Numerous Fortune 500 companies around the country have recently seen a barrage of cases alleging that notices required under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) fail to provide all information required by COBRA. Class action cases filed against high-visibility
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Supreme Court to Consider Interplay of ERISA and Local “Play-or-Pay” Laws
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) aims to balance the dual policies of (1) ensuring fair and prompt enforcement of rights under employee benefit plans, and (2) encouraging the creation of such plans. To strike this balance,…
Rehearing Requested on Second Circuit Decision Requiring Plan Participants to End Employment Before Seeking Retirement Benefits
On April 15, 2022, participants in the U.A. Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 22 Pension Fund filed a petition for panel and en banc rehearing of the Second Circuit’s ruling in favor of the pension plan’s decision to retroactively require plan…
New York Federal District Court Dismisses 401(k) Fee Class Action
A New York district court recently dismissed, without prejudice, a 401(k) plan participant’s putative class action complaint alleging breaches of fiduciary duty. The plaintiff alleged that the plan fiduciary-defendants breached their duties of prudence and loyalty by failing to properly…
When Is An Insurance Policy Not An ERISA Plan?
ERISA makes clear that it governs “any plan, fund, or program … established … by an employer … for the purpose of providing [health benefits] for its participants.” 29 U.S.C. § 1002(1). Although most employee benefit plans that provide benefits…
Don’t White-Knuckle Withdrawal Liability
It’s no secret that the statutory deck under ERISA is stacked heavily in favor of multiemployer pension plans (MEPPs) and against employers contributing to (or withdrawing from) Taft-Hartley trust funds. For example, an employer who receives a demand to pay…
Plan Terms and Tax Rules: What Does “Retire” Mean To Qualify for Retirement Benefits?
In Metzgar v. U.A. Plumbers & Steamfitters Local No. 22 Pension Fund, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 5466 (2d Cir. Mar. 2, 2022), the Second Circuit in a summary order affirmed the district court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of…
District Court Rejects Reasonableness Requirement for “Actuarial Equivalence” Used to Calculate Alternative Annuities
On March 4, 2022, the District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56, ERISA claims brought by a former employee who retired early at the age of 62 and receives retirement benefits in…
Fifth Circuit: Remand to Determine Disability was Not a “Second Bite at the Apple” for Insurer
In Newsom v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 4505 (5th Cir. Feb. 18, 2022), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit clarified the difference between an eligibility determination and a disability determination for…
Deferential Review Determinative in Severance Spat
In a decision illustrating the importance of a deferential standard of review in an ERISA plan document, the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of severance claims by a disabled employee, concluding that the complaint pled facts showing that the denial…