A 2-1 Fifth Circuit panel vacated the district court’s certification of an ERISA case as a class action today in Langbecker v. Electronic Data Systems Corp., No. 04-41760 (5th Cir. Jan. 18, 2007). The lawsuit involves claims that fiduciaries of an EDS 401(k) plan improperly required beneficiaries to purchase EDS common stock through the plan after the stock became an imprudent investment. The district court, the majority held, had not sufficiently appreciated intraclass conflicts and other barriers to class treatment. Judge Thomas Reavley authored a strong dissent.
The court has not yet posted the opinion on its website, but you can read it here.
Note: Blawgletter represents a party to the case.
Update: Opinion now available on court’s website here.
Further update: See Jerry Kalish’s post re Blawgletter post in The Retirement Plan Blog here
