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ARTICLE · 15 JUNE 2021

Is Data A Plan Asset: Another Court Says No

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Last week marked a key development in the nascent and still evolving body of case law addressing the status of 401(k) plan participant data as an ERISA "plan asset."

United StatesEmployment and HR
Thomas Roberts
Thomas Roberts
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Last week marked a key development in the nascent and still evolving body of case law addressing the status of 401(k) plan participant data as an ERISA "plan asset." On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, The U.S. District Court for Southern District of Texas granted Fidelity Investments' dismissal motion in Harmon v. Shell Oil (Case No. 3:20-cv-00021), based on the Court's inability to draw a conclusion that plan participant data is a "plan asset," the exercise of control over which would give rise to fiduciary responsibility (and potential liability) under ERISA.

The Shell Oil plaintiffs' ERISA claims against Fidelity were premised in their entirety on an allegation that various elements of plan participant information - names, income levels, social security numbers, contribution levels and investment holdings, etc. and information regarding distribution eligibility "triggering events" (collectively, "participant data") - should be regarded, in and of itself, as a "plan

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