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LexisNexis® Mealey's™ ERISA Legal News
Headline ERISA Legal News from LexisNexis®

• Supreme Court Hears QDRO Case, Discusses Plan Documents Rule
  WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Oct. 7 regarding whether a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is the only valid way a divorcing spouse can waive her right to receive her ex-husband's pension benefits under ERISA (Kari Ellen Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, et al., No. 07-636, U.S. Sup.; See September 2008, Page 4). Full story on lexis.com
• San Francisco's Health Care Law Is Not Preempted By ERISA, 9th Circuit Holds
  SAN FRANCISCO - ERISA does not preempt the employer spending requirements of San Francisco's health care insurance ordinance, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Sept. 30 in reversing a federal district court order enjoining the enforcement of the spending requirements (Golden Gate Restaurant Association v. City and County of San Francisco and San Francisco, et al., No. 07-17370, 9th Cir.; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 20574; See March 2008, Page 11). Full story on lexis.com
• ERISA Does Not Preempt State Apprenticeship Law; 16-Year-Old Injunction Lifted
  CINCINNATI - The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 16 ruled that ERISA does not preempt a Michigan law that sets ratio and equivalency requirements for the training of apprentice electricians, dissolving an injunction issued in 1992 prohibiting Michigan from enforcing the requirements (Associated Builders & Contractors, Saginaw Valley Area Chapter, et al. v. Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, et al., Nos. 07-1639, -1649, -1654, 6th Cir.; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 19569). Full story on lexis.com
• State External Review Statute Is Not Preempted By ERISA, Federal Judge Rules
  SEATTLE - A Washington law that provides for an independent review process of benefits determinations is not preempted by ERISA, and because the law requires the plan administrators to implement the independent review organization's (IRO) final determination, a de novo standard of review applies, a federal judge in Washington ruled Sept. 19 in denying a plan's motion for reconsideration (K.F. by and through her parents and guardians, John and Ember Fry v. Regence Blueshield, et al., No. 08-890, W.D. Wash.). Full story on lexis.com
• 9th Circuit: ERISA Claimants Are Not Subject To Issue-Exhaustion Requirement
  SAN FRANCISCO - A divided Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 29 ruled that ERISA does not preclude a claimant's challenge in district court of a plan's denial of benefits based on a theory that the claimant did not raise in his requests for internal administrative review (Raymond Vaught v. Scottsdale Healthcare Corporation Health Plan, No. 06-15507, 9th Cir.; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 20918). Full story on lexis.com
• 9th Circuit: QJSA Benefits Vest At Retirement, Not Death
  SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Sept. 17 that a participant in an ERISA qualified joint and survivor annuity (QJSA) plan may not change the surviving spouse beneficiary after the participant has retired and the annuity became payable because QJSA surviving spouse benefits irrevocably vest in the participant's spouse at the time of the annuity start date, which was the participant's date of retirement (Janis Carmona v. Judy Carmona, et al., No. 06-15581, 9th Cir.; 2008U.S. App. LEXIS 19724). Full story on lexis.com
• Standing Exists In Suit Over Losses From Investments In Subprime Mortgages
  NEW YORK - A federal judge in New York on Sept. 30 ruled that Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Co. has standing to allege that State Street Corp. breached its fiduciary obligations under ERISA by investing in "undisclosed, highly leveraged positions in mortgage-related financial derivatives" (Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company v. State Street Bank and Trust Company, et al., No. 07-8488, S.D. N.Y.; 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76893; See April 2008, Page 19). Full story on lexis.com
• Former Employee Has Standing To Bring Fiduciary Duty Claims Involving Backdating
  BOSTON - A former defined contribution plan participant has standing to sue the plan fiduciaries for breaching their fiduciary duties by exposing him to an unacceptable level of risk in offering company stock as an investment option at a time when they knew executives were improperly backdating stock options, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Sept. 24 (Soufiane Bendaoud v. John C. Hodgson, et al., No. 06-11873, D. Mass.; 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72788). Full story on lexis.com
• Former Employees Who Received Full Distribution Have Standing, 9th Circuit Holds
  SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 19 ruled that a former employee who has received a full distribution of his account balance under a defined contribution pension plan has standing to sue to recover losses resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty that allegedly reduced the amount of his benefits, vacating a district court's order dismissing the action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction (Jerry Vaughn, et al. v. Bay Environmental Management, Inc., et al., No. 05-17100, 9th Cir.; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 20063).