Wow, what a great piece by Rob Hoskins summing up the law throughout the circuits on the Moench presumption, by means of a review of a new decision by the Eastern District of Missouri on the issue. I highly suggest reading at least Rob’s “Moench Presumption for Dummies” if you want to have a
The Lessons of First Data Corp’s Suspension of 401(k) Contributions
By Stephen Rosenberg on
There is a fascinating story in today’s Wall Street Journal, about First Data Corp. abandoning the practice of making cash contributions to employee 401(k) accounts, as part of cost cutting clearly designed to make the company more profitable (or at least profitable enough) to hold an IPO, which would allow an exit for the leveraged…
Why the Complexity of Plan Valuation Argues Against Turning Appraisers into Fiduciaries by Regulatory Pronouncement
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ESOP, Fiduciaries
I have written before, both in short form on this blog and long form for the Journal of Pension Benefits, on my view that it is not necessary to alter the regulatory definition of fiduciary to transform appraisers into fiduciaries. Simply put, there are so many parties who already bear the title of fiduciary and…
ESOPs, Appraisers and Fiduciary Liability
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ESOP, Fiduciaries
There is much uproar at the moment over the possible expansion of fiduciary status to include appraisers, whose work includes valuing the assets held by the participants in ESOPs. Appraisers understandably do not want to assume that status, with its potential to turn them into defendants in ESOP breach of fiduciary duty litigation under ERISA…
Valuation and Appraisal Risks for ESOP Fiduciaries
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ESOP, Fiduciaries
Chris Rylands and Lisa Van Fleet‘s recent, very pithy summary of the Department of Labor’s enforcement initiatives with regard to ESOPs has been rattling around in my head for a couple of weeks now. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am by their ability to set out, in a couple…
A Football Story for Super Bowl Sunday, or Why Alex Smith Would Make a Great Fiduciary
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Many, but probably not all of you, know the story of Alex Smith, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback. Long derided in the early part of his career, he came into his own over the past two seasons, succeeding especially well this past season, according to mathematical standards widely accepted among the football loving public as…
Notes on The John Marshall Law Review’s Special Edition on “The Past, Present, and Future of Supreme Court Jurisprudence on ERISA”
Here’s a neat special edition of the John Marshall Law Review, covering Supreme Court Jurisprudence in advance of an employee benefits symposium at the law school. Several of the articles in particular jump out at me as a practitioner as being right on point with key issues playing out in the courtroom; I think it…
The Lessons of Fannie Mae, or How to Defeat the Moench Presumption
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ESOP, Fiduciaries
I have written at different times about the likely expansion, as we move forward, of fiduciary liability in ERISA litigation, despite the existence of a number of decisions and doctrines – such as the Moench presumption and the numerous decisions applying it – that seem to pose significant barriers to such liability being imposed. I…
The Impact of Appraisals on the Potential Liability of ESOP Fiduciaries
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ESOP, Fiduciaries
This is an interesting story on a number of levels. The article tells the tale of the Department of Labor suing the fiduciaries of an ESOP for failing to properly scrutinize and challenge an appraiser’s report valuing company stock, which was used to support the price paid by the plan for company stock. The article…
Plan Administrators and the Risk of Personal Liability: A Primer
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Often when I chat with middle and upper level managers of mid-size and larger companies who have been assigned the job of administering their employer’s 401(k), ESOP or other benefit plans, I wonder if they are fully cognizant of the risks of personal liability they are taking on, and whether they have made sure that…