Another federal judge has weighed the assertions made in an excessive fee suit—and found them lacking both in terms of a “meaningful benchmark,” and specificity of the claims made.
The Suit
The... Read More
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Litigation
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/27/2023
A suit alleging a breach of fiduciary duty has been filed because the plan fiduciaries offset employer contributions with forfeitures, rather than using them for the “exclusive benefit” of... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/26/2023
The ERISA litigation field in recent years has seen copycat filings, plagiarism in pleadings, factual flaws, and misleading assertions—but to my eyes, we’ve just hit a new low.
I’m speaking of... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/26/2023
The federal government wants to make sure that the judge in a Wisconsin case involving the Department of Labor’s ESG rule knows about its recent victory in a federal court in Texas.
In a “notice... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/25/2023
A class action suit involving a data hack of participant data at a consulting firm has reached a $7.75 million cash settlement.
The suit arose from a November 2021 cyber security “incident”... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/22/2023
“Having considered the motions, pleadings, and relevant law,” a federal court judge has backed the Labor Department in a suit brought by 26 red state Attorneys General challenging the so-called ESG... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/21/2023
A four-year old case in which participants accused plan fiduciaries of “stuffing cash into a mattress” while at the same time forcing participants “to play the fool’s game” by offering only “high-... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/20/2023
Plaintiffs have had their appeal of a district court’s dismissal of their excessive fee suit rejected by the appellate court.
Appellants Cole Matney and Paul Watts[i]—participants in the Barrick... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/19/2023
The plaintiffs in one of the dozen or so cases involving the BlackRock Lifepath target-date funds (TDFs) have made it past the motion to dismiss stage.
In this case (Trauernicht et al. v. Genworth... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/18/2023
Noting that “a fiduciary breach cannot exist where no fiduciary duty applies,” American Airlines has pushed back on a participant-plaintiff’s amended claims regarding ESG-biased investments in his... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/15/2023
Summer may be winding down, but there’s been a LOT going on in the retirement world. In this episode, Nevin (Adams) and Fred (Reish) run down the hot topics, and the implications behind these trends... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/15/2023
Just days after The New York Times reported[i] on the impact of a corporate bankruptcy on 401(k) accounts, litigation has been filed against the plan fiduciaries.
Plaintiffs Paul Harvey and Lela... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/12/2023
Noting that “a decision in this appeal has the potential to significantly affect Amici’s members, which include plan sponsors and fiduciaries…,” a group of industry trade groups has filed in support... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/11/2023
A federal judge has held that a participant that wasn’t invested in the funds in question lacked standing to bring suit—and that his claims about excessive recordkeeping fees weren’t specific enough... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/7/2023
Noting that “where ERISA is concerned, nationwide uniformity isn’t just an ideal—it’s an imperative,” AT&T has appealed a recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In petitioning... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/6/2023
Less than a year after being sued for the standard series of alleged missteps, the parties in an excessive fee suit have struck a “deal.”
The plaintiff bringing suit just a year ago (September... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/5/2023
A federal magistrate judge—who has been tasked with a number of recommendations regarding dismissals of late—has recommended that an excessive fee suit be dismissed, this one with prejudice.
In... Read More
BY David Levine, JD | 8/31/2023
Competition between service providers can create the incorrect image that the industry is rife with conflict.
A common theme in many lawsuits and regulatory investigations is a “conflict” between... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 8/31/2023
Amidst a highly politicized environment, retirement plan litigation recently has focused on the inclusion of ESG (environmental, social & governance) factors—or the lack thereof. Nevin (Adams)... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 8/31/2023
A federal magistrate judge has—again—recommended tossing an excessive fee suit against a $4 billion 401(k) plan—this time with prejudice.
While the recommendation still requires the signoff of a... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 8/30/2023
While a federal judge found some merit in the arguments alleging that the Labor Department’s compliance assistance release on cryptocurrency had an impact on a recordkeeper’s business, it wasn’t... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 8/29/2023
In response to a motion to dismiss his suit regarding ESG investments—and ESG-friendly investment managers—in his 401(k), an American Airlines participant has expanded the information in his initial... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 8/28/2023
The allegations are familiar, as are the attorneys representing the plaintiffs—but this settlement proposal involves more than just money.
The proposed settlement comes in an action brought by... Read More
BY Ted Godbout | 8/25/2023
Robinhood’s bid to undo the Bay State’s fiduciary rule holding broker-dealers to the same standard as investment advisers hit a roadblock after the state’s high court reversed a lower court’s ruling... Read More
BY Bonnie Treichel, JD, and Nevin E. Adams, JD | 8/23/2023
ERISA breach of fiduciary duty litigation in 401(k) and 403(b) cases continues to persist, with new litigants rapidly emerging. Though these cases remain primarily confined to the mega-plan market... Read More
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