Wells Fargo, Ocwen Score Revised ERISA Mortgage Appeal Opinion

Ocwen Financial Corp. and Wells Fargo Bank NA successfully petitioned the Second Circuit to revise a decision reviving an ERISA lawsuit seeking to hold them liable for alleged pension losses tied to mortgage-backed securities.

The appeals court on Wednesday issued an amended version of its March opinion holding that some of the relevant pension investments were “equity interests” under federal regulations defining plan assets for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The revised opinion also clarifies that as equity interests they may not qualify as ERISA plan assets unless other conditions are satisfied—a change specifically requested by Wells ...