If you have an interest in both ERISA and in well written, logical judicial opinions, I can’t recommend highly enough this opinion, by Judge Gertner of the United States District Court for Massachusetts, in Bendaoud v. Hodgson, deciding a number of issues at the motion to dismiss stage. I have a trial starting on
ERISA Statutory Provisions
Retaliate for Seeking Benefits?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ERISA Statutory Provisions
Probably the only really note worthy decision out of the First Circuit with regard to ERISA while I was out of the office is this one here, in Kouvchinov v. Parametric Technology Corp., which addressed the standards for proving a claim of retaliatory job action in response to a claim for ERISA governed…
Using Up My Fifteen Seconds of Fame
By Stephen Rosenberg on
There were a lot of things on my desk I could post about today, but I am going to take the easy – and self-promoting – way out, and pass along this article from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on the W.R. Grace decision out of the First Circuit on the question of standing in ERISA cases,…
The First Circuit on ERISA Standing
Very interesting case out of the First Circuit the other day on the question of whether former employees satisfy ERISA standing requirements with regard to defined contribution plans. Short answer is they do, but the Court’s analysis and discussion is an interesting open field run across a range of issues that are both explicit and…
Extraterritorial Application of ERISA
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ERISA Statutory Provisions
Ever wonder about ERISA’s effect on benefits provided to employees assigned to overseas’ posts? Didn’t think so. But Paul Secunda has.
What LaRue Wrought
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Suzanne Wynn has the story of the day when it comes to ERISA litigation, as she posts on the Seventh Circuit’s application of LaRue to exactly the type of case that, had the Supreme Court ruled otherwise, would have gone away without any potential liability on the part of the fiduciaries or, for that matter,…
Want to Learn More About the Post-LaRue World?
I am trying to kick the LaRue habit, but couldn’t resist going back to the well one more time (how’s that for mixing my metaphors?). I know from readers of this blog and from talking to other lawyers that people are very interested in LaRue and the Supreme Court’s current interest in ERISA cases –…
Interpreting LaRue
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Some follow up thoughts on the Supreme Court’s opinion in LaRue, after having some time to digest it. First, the court’s three opinions make for an interesting assortment of analyses of the issue, but what is most important on the front lines, down at the trial level where these issues play out in court,…
The Supreme Court Decides LaRue, In Probably Predictable Fashion
By Stephen Rosenberg on
As a practicing litigator, I often can’t delve too deeply into a particular issue right when it arises, and instead have to return to it that night to analyze it for further discussion the next day. With a trial set to start in one of my cases and a court appearance this afternoon, this is…
Supreme Court and Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ERISA Statutory Provisions, Pensions
Interestingly, right after I posted about Albert Feuer’s detailed analysis of the proper role of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (“QDRO”) in the ERISA scheme, the Supreme Court granted cert in a case on that exact issue (although I don’t intend to imply a causal relationship between the two events). The Court granted cert yesterday in…