United States Third Circuit

Summary judgment for defendant on plaintiff's claims that defendant breached its fiduciary duty of loyalty under ERISA when it chose to pay her life insurance benefits using a retained asset account, which allowed defendant to hold onto the benefits and invest them for its own profit until plaintiff affirmatively chose to withdraw them from the account, is affirmed, where: 1) plaintiff has constitutional and statutory standing; 2) defendant acted as a fiduciary when it chose to pay plaintiff using the SecureLine Account for the alternative reason that this action involved exercising authority and control over plan assets; but 3) defendant did not breach its fiduciary duties when it exercised its discretion to pay plaintiff with a retained asset account; and 4) the retained assets were not plan assets, and thus, defendant's conduct was not constrained by ERISA's duty of loyalty.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/07/2013
• Published 08/07/2013

Judges

• SCIRICA

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel