Murphy prevailed on behalf of AXA in a high-profile dispute closely watched by the mutual fund industry and broader financial community
On September 1 The American Lawyer recognized Securities Litigation partner Sean Murphy as “Litigator of the Week.” He received the honor for securing a major victory for AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (“AXA”) and AXA Equitable Funds Management Group LLC (“FMG”) in a precedent-setting case involving “excessive fees” for the first case of the pending “managers of managers” cases to proceed to trial. As one of many “manager of managers” lawsuits brought against mutual fund investment advisers, the plaintiffs, who sought more than $550 million in damages, alleged that AXA had delegated substantially all of its management and administrative services to sub-advisers and a sub-administrator while retaining most of the fees.
The long-awaited decision was issued on August 25 by Judge Peter Sheridan of the United States District Court of New Jersey and was the first case under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 to go to trial since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Jones v. Harris. In an extensive, 159-page opinion, the Court found for AXA and FMG, dismissing the action with prejudice. In reaching its decision, the Court questioned the credibility of Plaintiffs’ expert witnesses, found that Plaintiffs had not satisfied their burden of proof on any factor and endorsed the mutual funds’ board’s review of Defendants’ fees as “robust.”
The trial, which lasted 25 days, was tried by Mr. Murphy, Robert Hora and James Cavoli. The team also included associates Andrea Hood, James Whooley, Benjamin Reed, Nikki Nielson, Jillian Trezza, Michael Mirdamadi and Rita Ganguli.
Read The American Lawyer’s article here.
