Court says 401(k) participants can sue

[question everything]

Source: Yahoo News

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that individual participants in the most common type of retirement plan can sue under a pension protection law to recover their losses. The unanimous decision has implications for 50 million workers with $2.7 trillion invested in 401(k) retirement plans.

James LaRue of Southlake, Texas, said the value of his stock market holdings plunged $150,000 when administrators at his retirement plan failed to follow his instructions to switch to safer investments.

(snip)

Justice John Paul Stevens, in his opinion for the court, said that such lawsuits are allowed. "Fiduciary misconduct need not threaten the solvency of the entire plan to reduce benefits below the amount that participants would otherwise receive," Stevens said. The decision overturned a ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.

(snip)

The Bush administration argued in support of workers. The government said the appeals court ruling barring LaRue's lawsuit would leave 401(k) participants without a meaningful remedy from any federal, state or local court when plan administrators fail to live up to their duties. Business groups supported LaRue's employer. They argued that ERISA is aimed at encouraging employers to set up pension plans, while guarding against administrative abuses involving the plan as a whole. The law doesn't permit individual lawsuits like LaRue's, the business groups said.

The case is LaRue v. DeWolff, 06-856.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080220/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_pension

[strategery blunder]

1. Is today Opposite Day?

The bu$h* maladministration day and the SCOTUS siding WITH workers for once? :spray: