The effective-vindication doctrine prevents enforcement of an arbitration provision “if it ‘operate[s] as a prospective waiver of a party’s right to pursue statutory remedies,’ including a prohibition on ‘the assertion of certain statutory rights.’”
A divided Ninth Circuit panel affirmed a district court’s denial of an employer’s motion to compel arbitration in a case in which an employee sued an employer on behalf of a retirement-savings plan, alleging that the fiduciaries mismanaged the plan’s investments. The employer moved to compel arbitration of the employee’s suit, asserting that the employee was bound by an arbitration requirement adopted by the plan. However, the appeals court concluded that the plan’s representative-action waiver was not enforceable under the effective-vindication doctrine. Accordingly, the judgment of the district court was affirmed. Judge VanDyke filed a separate dissenting opinion (Pover v. The Capital Group Companies, Inc., No. 24-5298 (9th Cir. July 30, 2026)).
Retirement plan. The employer is a global asset manager that sponsors a retirement plan for its employees. The plan allows each participant to maintain an individual account funded by contributions from each participant and the employer, as well as the participant’s investment earnings. The participants may direct how their individual accounts are invested by selecting from a menu of investment options provided by the plan. The employer collects a transaction fee from the investment...
Acting Cebu City Prosecutor Jo-ana Marie Desuyo charged Cebu-based businessman Mark Y. Yu with perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code over false statements in an affidavit accusing t...