Art Marrapese, chair of the Employee Benefits Practice Area, recently had his “ERISA Exhaustion Defense Still Viable in Some Jurisdictions” article published by Law360. The article addresses the viability of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) claims exhaustion doctrine as a defense in lawsuits alleging fiduciary breaches and other ERISA statutory violations. The article says:
“Defending ERISA breach claims on the grounds that the plaintiff has failed to exhaust plan administrative remedies is a viable litigation strategy in the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits, and may be worth asserting in a case arising in the First, Second and Eight Circuits, which do not appear to have ruled out the defense.”
“The advantages of defending an ERISA breach case based on the exhaustion doctrine could be significant in light of the deferential review standard that typically applies to judicial review of an administrator’s decision, and the limited scope of discovery associated with judicial review of administrative decisions.”
Read the full article here.