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more_legal_areas erisaERISA litigation involves a civil legal action to recover denied employee benefits against the specific employee benefit plan, as well as the fiduciaries of the plan. ERISA, or the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, is a body of federal laws that protect the participants in pension and welfare benefits programs that are provided by an employer or employer organization. Government, church, and foreign benefit plans are exempt from protection under ERISA law and are therefore unable to pursue ERISA litigation.
ERISA defines welfare benefits plans to include the following types of benefit coverage: death benefits, health benefits, disability benefits, scholarship funds, training benefits, prepaid legal services, vacation benefits, and other similar benefits that are provided by an employer or employer organization. Pension benefits plans are established and maintained to provide participants with retirement money.
ERISA litigation can be pursued when any benefits plan provider violates ERISA laws. ERISA litigation can be pursued in cases where a plan provider fails to properly report and disclose information about benefits plans to their respective participants.
Any breech of fiduciary duty on behalf of a plan provider also constitutes the pursuance of ERISA litigation. Benefits plan providers are required to consistently act in the best interest of plan participants, to tell the truth, properly disclose plan information in a Summary Plan Description, and to properly provide plan participants with due benefits.
ERISA litigation is a constantly changing, complex legal field. Since the original creation of ERISA, amendments have been passed to further protect the rights of benefits plan participants. The COBRA amendment protects participant benefits by allowing continued health coverage after particular circumstances such as job loss. The HIPAA amendment protects the rights of plan participants who may otherwise be discriminated against for existing medical conditions in health care coverage.
ERISA litigation allows plan participants who have been wrongly denied benefits to recover these benefits through civil legal action. Currently additional compensatory damages (such as pain and suffering) and punitive damages are not available though ERISA litigation. Class action suits are possible through ERISA litigation and can provide restitution in cases of breech of fiduciary duty. In addition to recovery of denied benefits, a victim may also be able to recover attorney fees and related costs of action if the plan provider violates ERISA litigation regulations.
ERISA litigation is facilitated by an Employee Benefits attorney who has extensive knowledge of ERISA and related laws. These qualified legal experts are in a position to best protect and maximize the interests of individuals who have been unjustly denied benefits. If you are interested in ERISA litigation, you may wish to speak to an attorney who can advise you of your legal rights and options in a case.
Enron Corp. has tentatively agreed to settle ERISA lawsuits over employee pension fund claims. Enron is the energy trader whose 2001 collapse resulted in corporate governance and accounting changes.
Under the proposed agreement, Enron woul...
A suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, charging Krispy Kreme executives “failed to manage prudently and loyally” the assets of the retirement plans “by continuing to offer the plans’ assets in the compa...
Conseco Inc., a Carmel, Indiana based insurer, has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by employees alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for stock losses related to the company’s 2002 ...