Unique ERISA Rule Should Be Rethought, 11th Circuit Judges Say

A dispute over a seafood company’s employee stock ownership plan was properly rejected under a unique ERISA rule applied by the Eleventh Circuit, but two of the court’s judges want to see that rule overturned.

A three-judge panel on Wednesday largely upheld the dismissal of litigation over Inland Fresh Seafood Corp. of America’s ESOP, because the workers who filed suit didn’t first exhaust their administrative remedies under the plan. Binding precedent from the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit requires plaintiffs bringing fiduciary breach claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to first exhaust their claims internally, ...