Mealey's ERISA : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's ERISA

December 16, 2024
Summary Judgment Bid Fails In ERISA Suit Challenging TDFs

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — With scant explanation, a Pennsylvania federal judge on Dec. 13 denied a summary judgment motion filed by PPL Corp. and related defendants in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action challenging the inclusion of Northern Trust target date funds (TDFs) in four defined-contribution pension benefit plans.
December 13, 2024
$69M Class Settlement Is Proposed In ERISA Date Funds Challenge

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal court was asked on Dec. 13 to preliminarily approve a $69 million proposal that the class representative says would be “the largest settlement in the history of investment performance cases in an [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] context.”
December 12, 2024
$3.5M Settlement In ERISA Suit Over TDFs, Another Fund Wins Final Approval

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge has granted final approval to a $3.5 million class settlement that resolved retirement plan participants’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit challenging the use of target-date funds (TDFs) and another investment option.
December 12, 2024
DOL Files Amicus Brief In 11th Circuit ERISA Row Over Outdated Pension Assumptions

ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has filed an amicus curiae brief supporting revival of a putative class action over the calculation of annuities for married pension plan participants,arguing that part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act requires using “reasonable assumptions” and that the challenged ruling is “[c]ontrary to the meaning and purpose of the statute, governing regulation, and overwhelming weight of case law.”
December 12, 2024
Judge Finds For Plaintiffs On 1 Claim In ERISA Benefits Suit Over Spin-Off

PHILADELPHIA — After conducting a bench trial, a Pennsylvania federal judge reached a split partial verdict in a class action over corporate restructuring that affected retirement benefits, finding that the defendants are liable on a claim for optional retirement benefits but not on a claim for early retirement benefits.
December 12, 2024
5th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Pro Se Appellant’s ERISA Pension Case

NEW ORLEANS — Affirming dismissal of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act pension dispute in an unpublished per curiam opinion, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel briefly said the pro se appellant abandoned any challenge by failing to brief it.
December 11, 2024
2nd Circuit Refusal To Revive ERISA Fees Case Draws Concurring Opinion

NEW YORK — As urged by amicus curiae the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 10 refused to revive a putative class case in which participants in a Deloitte retirement plan challenged record-keeping fees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, with one member of the panel concurring “in part . . . and in the judgment.”
December 09, 2024
Partial Settlement Breakdown Reported In ERISA Suit Over Alleged Cost-Shifting

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — In Dec. 6 filings in North Carolina federal court, parties in a class action concerning an alleged cost-shifting scheme say they had expected to seek preliminary approval of a full settlement, but the tentative deal fell apart at last minute in regard to one defendant.
December 09, 2024
U.S. High Court Won’t Review Big ERISA Multiplan Opt-Out Class Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9 declined to review a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that three service providers said “raises serious constitutional concerns as to the allowable breadth of class actions brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands of participants in thousands of unrelated employer-sponsored [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] benefit plans.”
December 09, 2024
Alleging Price-Fixing, Doctors Sue MultiPlan, Insurers In Federal Court

CHICAGO — Alleging that they were paid only about 8% of what they billed for out-of-network services because of “a buyers’ cartel dating back to at least 2015,” medical practices that refer to themselves as doctors sued MultiPlan Corp., Aetna Inc., The Cigna Group, UnitedHealth Group Inc., Elevance Health Inc. and other entities in Illinois federal court, asserting numerous claims including some under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
December 09, 2024
Bankruptcy Judge Still Upholds PBGC Regulations In Withdrawal Liability Row

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal bankruptcy judge has declined to reconsider rejecting challenges to two Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) regulations regarding federal funds awarded to multiemployer pension plans.
December 06, 2024
New Jersey Federal Magistrate Allows Limited Discovery In Disability Dispute

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal magistrate judge on Dec. 5 determined that an attorney who alleges that his claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits was wrongfully denied is entitled to take very limited discovery regarding compensation and performance evaluations of personnel used by the disability insurer in evaluating his LTD claim.
December 06, 2024
Reconsideration Sought On Dismissal Of Claims Against Exec In Stock Sale Challenge

