ERISA Violation Legal News Articles & Interviews

Oakland, CA The long-awaited settlement in Rollins v. Dignity Health, a class action ERISA lawsuit, that has been moving through the legal system since 2013, continues to be just that – long awaited. On June 12, the District Court for the Northern District of California refused to approve a proposed settlement for the second time since 2019.

Riverside, CA The allegations made in Gamino v. KPC Healthcare are pretty lurid, especially as ERISA lawsuits go. Even apart from the loaded handgun and the slashed tires, the Complaint tells a tale of shocking financial malfeasance.

Pasadena, CA The Glendale Outpatient Surgery Center’s (“GOSC”) ERISA lawsuit against United HealthCare Services Inc. and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co. (collectively “United HealthCare”) claims that the insurance giant skimped on reimbursement for services rendered by GOSC to United HealthCare patients. On May 19 the Ninth Circuit dismissed the lawsuit, opining that the Complaint failed to describe how United HealthCare violated ERISA. The fatal flaw was that the lawsuit did not identify a specific ERISA plan or plan terms that would have required payment. In other words, the court simply did not have enough specific information to act on. The lawsuit was dismissed “without prejudice,” which means that it can be revised and relaunched.

Boston, MA Participants in the Putnam Retirement Plan have agreed to settle their ERISA lawsuit against Putnam Investments and other Plan fiduciaries for $12.5 million and certain prospective changes in plan administration. Following close on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to review the lower court’s determination, the settlement leaves open two important questions that arise in countless 401k mismanagement lawsuits. But by keeping these issues alive, the end of Brotherston v. Putnam Investments represents a qualified victory for 401k plan participants.

New York, NY JPMorgan Chase has notified the Second Circuit that it will settle a class action ERISA lawsuit affecting as many as a quarter million 401k plan participants. Details of the settlement will be available by May 22, when the motion for preliminary approval is submitted to the court.

Chicago, IL On March 2 attorneys for Boeing, its 401k retirement plan and the plan’s investment committee asked the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to dismiss Burke v. The Boeing Co. The defendants claim that Newport Trust Co., the plan’s investment manager, was solely responsible for any losses incurred by participants in the Boeing Voluntary Investment Plan (VIP) when the value of Boeing’s stock dropped in the aftermath of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft disasters. Newport was not named as a defendant in the ERISA lawsuit.

New York, NY Retirement plan participants who are concerned that plan administrators and service providers may be running the plan for their own benefit can extract three important lessons from Haley v. Teachers Ins. & Annuity Assoc. of America. First, the possibility that plan fiduciaries and record keepers may be engaged in self-dealing is a very hot topic. These ERISA lawsuits may involve thousands of retirement plans and exponentially more retirement savers. That many plaintiffs can spell huge liability for those who manage a plan. Second, the success of these lawsuits depends on being granted class action status; and finally, the issue of who is a fiduciary and why it matters is often central when it comes to allegations of self-dealing.

Washington, DC On January 14, the Supreme Court sent Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander, a much-watched ERISA lawsuit, back to the Second Circuit for further consideration of defensive arguments raised by the plan administrators. The decision is a setback, although perhaps not a fatal one, for participants in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) who claim that they have been injured because of corporate financial fraud. These “stock drop” lawsuits are one of several different kinds of 401k fiduciary mismanagement lawsuits.

Collingswood, NJ On November 5, former employee, Young Cho, filed a class action ERISA lawsuit (ERISA) in the District Court for the District of New Jersey alleging that fiduciaries of the Prudential Insurance Company 401k plan breached their duty to plan participants by selecting and managing investment options to benefit Prudential, rather than retirement savers.

Washington, DC On January 13, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Thole v. U.S. Bank, NA, an ERISA lawsuit (ERISA) that has major implications for the rights of participants and beneficiaries to sue plan sponsors under the basic legal framework of ERISA. The defendant plan sponsor will argue that the plaintiff retirees have no standing to sue over alleged breaches of fiduciary duty because they have not suffered any individual financial loss. The defendant plan sponsor will ask the Court to affirm an Eighth Circuit decision that limits participants’ rights to oversee investment management decisions.