Obama-Era DOL Fiduciary Rule Scores Rare Win in Texas Court

U.S. district courts in Texas have been the death knell for many Barack Obama-era regulations and executive orders -- immigration reform and a new overtime rule among the most prominent -- but yesterday (Feb. 8) a U.S. district judge in Texas beat back a challenge by the insurance industry against the Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule. The irony is that the new president and Obama successor, Donald Trump, appears to be dead set against the fiduciary rule and has already ordered it delayed by 180 days from its implementation date of April 7, 2017. The rule would require those who give retirement savings plan advice -- and sell retirement savings instruments -- to put their clients' best interest above their own self-interest, that is, not to push plans that provide them the greatest commissions. In yesterday's decision, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn denied the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, and upheld the DOL’s motion for summary judgment, in an 81-page opinion. The case was U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. DOL, which was consolidated with lawsuits by  the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council (“IALC”) and the American Council of Life Insurers (“ACLI”).