"Because the owner had full control over the company finances, he was personally responsible for making the required contributions. Moreover, he signed a promissory note for some $360,000 in payments that the company had failed to make. Then he filed bankruptcy.... The court noted that fiduciary status should not be imposed unless the individual is clearly aware of his status, and that a typical employer never has sufficient control over a plan asset to make it a fiduciary. The court further held that, no matter how one described the supposed 'asset' -- a right to collect payments, unpaid past-due contributions, or amounts that must be paid but are not yet due -- an employer did not have sufficient control over that asset to make it a fiduciary." [Bos v. Board of Trustees, No. 13-15604 (9th Cir. July 30, 2015)]  MORE >>