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Actos MDL Judge Creates Pilot Bellwether Program, Narrows Pool To 8 Cases
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Louisiana federal magistrate judge overseeing the Actos bladder cancer multidistrict litigation on May 3 created a Pilot Bellwether Program, trimmed the pool of bellwether cases...
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Federal Judge Refuses To Remand Insured's Coverage Dispute Regarding Defect Case
DENVER - A Colorado federal judge on May 3 declined to remand an insured's coverage action against its insurer regarding the defense of an underlying construction defect case (Cornella Brothers Inc. v....
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Law Firm Insured Did Not Fraudulently Misjoin Insurer, Judge Rules, Remands Suit
DENVER - A law firm insured did not fraudulently misjoin an insurer in its lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying counterclaims by its former employee, a Colorado federal judge ruled May 6, granting...
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California Federal Judge Partially Stays, Partially Dismisses Compensation Suit
SAN FRANCISCO - A California federal judge on May 3 partially granted and partially denied motions to stay and dismiss a class complaint seeking unpaid compensation filed by a former personal trainer,...
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7th Circuit: Service Provider Isn't Fiduciary With Respect To Revenue Sharing
CHICAGO - A profit-sharing plan's service provider did not become a plan fiduciary within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by limiting the mutual funds offered to the plan...
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7th Circuit Applies Presumption Of Prudence, Dismisses Stock-Drop Case
CHICAGO - Fiduciaries of an employee retirement savings plan did not breach their duty of prudence by complying with the terms of the plan by continuing to offer employer stock as an investment option...
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Fiduciary Duty Claims Related To Alternative Investments Continue
SEATTLE - A federal judge in Washington on April 26 declined to dismiss claims that Morgan Stanley, a fiduciary of Weyerhaeuser Co.'s defined benefit pension plan, violated the Employee Retirement...
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High Court Denies Review Of Ruling Finding Nonfiduciary Liability
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on April 15 declined to review a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that a nonfiduciary financial planner who marketed a tax avoidance scheme as a...
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High Court Will Address Limitations Period, Notice In ERISA Benefits-Denial...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on April 15 agreed to review a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unpublished order upholding dismissal of a wrongful denial of disability benefits action...
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Law Prohibiting Discretionary Clauses Requires De Novo Review, Federal Judge...
CHICAGO - An Illinois statute prohibiting discretionary clauses in insurance policies applies to a disability policy governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, where the policy was...
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No Panel Rehearing Of Termination Of Disability Benefits Through Amendment
CINCINNATI - A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals' divided ruling that a multiemployer plan did not abuse its discretion in applying a plan amendment retroactively to terminate disability benefits...
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Termination Of Benefits Was Not Arbitrary, Capricious, 11th Circuit Holds
ATLANTA - A disability plan insurer did not violate the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by terminating long-term disability benefits because the insurer reasonably relied on the opinions of an...
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High Court Lets Stand 9th Circuit Ruling On ERISA Disability Benefit Offset
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on April 22 denied review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that the administrator of a plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security...
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3rd Circuit Affirms Penalty, Denial Of Attorney Fees For Late COBRA Notice
PHILADELPHIA - A federal judge properly imposed a $10 per day penalty on a former employer under the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) because the former employer was 293...
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9th Circuit: Plan Properly Denies Benefits Based On Third-Party Injury Exclusion
SAN FRANCISCO - A multiemployer plan did not violate its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by denying a participant's claim for medical benefits based on the plan's...
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Claims Against Blue Cross In Case Alleging Hidden Administrative Fees Continue
FLINT, Mich. - A federal judge in Michigan on May 3 declined to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds an employer's claim that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBS) violated the Employee...
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ERISA Preempts Puerto Rico Law Requiring Transfer Of Assets, Judge Rules
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A Puerto Rico law that requires retirement plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to disburse and pay plan assets corresponding to benefits accrued by...
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Pension Plan Properly Applied Benefit Calculation Method, 6th Circuit Rules
CINCINNATI - A pension plan administrator did not act arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by determining that a participant elected to change the...
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Plan Properly Applied Break-In-Service Provision, 2nd Circuit Rules
NEW YORK - A pension plan did not act arbitrarily and capriciously by applying the plan's break-in-service provision in calculating a participant's years of vesting service, the Second Circuit U.S....
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Separation Benefit Is Subject To QDRO, 3rd Circuit Rules
PHILADELPHIA - A separation benefit that entitled an early-retirement eligible employee who was terminated as part of a reduction-in-force to the full amount that would have been payable if he retired...
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