Partners James McElligott and Bruce Steen were speakers at the BNA webinar titled “Cigna v. Amara: What Equitable Monetary Remedies Now Exist” held on July 6. McElligott and Steen discussed the U.S. Supreme Court decision, which reversed the broad ERISA class remedies imposed by lower courts in a landmark ruling that threatens to change the rules on monetary damages awarded against plan fiduciaries (ERISA Section 502(a)(3)). Topics included: the scope of benefits claims under plan terms after Amara, implications of the ruling that summary plan descriptions cannot be enforced as plan terms under ERISA, the Supreme Court’s discussion of equitable remedies and whether it is binding on the Supreme Court and lower courts, the prerequisites for obtaining relief under ERISA, how Amara impacts class action litigation, and what steps employers and ERISA fiduciaries should take to help avoid liability after Amara.
This webinar was summarized in BNA’s Daily Pension & Benefits Reporter on July 7, in an article titled “Attorneys Predict Amara Will Spawn More Litigation Regarding Fiduciary Status.”
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