Calfee Litigation Partner David Bules and Employee Benefits Associate Nicolette Cregan Presented the "ERISA Litigation Update" at the WEB Annual Meeting on March 13, 2025

On March 13, 2025, Calfee Litigation/ERISA Litigation Partner David T. Bules and Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Associate Attorney Nicolette T.E. Cregan co-presented the "ERISA Litigation Update" at the Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) Northeast Ohio Chapter's Annual Legal and Regulatory Update in Cleveland, Ohio.

The presentation covered ERISA litigation trends, retirement plan cases, and welfare plan cases, including the following:

• Litigation Trends in 2024: 100+ new ERISA cases filed in 2024, and the average settlement amount last year was double the average amount in 2022.
• Retirement plan cases:
  • Excessive fees – pleading standards for prohibited transactions (case study: Cunningham v. Cornell University) and pleading standards for breaches of duty of prudence (case study: Johnson v. Parker-Hannifin Corp.)
  • 401(k) Forfeiture litigation
  • Environmental, social and governance (ESG) litigation (case studies: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc. and State of Utah v. Micone)
  • Pension risk transfer litigation
• Welfare plan litigation (case study: Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson)

Contact David Bules for additional information on the presentation topics.

WEB chapters offer educational events for opportunities to learn more about employee benefit trends, design, compliance and services, and networking events. Learn more about WEB.

Since 1974, when Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (commonly known as ERISA), Calfee lawyers have counseled clients regarding various related litigation issues. Because ERISA governs myriad types of employee benefit plans including pension, profit sharing, 401(k), ESOP, life insurance, long- and short-term disability, medical expense reimbursement, health care, and severance, our lawyers’ experiences in this regard are diverse.

We have represented plan sponsors and administrators, third-party administrators, claims administrators, plan fiduciaries, trustees, participants, beneficiaries, and non-fiduciary plan service providers in connection with ERISA litigation matters.

Our services have included the prosecution and defense of claims for breach of ERISA fiduciary duties, benefit denial claims, prohibited transaction claims, subrogation claims, and ERISA Section 510 discrimination claims. We have handled ERISA matters in federal and state courts. We also have counseled clients with respect to Department of Labor investigations and Internal Revenue Service proceedings relating to ERISA.

We also have advised clients with respect to litigation trends associated with ERISA-related issues, including monitoring plan investments and fees as well as litigation risks arising out of ESOP transactions.

Given ERISA’s comprehensive and constantly evolving nature, it is often unclear whether and how ERISA applies to a particular situation. Because the rules and procedures applicable to litigation under ERISA frequently differ from those applicable to non-ERISA litigation (and many times in an advantageous way for a plan sponsor or fiduciary), it is important for any business or person that is involved with an employee benefit plan to understand ERISA’s scope and effect.

Since 2008, Calfee has been recognized as a Leading Law Firm for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation by Chambers USA, most recently in Band 2 in Ohio (2024).