BOISE, Idaho — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has asked an Idaho federal court to reconsider its dismissal of claims against a former CEO and board chair who sold part of his stock in an allegedly inflated deal that is being challenged under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
December 06, 2024
$2.5M Class Settlement Would Be Almost 17% Of Max Damages, ERISA Plaintiffs Say

OAKLAND, Calif. — Plaintiffs challenging a 401(k) plan’s record-keeping fees and fund offerings under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act have asked a California federal court for preliminary approval of a $2.5 million class settlement they say works out to about 16.86% of their “maximum possible damages.”
December 06, 2024
Claimant Appeals Ruling That She Failed To Meet Burden Of Proving Disability

CINCINNATI — A disability claimant filed a notice of appeal to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, challenging a Michigan federal judge’s finding that she failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she was disabled from performing the duties of her own occupation.
December 06, 2024
Disability Insurer Properly Terminated LTD Benefits Based On Policy Limitation

ST. LOUIS — A disability insurer’s termination of a disability claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits was reasonable because the insurer properly found that the claimant’s disability was the result of a mental illness, which limited the claimant’s benefits to 24 months, a Missouri federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment.
December 06, 2024
LTD Benefits Wrongfully Terminated Based On Policy Limitation, Claimant Says

DENVER — A disability insurer and its claims administrator wrongfully terminated a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on the policy’s limitation for mental or nervous disorders, a disability claimant contends in a complaint filed in Colorado federal court.
December 06, 2024
Denial Of STD Claim Was Not Arbitrary, Capricious, Minnesota Federal Judge Says

MINNEAPOLIS — The denial of a short-term disability (STD) claim was not arbitrary and capricious because a reasonable person could have reached the same decision as the disability insurer and because the claimant’s medical records do not show that his conditions worsened to a point where he was unable to work, a Minnesota federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.
December 06, 2024
New York Federal Judge Says Disability Claimant Met Burden, Is Owed Benefits

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted judgment in favor of a disability claimant after determining that the claimant met her burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that she was disabled from performing the duties of her own occupation as a result of symptoms caused by depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
December 05, 2024
Doctor Entitled To Almost $98K In Attorney Fees For Success On Disability Claim

SAN FRANCISCO — A pediatrician who successfully prevailed on her claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on her high risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus is entitled to $97,965 in attorney fees and $625 in costs because the pediatrician succeeded on the merits of her disability claim and the disability insurer presented no special circumstances that would warrant against an award, a California federal judge said in granting the pediatrician’s motion for attorney fees and costs.
December 05, 2024
After Getting Claims Data, Health Plan And Sponsor Sue Third-Party Administrator

RICHMOND, Va. — Suing a third-party administrator (TPA) in Virginia federal court, an employer and its self-funded health plan allege that the TPA violated Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciary standards “by, among other things, (i) paying more for healthcare claims than was even billed, (ii) securing kickbacks from providers, (iii) double-paying claims, and (iv) pocketing rebates.”
December 05, 2024
Denial Of LTD Benefits Claim Was Not Abuse Of Discretion, Texas Federal Judge Says

DALLAS — A disability insurer did not abuse its discretion in denying a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits following remand of the LTD claim because substantial evidence supports the insurer’s finding that the claimant was capable of working in a sedentary position, a Texas federal judge said in granting judgment in favor of the disability insurer.
December 05, 2024
Judge Awards Plaintiffs Almost $60,000 For Discovery Row In Dialysis Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Awarding a little more than half of the amount the plaintiffs requested, an Ohio federal judge has ordered a hospital and its health plan to pay $59,629.38 in attorney fees and costs in connection with a discovery dispute in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case over dialysis payment rates.
December 05, 2024
Total Disability Questions Should Be Certified To La. High Court, Claimant Says

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should withdraw an unpublished opinion entered in favor of a disability insurer and certify two questions of law to the Louisiana Supreme Court regarding whether a disability claimant was required to prove that she was disabled from performing all of the duties of her occupation as a pharmacist in order to meet the policy’s definition of total disability, the claimant maintains.
December 05, 2024
GAO: Crypto Options Seem To Be A Small Part Of The 401(k) Market

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a report released publicly Dec. 4 regarding crypto assets in 401(k)s, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted data and projection limitations, saying in part that “certain crypto assets continue to trade in markets that do not have investor protections or comprehensive oversight.”