On August 17th, United States District Judge Jane Boyle granted the Plaintiffs request and remanded the case of Sawaged vs. Indianapolis Life, et al. back to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County.
Like many others, this case concerns the promotion, marketing, and sale of life insurance policies used to fund a defined pension plan pursuant to 26 U.S.C § 412(i) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Indianapolis Life removed the case from the New Jersey state court on a theory of complete preemption under ERISA. Specifically, Indy Life claimed that certain of Plaintiffs' allegations pertaining to misconduct following plan formation can be recharacterized as claims for breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA §§ 502(a)(2) and (a)(3). The court specifically rejected this argument.
Additionally, the court found that "although admittedly failure to file form 8886 may have been undertaken in a fiduciary capacity, the Court determines that it is an isolated allegation which is insufficient to support a finding of complete preemption."
For more information or to request a copy of the opinion, contact Chris Hellums at Chrish@pittmandutton.com
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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