Well, I suppose nothing could be located more squarely at the intersection of the two topics in this blog’s title than the difference between fiduciary liability insurance (which lets fiduciaries sleep at night) and fiduciary bonds (which protects a plan’s assets, rather than insuring the fiduciaries themselves). Scott Simmonds, who consults, writes and blogs on
Fiduciaries
The Tribune Bankruptcy and Breach of Fiduciary Duty Litigation Over its ESOP
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Fiduciaries
I had a whole line of things I was planning to blog on, but events keep overtaking them. Today, that is the story of the Tribune bankruptcy, and its effect, detailed here, on the Tribune ESOP. We have all been watching the booming industry in filing ERISA breach of fiduciary duty cases based on…
On the Scope of the Attorney Client Privilege In ERISA Litigation
By Stephen Rosenberg on
This really isn’t an instance of logrolling (or blogrolling, as the case may be), I promise, even though Roy Harmon’s post that I am passing along here refers to me and my electronic discovery post a few times; the subject of Roy’s post got my attention and led me to read it long before I…
Back Again at the Crossroads of Securities Law and ERISA
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Fiduciaries
Here is a case from a week or so ago that I haven’t had time to post on yet, but which warranted a little more discussion than suited inclusion in Monday’s Thanksgiving Week potpourri post. In his latest ruling in In re Boston Scientific Corporation ERISA Litigation, Judge Tauro of the United States District…
A Thanksgiving Week Feast
Some of the more prolific bloggers manage to be prolific by posting short notes on various topics of interest written by others, which isn’t my usual style. But over the past week or so I have managed to back up a good stack of things that I have wanted to talk about in detail, but…
Excessive Fees in 401(k) Plans: Its What You Do, Not Who You Know, That Counts
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Fiduciaries
I am a real big fan of this article here, on two recent rulings in major excessive fee 401(k) lawsuits, one against Wal-Mart and the other against Bechtel. While I haven’t read the rulings in those cases themselves yet, what I like about the rulings, at least as depicted in the article, is that…
You Say Securities Law, I Say ERISA
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Fiduciaries
Stop me if I am beating a dead horse, but this press release/short story on a class action law firm’s investigation into a stock drop involving Hartford’s stock reads exactly like one that, a few years ago, would have been issued prior to pursuing a securities class action; now its written in advance of pursuing…
Revenue Sharing, Fees, Indemnity and Contribution: A Potpourri of Hot Button Issues Confronting Fiduciaries
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Fiduciaries
So you’re an amateur fiduciary, nominally in charge of a company’s pension plan or 401(k) plan but generally relying on your outside vendors and service providers for substantive advice and decision making, and you get sued for breach of fiduciary duty because of losses resulting from the investment advice you received from them. So…
The Amateur Fiduciary
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Fiduciaries, Pensions
Geez, I hate to do this, but sometimes you have to play connect the dots. Reading this story about amateur (some would call it democratically run – small d, local government style) municipal pension plans and their investment strategies that got them caught up in the current collateralized debt obligation/securitization mess, I kept thinking to…
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Pity the Poor Fiduciary, Trapped Between the Securities Laws and ERISA
By Stephen Rosenberg on
One continuing theme in the posts on this blog is the replacement by plaintiffs’ class action firms of securities actions with ERISA breach of fiduciary duty actions in stock drop and similar type cases; the large class actions are brought on behalf of plan participants who hold company stock, often in an ESOP, against the…