ERISA Plan Participants Cannot Proceed As A Class In Challenging EpiPen Prices

Four ERISA plan participants, who participated in four different ERISA plans, commenced an ERISA class action against four of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), alleging that the PBMs breached their fiduciary duties by failing to ensure that the plaintiffs and other plan participants received the benefit of discounts that the PBMs had negotiated with Mylan Pharmaceuticals, a company that markets and sells EpiPens. As a result of the alleged breaches, the plan participants argued that they were forced to pay excessive prices for EpiPens through their respective plans.

In a blow to the plaintiffs' case, a federal judge in Minnesota recently denied their motion for class certification of four nationwide classes—one class for each PBM. In so ruling, the court concluded that class certification was not appropriate because plaintiffs could not satisfy Rule 23's commonality requirement. The court determined that it would need to examine the terms of each