This is so simple, its brilliant, and so brilliant, its simple – or something like that. The “this” I am talking about is the idea of appointing a Chief Retirement Officer, or CRO, as is discussed – and proposed – in Steff Chalk’s article, “The Advent of the Chief Retirement Officer,” in the
Equitable Relief
Nothing’s Ever Simple in the World of ERISA: Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Here is a wonderful analysis – which manages to both review its past and guess intelligently at its future – of Montanile v Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, the latest Supreme Court case to try to determine the scope of equitable remedies available under ERISA. Montanile, scheduled…
What Osberg v. Foot Locker Teaches About Equitable Remedies Under ERISA
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Is Osberg v. Foot Locker a tipping point? Only time will tell, but it has that feel about it.
I have written extensively in the past on the orphan-like status of equitable remedies in ERISA litigation related to plan communications: all agree that a range of traditional equitable remedies is now open to participants, but…
How Do You Win an ERISA Estoppel Claim in the First Circuit?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Benefit Litigation, Equitable Relief
I wanted to take advantage of the cold, dark, peaceful days of mid-January (do New Englanders still grow up reading Ethan Frome, with its perfect depiction of a classic, pre-global warming New England winter?) to talk briefly about an important First Circuit decision that slid somewhat under the radar when it was issued just…
Tetreault, Gabriel, and the First Circuit’s Reluctance to Recognize Equitable Estoppel in ERISA Cases
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Equitable Relief
The First Circuit issued an interesting ruling early last month that touched on a number of issues, but one that jumped out at me was its approach to the question of equitable estoppel claims under ERISA. In Tetreault v. Reliance Standard, the Court rejected an estoppel claim, but once again – as it has…
What Rochow Teaches Us About Amara Remedies, and What It Doesn’t
You know, I have been wanting to sit down for weeks – at least – to write about Rochow v. Life Insurance Company of America, initially with regard to the extraordinary remedy initially imposed by the court and then later with regard to the Sixth Circuit’s decision to return to the issue by hearing…
Why Amara’s Expansion of Remedies Matters Now, But Not So Much in the Long Term
My small group of dedicated twitter followers know I was live tweeting last week from ACI’s ERISA Litigation conference in New York, at least for the first day of the conference. Tweeting allowed me to pass along ideas from the speakers and my own thoughts on their points in real time, which was, frankly, a…
The Scope of Equitable Relief Under ERISA: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island v. Korsen
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Equitable Relief
The equitable remedies prong of ERISA was, for many years, a place where theoretically good claims went to die: courts were wary of providing expansive recovery under it, and thus a plaintiff who could not fit a claim within the confines of the denial of benefits or breach of fiduciary duty causes of action under…
My Journal of Pension Benefits Article on Operational Competence after Amara
For years, in speeches and articles, I have preached the gospel of what I have come to call “defensive plan building,” which is the process of systemically building out plan documents, procedures and operations in manners that will limit the likelihood of a plan sponsor or fiduciary being sued while increasing the likelihood that, if…
How to Look Smart About McCutchen and Heimeshoff Without Really Trying
I have often joked that, to seem intelligent at social events, a person really just has to have two things handy – the first, a Noam Chomsky reference, and the second, a Shakespeare quote, preferably from a lesser play. If you are good, you can find a way to fit one or the other into…