United States Ninth Circuit

In this ERISA action alleging that defendants breached their fiduciary duties in the management and administration of an employee welfare benefit plan, summary judgment in favor of defendants is: 1) affirmed as to summary judgment on the claim that defendants breached their duty to hold plan assets in trust, where, under 29 U.S.C. section 1103, a person must hold legal title to the assets of an employee benefit plan with the intent to deal with these assets solely for the benefit of the members of that plan; and 2) reversed as to summary judgment on the claim that defendants breached their fiduciary duties by engaging in unlawful self-dealing, where the plan administrator's practice of paying its own fees and expenses from the plan's assets was a prohibited transaction and therefore a breach of its fiduciary duty.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/07/2015
• Published 04/07/2015

Judges

• Ikuta

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel