NAIFA, ACLI File Third Lawsuit Against DOL

Editor's Note: Check our DOL Rule page for updates, as we will be breaking down all four complaints and getting expert opinion.

• The chamber suit's eight counts.
• The ACLI/NAIFA suit's six counts.
• DOL says litigants are suing for "their own financial self-interests."

The Department of Labor was sued for a third time in a week Wednesday over its controversial fiduciary rule.

This time, the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) teamed to filed a 105-page lawsuit. Like the first lawsuit, filed by nine trade organizations and led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the ACLI/NAIFA complaint was filed in U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas.

The ACLI-NAIFA litigation complaint makes similar claims. The three main legal points are:

• The rule is arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.
• The rule fails to provide notice and comment on changes made to different types of annuities.
• The rule violates First Amendment protections for non-fiduciary sales persons to provide accurate, non-misleading commercial speech about retirement products.

A second lawsuit was filed in District of Columbia District Court by the National Association for Fixed Annuities. According to court documents, the court will hold a hearing at 2 p.m. on Aug. 25 regarding NAFA's request for a preliminary injunction.

Industry analysts say the Texas court is a more conservative and favorable venue for opponents who seek to delay the rule into the next administration.

"ACLI and NAIFA believe it is essential that all Americans receive the financial advice they want and need about managing savings in their 401(k)s, IRAs and other retirement plans," said President/CEO Dirk Kempthorne and NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux in a joint statement. "ACLI and NAIFA support responsible and balanced regulations that protect the interests of retirement consumers. But the regulation is neither reasonable nor balanced. It has become clear that it will harm the very people it is meant to help."

The trade organizations are represented by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, a Washington, D.C. law firm. David W. Ogden, former U.S. deputy attorney general from 2009-10, is the lead attorney. Ogden chairs Wilmer Hale's Government and Regulatory Litigation Practice Group.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected].

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.