Daily Case Update Archive

As a service to our members, we monitor opinions issued from the Ohio Supreme Court, the Ohio State First District Court of Appeals, and the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.  You can read the latest summaries or archived summaries from 2005 or 2006.

If you would like to receive a daily e-mail with same-day case updates, please join our Members-Only discussion list.  Not a member?  Join today!

January 28, 2008

Ohio Supreme Court | Ohio First District | U.S. 6th Circuit - Ohio | U.S. 6th Circuit - Other States
 

TOPICS:
- ERISA / Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
- Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act
- Federal Arbitration Act
- National Labor Relations Act
 

Ohio Supreme Court

 

No Opinions.
 

First District Court of Appeals

[Search Other Ohio Districts]
 

No Opinions.
 

U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals:  Ohio Cases

 

Tullis v. UMB Bank (January 28, 2008) (Appeal from N.D. OH)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0047p-06.pdf
-  This appeal raises the question of whether two physicians can sue to recover losses from a bank that allegedly failed to notify them of fraudulent activities affecting their ERISA-governed pension plans. The District Court for the Northern District of Ohio held that the two physicians did not have standing to bring their breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA because they sought individual damages * and not, as it deemed necessary, damages for the plan as a whole * from the defendant bank. Additionally, the plaintiffs argue in this appeal that an indemnity agreement between the Defendant and the ERISA-plan administrators contravenes 29 U.S.C. § 1110(a) by impermissibly shielding a fiduciary from liability. Finally, the defendant has filed a cross-appeal, contending that the District Court erred by dismissing, without prejudice instead of with prejudice, the plaintiffs’ improperly pled claims under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. We hold that the plain language and intent of ERISA permits an individual plan participant to seek recovery of losses due to a fiduciary breach. Because we hold that the plaintiffs have standing to pursue their claims under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(2), thereby permitting the case to proceed to the merits, we pretermit resolution of both the plaintiffs’ argument that the Master Trust Agreement contravenes 29 U.S.C. § 1110(a) and the defendant’s cross-appeal that the District Court erred by failing to dismiss the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act claims with prejudice.
 

U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals: Other States Cases

 

Dolan v. USA  (January 28, 2008) (Appeal from E.D. TN)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0048p-06.pdf
-  Plaintiff/Appellant, Thomas A. Dolan, appeals from the dismissal of tort claims against the United States and Bivens and common law conspiracy claims against individual defendants, Guy Blackwell, Randall Kizer, and Bruce Poston. The district court filed a memorandum opinion which may be found at 2007 WL 784351. After careful review, we AFFIRM.
 
Watson Wyatt & Co v. SBC Holdings Inc  (January 28, 2008) (Appeal from E.D. MI)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0049p-06.pdf
-  Watson Wyatt & Company (“Watson Wyatt”) appeals the district court’s order denying in part its petition to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 4. Because we find that the arbitration provision is broadly written to include claims arising from events that occurred before the execution of the arbitration agreement, we REVERSE.
 
UAW v. NLRB  (January 28, 2008) (Appeal from National Labor Relations Board )
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0050p-06.pdf
-  Petitioners International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), AFL-CIO (“the Union”), and individual Leo Andre Ahern seek review of the National Labor Relations Board (“the Board”) decision finding that Ogihara America Corporation (“the Company”) did not violate section 8(a)(1), (3) and (4) of the National Labor Relations Act (“the Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 158,2 by discharging petitioner Ahern. Specifically, petitioners challenge the Board’s determinations that: (1) employee Ahern lost the protection of the Act through his deliberate falsification; (2) the Company met its burden of showing that it would have discharged Ahern because of his falsification regardless of his union activity; and (3) petitioners did not meet their burden of establishing that Ahern’s discharge was related to his board testimony. For the following reasons, we deny the petition for review and enforce the Board’s order.
 

Daily Case Updates