One of the Seventh Circuit’s most interesting tricks in its recent decision in Hecker was the extraordinary breadth it gave to the 404(c) defense. This was an aspect of the decision that raised a lot of hackles, and I noted in my own post on the case that I doubted this was the last
Fiduciaries
Pension Fiduciaries in the Hot Seat – What to Avoid and How to React if Sued
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I and a cast of thousands will be speaking at a webinar on April 14th on “Pension Fiduciaries in the Hot Seat – What to Avoid and How to React if Sued,” put on by Pension Governance, Inc. Well, its not really a cast of thousands, just me and four very experienced worthies, who know…
How Much Information Is Enough to Decide A Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawsuit?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Is a motion to dismiss a good tool for disposing of major breach of fiduciary duty lawsuits? In essence, should it be treated as a mini-summary judgment proceeding, that tests the sufficiency of the case’s theories against, not the detailed facts of a specific case, but instead against the world as a whole as understood…
Asking the Seventh Circuit to Revisit Hecker
By Stephen Rosenberg on
I was going to post on something else today – namely the scope of contractual obligation clauses in insurance policies – but my Google Alert pulled in something else that I wanted to pass along first instead, namely, this post by Paul Secunda at Marquette on an amicus brief filed by several law professors asking…
Notes on Hecker v Deere
By Stephen Rosenberg on
The Seventh Circuit’s opinion in Hecker v Deere is interesting in a number of ways, and on a number of levels. I won’t detail the facts of the case in depth here, but the case turns on the question of the plan sponsor’s and service providers’ potential fiduciary liability for allegedly high fees in the…
Shining a BrightScope on Heckler v. John Deere
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Still parceling out items of interest that have stacked up on my desk in the last week or so. Among the things I still haven’t gotten to, I have to admit, is a careful reading of the Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in Heckler v John Deere, but I will, shortly. In the meantime, though…
Do People Who Are Told the Truth Sue?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Fiduciaries
I love this story. A couple of weeks ago I blogged about BrightScope’s launch, and pointed out my view that more information generally means less litigation. I learned thereafter that some think that is a counter-intuitive thought; presumably, people who believe that think that if you cover up problems and don’t let people…
Bunch v. W.R. Grace: What a Breach of Fiduciary Duty Doesn’t Look Like
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Fiduciaries
I cannot do better by anybody interested in fiduciary obligations under ERISA than to recommend to you the First Circuit’s decision the other day in Bunch v. W.R. Grace & Co.. For those of you not familiar with the lower court proceedings in that case, what was at issue is whether it was…
Talkin’ ERISA Litigation Trends
I will be presenting a seminar next week, on Wednesday January 14th, to the ASPPA Benefits Council of New England, entitled “ERISA Litigation: An Update from the Front Lines.” After three full days of outlining my talk, I now actually have a pretty good idea of what I am going to say; the talk will…
More Evidence that Including Company Stock in a Retirement Plan May Not Be Worth the Litigation Risk
By Stephen Rosenberg on
A few months back, I discussed the broad conception of damages in stock drop type cases articulated in the case of Bendaoud, which essentially found that damages exist if the participant could have done better in an alternative investment option. This concept makes it fairly easy to construct a damages theory in 401(k) and…