Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor v. Preston

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Section 1113(1)'s statute of repose in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 11131(a), is subject to express waiver. In this interlocutory appeal, the Eleventh Circuit was asked to answer a certified question regarding whether defendant was capable of expressly waiving the six-year statute of repose pursuant to section 1113(1). The court answered the certified question in the affirmative. The court reasoned that, because section 1113(1) does not erect a jurisdictional bar, it was presumptively waivable. Moreover, the court explained that there was no good reason to conclude that section 1113(1) cannot be expressly waived simply because it is a statute of repose. The court remanded for further proceedings. View "Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor v. Preston" on Justia Law