Plaintiffs prevailed in this week’s two notable decisions, but not entirely. In the first decision, the Sixth Circuit allowed a portion of a pension case alleging excessive investment fees to proceed. In the second case, the Fourth Circuit addressed welfare plan vesting and found, under the highly unusual circumstances of the case, some retirees could proceed with their claim for life insurance benefits. Continue Reading Sorry ABBA, No Winner Takes It All In These Two Cases of the Week
The D.C. Circuit Rules That Past is Prologue in Withdrawal Liability Dispute
United Mine Workers of Am. 1974 Pension Plan v. Energy W. Mining Co., No. 20-7054, __ F. 4th __, 2022 WL 2568025 (D.C. Cir. Jul. 8, 2022) (Before Circuit Judges Rao, Walker, and Sentelle).
We have rarely selected a withdrawal liability case as the Case of the Week, but this decision from the D.C. Circuit siding, with a mining company that withdrew from a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan, is an interesting exception. Continue Reading The D.C. Circuit Rules That Past is Prologue in Withdrawal Liability Dispute
The Eleventh Circuit Agrees That Surcharge is Available Equitable Relief
Gimeno v. NCHMD, Inc., No. 21-11833, __ F.4th__ 2022 WL 2309436 (11th Cir. Jun. 28, 2022) (Before Circuit Judges Pryor, Rosenbaum, and Brasher).
Today’s case of the week goes where many cases have gone before in answering in the affirmative the straightforward question: “Does [ERISA Section 502(a)(3)] create a cause of action for an ERISA beneficiary to recover monetary benefits lost due to a fiduciary’s breach of fiduciary duty in the plan enrollment process?” Continue Reading The Eleventh Circuit Agrees That Surcharge is Available Equitable Relief