<nobr>Aug 30, 2007</nobr>

ERIC Submits Amicus Brief in "Employer Stock Drop" Case

Lively v. Dynegy Inc.

ERIC August 14 submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit an amicus brief on behalf of the appellants in Lively v. Dynegy. Lively is an ERISA "employer stock drop" case wherein plaintiffs, in a class action, filed suit derivatively on behalf of the plan to recover investment losses allegedly sustained by the drop in value of Dynegy stock.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois certified the class for a claim alleging that corporate and plan defendants breached an ERISA duty of prudence by allowing 401(k) plan participants to invest in employer stock, but the Seventh Circuit granted Dynegy's petition for review of the class certification.

ERIC argues in the brief that the case and others like it threaten to transform fiduciary responsibility into a high-wire act, and how the fiduciaries of plans that invest in employer stock are vulnerable to lawsuits second-guessing their judgment no matter what they do. ERIC decided to file the brief because Lively is a case of exceptional importance, with the potential for far-reaching effects on employee benefit plan design and administration.


Websites:

ERIC Amicus Brief in Lively v. Dynegy Inc.

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