"While judicial flexibility in favor of plaintiffs has been most apparent in how courts have applied the pleading standards to the wave of fee and performance claims that have plagued plan sponsors in recent years, this trend has also expanded into other areas of ERISA litigation ... with dramatic consequences for impacted employers.... As one particularly stark example of this phenomenon, last year, a federal court in Texas bent one important litigation rule -- the Constitution's 'standing' requirement -- and one important ERISA rule -- ERISA's statute of repose -- in such a way that will, if not corrected, force a plan sponsor -- in this case, BP -- to reform a cash balance plan conversion that occurred in 1989." [Guenther v. BP Retirement Accumulation Plan, No. 16-0995 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 28, 2024; on appeal to 5th Cir. No. 24-20551)]  MORE >>