In a noteworthy subprime-related litigation development, on August 5, 2009, the parties to the Countrywide ERISA action filed a stipulation of settlement (here), together with a request for preliminary court approval. Under the stipulation, the case is to be settled by a payment of $55 million, to be funded entirely by Countrywide’s fiduciary
Defense Prevails in Tellabs ERISA Stock Drop Case
A frequent securities class action lawsuit accompaniment is a companion ERISA stock drop lawsuit brought on behalf of employee participants in the defendant company’s benefit plan. These ERISA lawsuits have in recent years resulted in a string of impressive settlements, although the plaintiffs have not fared as well in the few cases that have actually
Subprime-Related ERISA Suits: Facing Skepticism?
Along with the flood of securities lawsuits, the current credit crisis has also generated a wave of litigation under ERISA, as I have detailed here. And just as many of the credit crisis-related securities cases have failed to survive preliminary judicial scrutiny (as noted recently here), at least some of the ERISA cases
Dismissal Denied in Subprime-Related ERISA Action
In a subprime-related lawsuit that highlights the advantages ERISA claimants may have over litigants seeking relief under the securities laws, a federal court has refused to dismiss the complaint filed under ERISA on behalf of benefits plan participants of NovaStar Financial.
In an opinion dated February 11, 2009 (here), Judge Nanette K.
Now, Madoff-Related ERISA Litigation
In a case demonstrating the range of both the potential legal theories and the prospective litigants that could become involved in Madoff-related litigation, a pension fund has filed an ERISA class action against an investment advisory firm for the advisory firm’s investment of the pension fund’s assets in a Madoff "feeder fund."
On February
First the Home Loan Workout, Then the Investor Lawsuit?
On November 11, 2008, Citigroup (here) and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (here) announced plans to modify existing home loans in an attempt to help borrowers avoid further foreclosures.
These mortgage relief efforts unquestionably are constructive, even praiseworthy. But as noted on the Real Time Economics blog (here)
Headline News: Settlements, Lawsuits, Dismissals
About the UnitedHealth Group Class Action Settlement: UnitedHealth Group announced on July 2, 2008 (here) that it reached an agreement to settle its high profile options backdating-related securities class action lawsuit for $895 million. A July 3, 2008 Law.com article discussing the settlement can be found here.
Not only is this
Fiduciary Liability: Seventh Circuit Upholds Arthur Anderson’s Insurer’s Coverage Denial
In an April 9, 2008 opinion (here) written by Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook, the Seventh Circuit held that there was no coverage under Arthur Anderson’s fiduciary liability policy for the firm’s settlement of a retiree pension benefits dispute.
The dispute arose after the firm’s Enron-related difficulties undercut the firm’s ability to honor
Subprime-Related Derivative Lawsuits: The List
Regular readers know that I have been tracking subprime-related class-action lawsuits (here). In a recent post, I noted my interest in trying to develop a similar list of subprime-related derivative lawsuits. In response to my request, a number of readers supplied helpful information, and as a result I have been able to develop
The LaRue Decision: ERISA Liability and Insurance Issues
On February 20, 2008, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous holding (here) in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates that ERISA authorizes individual defined contribution plan participants to sue for fiduciary breaches that impair the value of plan assets in the individual’s plan account. This holding could have important implications for