On May 16, 2011, the Supreme Court issued its long anticipated decision in CIGNA v. Amara, wherein it unanimously held that section 502(a)(1)(B) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (the section allowing a participant to sue for benefits under an ERISA plan) did not permit the district court to rewrite the terms of the benefit plan to reflect employee expectations arising from a summary plan description (SPD) because the SPD is not the "plan." The majority also found however, that other forms of equitable relief may be available to plan participants who are misled by an employer's communications regarding the plan and that there is no "standard" approach to determining whether someone was "harmed" by the communications—thus, expanding the potential for more class actions under ERISA coupled with potential employer liability for equitable awards where plan communications are misleading.
This program will highlight the most pressing plan administration and litigation issues for employers in the wake of the CIGNA decision and provide practical recommendations for handling those issues. Some of the key topics to be addressed include:
- A practical discussion of the Supreme Court's decision;
- The decision's impact on plan design, plan administration, and recommended best practices for communicating about benefits plans and changes to the same;
- The foreseeable impact on the types of claims asserted in benefits litigation, including claims for perceived injustices arising from communication errors;
- The potential remedies and likely judgments that employers may anticipate based on the Supreme Court's expansion of the lower court's discretion in awarding equitable relief under ERISA; and
- The decision's impact on ERISA class actions.
Susan Katz Hoffman, a shareholder in Littler's Philadelphia office and co-Chair of the firm's Benefits Litigation Practice Group; Daniel W. Srsic, a shareholder in Littler's Columbus office and experienced benefits litigation practitioner; and Allan G. King, a shareholder in Littler's Dallas office and co-Chair of the firm's Class Action Avoidance and Defense Practice Group, will present this program.
CLE and PHR/SPHR/GPHR pending approval.*
*The following states do not approve CLE credit for webinars: AL, AR, IN, IA, KS, LA, ND, OH, OK, PA and SC
For more information, please contact Keith Upton at 415.399.8450 or kupton@littler.com.
Speakers
