ERISA Litigation Against Service Providers

Seyfarth Shaw ERISA attorneys Ian Morrison and Violet Borowski wrote an interesting blog post about what they describe as a discernible growth in lawsuits "filed by (or on behalf of) ERISA plans (sometimes class actions) against investment providers for charging excessive fees or otherwise gleaning improper profits from investments used in ERISA plans."

What they point out as noteworthy is the fact that the plans' fiduciaries frequently have no involvement in filing a complaint against a service provider(s) since several courts have allowed plan participants to seek redress without getting permission or even having an obligation to inform a company sponsor. 

At first blush, they offer that this situation may seem benign and possibly even helpful to a sponsor if the result of litigation against a service provider(s) results in reduced costs for everyone. The plot thickens however if a participant's complaint and related discovery later leads to legal scrutiny of a plan's fiduciaries, alleging that they knew about problems but did little or nothing to rectify a "bad" situation.

Attorneys Morrison and Borowski point out the challenges that fiduciaries must confront when a participant(s) files a lawsuit.

• "Do they join with the service provider on the theory that a common defense is the best defense?
• Should they join the participant plaintiffs in attacking the provider and at the same time potentially implicating themselves?
• Or, should they remain on the sidelines, potentially risking being sued for taking no post-litigation action to recover for the provider's alleged breach?"

According to "Wait, You Mean My Plan Is A Plaintiff?" (May 24, 2012), attorneys Morrison and Borowski suggest that plan sponsors set up Google alerts to track any lawsuits that involve a company's benefit plan(s).

As an expert who has been involved in service provider cases, Dr. Susan Mangiero adds that a good offense is to conduct a comprehensive review of agreements on a regular basis. Should litigation occur and an expert is engaged, that person(s) will likely have to review whatever communications were provided to plan participants during the relevant time period as well as the contracts between the plan sponsor and a vendor(s). Another prescriptive course of action is to ensure that communications are robust, especially now with new fee disclosure rules in place.

Source: http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/PensionRiskMatters/~3/rTDrhjEWjGA/

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