Coming off the holiday weekend, I have a long list of items I want to pass on or talk about. I will try to put up as many as I can over the next few posts, to work through the backlog. I thought I would start with this one, because it ties two of the
Fiduciaries
Another View on Whether a Cashed Out 401(k) Participant Has Standing to Sue for Losses Under ERISA
Judge Tauro, of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, has weighed in lately on some of the more cutting edge and currently unsettled issues in ERISA litigation, such as the impact of ERISA preemption on the powers of a state agency. This week, he ventured into the now hot topic…
I Got Them Low Down No Good Pension Blues
On the first Monday morning in August I expect things to lighten up with lots of people on vacation and the like, so I scheduled a breakfast meeting this morning right in the middle of one of Massachusetts’ most congested highways (well, not really in the middle of the highway, more like at a restaurant…
Functional Fiduciaries in the First Circuit
I am kind of fond of this recent disability benefits case out of the United States District Court for the District of Maine for one particular reason, namely its discussion of functional fiduciaries, and thought I would pass it along as a result. Confronted with the question of whether Metropolitan Life, the administrator, was a…
The Interrelationship of Suits for Benefits and for Breach of Fiduciary Duty Under ERISA
If it seems like I have been digressing a lot these past couple of weeks off of the primary topics of this blog and into other areas that interest me – such as the billable hour system – or that I practice in, like intellectual property litigation, it is because the courts of the…
High Cost Investments, Payments to Sponsors, and the National Education Association
Been away from the desk for a few days, but not away from my reading, and there’s been a whole series of things in the media that may be of interest to those who read this blog that I have meant to pass along and comment on. I am going to try to post frequent…
Why You Can Never Generalize When Considering Whether Brokers Are Plan Fiduciaries
A couple of loyal blog readers have commented that I have veered off a good bit on digressions this past couple weeks, and I can’t deny it – maybe it’s a lawyer’s version of a summer fling. Anyway, today I return to a central focus of this blog, ERISA and, in particular today, investment advisors…
Me and LaRue, and Business Insurance Too
There is an article in Business Insurance magazine this week, the June 25th issue, on the Supreme Court accepting review of the LaRue decision, in which I am quoted. The article is here – subscription required – and if you read it, you will note that it ends on my comment that I expect the…
Common Misperceptions and The Obligations of Plan Sponsors
I wrote, it seems to me, an awful lot over the last couple of weeks on the question of the fiduciary obligations of plan sponsors and others with regard to the investment selections made by pension funds and the investment choices offered in 401(k) plans. Susan Mangiero has a lot more to say about this…
An Evolution in Fiduciary Standards Means an Increase in Litigation Risk
My email inbox is often inundated with seminar pitches, book offers, and informational material, much of which, even if it looks valuable, I could never get to unless I decide to give up the practice of law and just read all this stuff full time. Fortunately, though, I can cut through the junk pretty quick…