Managers and the Legal Environment 7th Edition by David Madsen, Constance Bagley

Exercise 4

Ernest Bins, who had worked for Exxon for fifteen years, heard rumors in the months before his retirement that the company was considering offering a lump-sum retirement incentive under the employee benefit plan covered by ERISA. In response to his inquiries, a benefits counselor and human resources adviser told Bins that they knew nothing about whether the rumor was true. Less than two weeks after Bins retired, Exxon publicly announced the very retirement incentive about which he had inquired. Bins sued, claiming that the company had breached its duties as an ERISA fiduciary in not disclosing the potential change in ERISA benefits to all employees who might be affected. Who should prevail? Did Exxon act ethically? [Bins v. Exxon Co. U.S.A., 189 F.3d 929 (9th Cir. 1999), reh'g en banc, 220 F.3d 1042 (9th Cir. 2000).]