Previously, I wrote about potential litigation under the
Department of Labor's then proposed fiduciary rule (see
Expect Focus, Vol. II, 2015). I predicted the following as to
sales of index annuities to IRAs if the rule was adopted as
proposed:
"From a litigation perspective, this change to a fiduciary
status for the sales agent is substantial and in many cases will
afford litigants unhappy with investment results, or the ultimate
characteristics of a particular form of annuity, the opportunity to
second-guess the original decision applying a significant range of
issues."
Over the next several months, we will provide comments and
further predictions regarding risks of, and defenses for, potential
litigation under the revised, "temporary" DOL rule and
its progeny as both the debates and the DOL's review of the
rule continue. Given the amount of ink that has been (and continues
to be) dedicated to this subject, our observations will assume
readers have a
