Supreme Court Decision Alert - April 21, 2010

Originally published April 21, 2010

Keywords: Supreme Court, ERISA, employee pension plans, plan administrator, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, FDCPA, debt collector

Today the Supreme Court issued two decisions, described below, of interest to the business community.

• ERISA—Deference to Plan Administrator's Interpretation—Standard of Review
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act—Bona Fide Error Defense

ERISA—Deference to Plan Administrator's Interpretation—Standard of Review

Conkright v. Frommert, No. 08-810 (previously discussed in the June 29, 2009 Docket Report)

Many employee pension plans are regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq. ERISA permits plan participants to file an action in federal court if they are aggrieved by a decision of the plan administrator. The default rule under ERISA is that the administrator's interpretation of a plan, including benefit determinations under that