Chris Carosa of Fiduciary News has a tremendous interview with Jerry Schlichter, who has carved out an important niche litigating class action cases against 401(k) plans. Schlichter has litigated nearly all of the key excessive fee cases of the past few years, and currently has one pending before the Supreme Court. I discussed the case
Fiduciaries
Tatum v. RJR Pension Investment Committee: What it Teaches About Fiduciary Obligations
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Somehow, RJR Nabisco has always been fascinating, from beginning to now. There must be something about combining tobacco and Oreos that gets the imagination flowing; maybe its the combination of the country’s most regulated consumer product with the wonders of possibly the world’s favorite cookie. Heck, its birth even birthed a book and then, in…
Changing Firms, and a Brief Note on the Right of Service Providers to Make a Profit
By Stephen Rosenberg on
So, some of you may have noticed a change on the masthead at the top of this blog, which notes that I am now at the Wagner Law Group , in its Boston office. It has been a pleasure litigating ERISA and business disputes for the past nearly quarter century at the McCormack Firm, but…
Just Finished Speaking to ASPPA on ERISA Litigation, Soon to Speak at ACI’s National ERISA Litigation Forum
By Stephen Rosenberg on
So I had a great deal of fun speaking on current events in ERISA litigation to the ASPPA regional conference here in Boston this past Thursday, and my great thanks both to the organizers who invited me and everyone who attended. I am especially grateful to those in the audience, more knowledgeable about the wizarding…
Why the Supreme Court Got It Right in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer
By Stephen Rosenberg on
So, where do we even begin with Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, which is, first, a fascinating decision and, second, one that has already inspired countless stories in both the legal and financial media? I thought I would begin by passing along some of the better commentary I have come across in the wake…
What Happens to Company Owners Who Get Overaggressive When Selling Out to an ESOP?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Just what is it about Chicago and ESOPs? Is it something in the water, redolent of gangsters and Al Capone? First, there was the Sam Zell/Tribune ESOP transaction, which, as I wrote before, was such a complex transaction that, building it around the ownership interests of the employees could not help but raise…
What Does the Moench Presumption Look Like in the Light of the Real World?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
One recurring problem in ERISA litigation is the tendency of courts to address and decide novel and complex issues on motions to dismiss, rather than after allowing full development of the factual record. New and original breach of fiduciary duty theories can look entirely different when considered by courts on the full record than they…
More on the Golf Course RFP
Susan Mangiero, one of my favorite experts on financial deals and transactions, was kind enough to post on my presentation to the Boston Regional Office of the Department of Labor, where I spoke on common mistakes by plan sponsors. I spoke as part of a day long training program that Susan presented at as…
What if Trust Law Cannot Support the Moench Presumption?
By Stephen Rosenberg on
The “stock drop” presumption of Moench, now before the Supreme Court in Fifth Third Bancorp, is best understood as a judicial attempt to balance the sometimes conflicting demands placed on corporate insiders by, on the one hand, the securities laws and, on the other, ERISA, when it comes to employee stock plans in…
Fifth Third Bancorp and the Lack of a Historical Foundation for the Existence of a “Coach Class Trustee”
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in ESOP, Fiduciaries
This is an interesting point, to me anyway, and a point that, for me, falls in that odd space between too short for a good blog post but too long for a tweet. I have written before that, because I seldom use blog posts to simply pass on others’ work and instead usually post substantive…