes, and so I too will link a post to the NFL Draft.
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How Not to Sue an ERISA Governed Plan: Thoughts on the Ninth Circuit’s Ruling in DB Healthcare
There may be nothing more fun than ERISA to a lawyer who likes to maneuver among innumerable rules, dodge endless traps, and work out the interaction of numerous potentially inconsistent statutory, regulatory and judge-made requirements. I stand guilty as charged. Indeed, if you were going to create a Myers-Briggs Inventory for the job heading “ERISA Lawyer,” the first question you would put in would ask if you liked civil procedure in law school, because if you don’t like substantive issues like standing, procedural issues like venue, or more run of the mill issues like the scope of discovery, you will never like being an ERISA litigator. Beyond that, if you don’t like a rules based environment, you almost certainly won’t like being a non-litigation ERISA lawyer, with its heavy engagement with express statutory requirements, a million or more regulations from multiple agencies, and constant engagement with the tax code.
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Are Forum Selection Clauses Valid Under ERISA?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Benefit Litigation, ERISA Statutory Provisions
So the Supreme Court, for the second time, has now taken a pass on ruling on whether ERISA plans can contain forum selection clauses. As this article notes, a number of courts have enforced forum selection clauses in ERISA-governed plans, essentially treating them the same in that context as they would be treated in an action involving a typical private contract, where parties are generally free to select a forum for their disputes.
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The Year in Review: Looking Back at ERISA Litigation In 2016
By Stephen Rosenberg on
2016 was the year that church plans went to the Supreme Court, excessive fee claims came to elite universities and the Department of Labor’s authority to alter its regulation of fiduciary conduct was challenged in multiple courts. Of course, stock drop litigation, excessive fee cases, and other assaults on the make up of 401(k) plans continued apace, even if they yielded the spotlight to flashier, more novel types of cases.
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