A year after the Supreme Court decided CIGNA Corp. v. Amara, courts continue to weigh the impact of that decision, particularly the scope of the available remedies against breaching fiduciaries under ERISA’s "catch-all" provision, Section 502(a)(3), which authorizes "other appropriate equitable relief."

On September 26, 2012, Judge Hall of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut certified a class in an ERISA case alleging breach of fiduciary duty and prohibited transactions against an insurance company in connection with revenue sharing practices under group annuity contracts issued to administrators of defined contribution retirement plans.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court decision dismissing claims brought by a participant in a defined contribution plan against his employer for losses incurred when his plan account was transferred from a stable value fund to a life cycle fund that qualified as a QDIA.

On April 20, 2012, Judge Barbara Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a putative class action.

In "Lanfear v. Home Depot, Inc.", Case No. 10-13002 (11th Cir. May 8, 2012), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit adopted the presumption of prudence.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently rejected a breach of fiduciary duty claim.

In "McLemore v. Regions Bank", No. 10-5480 (6th Cir. June 8, 2012), a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that ERISA preempted state law.

On December 12, 2011 the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Stiefel Laboratories Inc. ("Stiefel Labs" or the "Company") and Stiefel Labs’ former chairman and CEO, with fraud in connection with the Company’s repurchases of its stock from employees and former employees between 2006 and 2009.

On December 5, 2011, the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Missouri preliminarily approved an agreement by the parties to settle the putative class action claims asserted by participants in Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s 401(k) plan.

In a much anticipated decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a stock-drop suit involving two 401(k) plans sponsored by Citigroup, Inc. ("Citigroup") entities.

On August 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the complaint in "Faber, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company".

On October 5, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in "In re Beacon Associates Litigation", 09-cv-777 (LBS) (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 5, 2010) issued a lengthy and complicated ruling on motions to dismiss the complaint in an action involving investments with Bernard Madoff made through a feeder fund (the "Fund").

In "Brown v. Medtronic, Inc., et al.", Case No. 09-2524 (8th Cir. Dec. 13, 2010), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a putative class action complaint filed by a former participant in an employee stock ownership plan sponsored by a medical device manufacturer (the "Sponsor").

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed an ERISA breach of fiduciary duty action alleging that an investment manager imprudently invested retirement plan assets in mortgage-backed securities.

On November 24, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio dismissed ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims arising from the continued holding of a bank’s stock in a 401(k) plan sponsored by the bank for its employees.