LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc.

Summary

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied rehearing and rehearing en banc in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc., while granting the Secretary of Labor leave to file an untimely amicus brief. The court rejected the Secretary’s broad interpretation of ERISA § 502(a)(2), holding that the provision authorizes recovery for losses to an ERISA plan rather than purely individual losses.

Holdings

1. ERISA § 502(a)(2), through its incorporation of § 409, authorizes relief for losses to the plan and requires a claim to be brought in a representative capacity on behalf of the plan as a whole; it does not authorize an individual beneficiary’s claim for personal damages based solely on an individual loss.
2. The Secretary’s interpretation, under which any individual claim legally related to a plan would constitute a plan loss, is inconsistent with the text of ERISA § 502(a)(2), the representative-capacity requirement, and Supreme Court precedent.
3. The petition for rehearing and the petition for rehearing en banc are denied.

Questions Presented

1. Whether ERISA § 502(a)(2), incorporating § 409, permits an individual beneficiary to recover personal damages for an alleged fiduciary-duty breach that caused an individual loss rather than a loss to the plan as a whole.
2. Whether rehearing or rehearing en banc should be granted in light of the Secretary of Labor’s untimely amicus submission and the Secretary’s argument concerning the scope of ERISA § 502(a)(2).
3. Whether the Secretary of Labor should be permitted to file an amicus brief out of time in connection with a petition for rehearing.

Disposition

other