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Declaratory Judgment Action Over 'J. Geils Band' Mark Won't Be Dismissed
BOSTON - A dispute over the true ownership of the "J. Geils Band" trademark will proceed, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled March 12 (Francesca Records, et al. v. Geils Unlimited LLC, et al., No....
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Survey Experts' Testimony Admissible In Colorado Consumer Protection Action
DENVER - A federal judge in Colorado on March 11 found admissible expert survey testimony and said a trial was necessary to determine whether a couple's money-making advice products violated the...
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Federal Judge Dismisses United States' Complaint Against Landlord As Untimely
RENO, Nev. - A Nevada federal judge on March 11 granted a landlord's motion to dismiss a complaint filed by the United States based on allegations that he discriminated against a tenant in relation to...
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Texas Appeals Panel: Baseball Team Not Liable For Spectator's Injuries
HOUSTON - The First District Texas Court of Appeals on March 12 affirmed summary judgment for a professional baseball team accused of allowing an unsafe condition exist in its stadium, concluding that...
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Equity Committee: Contract Cannot Be Rejected Under Bankruptcy Code
WILMINGTON, Del. - The Official Committee of Equity Security Holders of bankrupt Tri-Valley Corp. (TVC) on March 12 filed a brief in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware contending...
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Award Of Retroactive Pension Benefits Is Proper, 4th Circuit Holds
RICHMOND, Va. - A federal district court properly considered evidence outside the administrative record in its decision awarding retroactive benefits to a pension plan participant who claimed that she...
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5th Circuit: Monetary Damages May Constitute 'Appropriate Equitable Relief'
NEW ORLEANS - The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 19 ruled that surcharge is a potential remedy under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section 502(a)(3) for breach of fiduciary...
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4th Circuit: ERISA Doesn't Preempt Post-Distribution Suits Against Beneficiaries
RICHMOND - The Employee Retirement Income Security Act does not preempt a waiver provision in a property settlement agreement after the plan proceeds have been distributed by the administrator, the...
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6th Circuit Remands Beneficiary Designation Claim To Plan
CINCINNATI - The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 26 in an unpublished opinion remanded a claim by a person seeking to be named a beneficiary of a retirement plan to the plan's...
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Duty Of Prudence Applies To Company-Stock Fund, 11th Circuit Rules
ATLANTA - The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled March 5 in an unpublished opinion that although the Employee Retirement Income Security Act exempts the fiduciaries of eligible individual account...
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2nd Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of 401(k) Plan Participant's Fiduciary Duty Claims
NEW YORK - A 401(k) plan participant failed to sufficiently plead that the plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties by imprudently selecting and monitoring the plan funds and by allowing...
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Participants Oppose High Court Review Of 6th Circuit Stock-Drop Lawsuit
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Participants in the Fifth Third Bankcorp employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) on Feb. 22 filed a brief opposing U.S. Supreme Court review of a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals...
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Nonfiduciary Seeks High Court Review Of Ruling Finding Liability, No Exemption
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A nonfiduciary financial planner who marketed a tax avoidance scheme as a multiple-employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) to several employers filed a petition for a writ of certiorari...
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Retroactive Amendment Of Discount Rate Is Proper, 7th Circuit Rules
CHICAGO - Retirement plans did not violate the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by retroactively modifying the discount rates used to calculate lump-sum payouts, rather than using the discount...
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Supreme Court Will Not Review Ruling On Normal Retirement Age
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 19 denied review of a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that a cash balance pension plan sponsored by Bank of America Corp. did not...
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6th Circuit: Health Insurer Properly Denied Benefits In Eating Disorder Suit
CINCINNATI - The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 4 affirmed in an unpublished opinion that a health insurer did not err in denying coverage for the treatment of eating disorders (Mark...
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Providers Lack ERISA Standing; Reimbursement Suit Dismissed
NEWARK, N.J. - A federal judge in New Jersey on Feb. 25 in an unpublished opinion granted a health insurer's motion to dismiss a reimbursement suit against it, saying that the assignment the plaintiff...
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New Jersey Federal Judge Dismisses Reimbursement Suit, Finds Invalid Assignment
NEWARK, N.J. - A medical provider lacked standing under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to bring a reimbursement lawsuit against a welfare benefit fund because it lacked a valid assignment,...
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Participant Sues Over Denial Of Coverage To Same-Sex Spouse
PHILADELPHIA - A participant in a multiemployer welfare plan on Feb. 11 sued the plan and his employer, alleging that the plan's refusal to cover his same-sex spouse violated the terms of the plan and...
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High Court Won't Review Waiver Doctrine In ERISA Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on March 4 denied a health plan's petition seeking review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that the plan, which is governed by the Employee...
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