( September 23, 2026, 11:14 AM EDT) -- NEW ORLEANS — Ahead of Sept. 24 oral argument before the en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the third-party administrator (TPA) of group health plans responded to an amicus curiae brief in which the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) urges a ruling “that surcharge is an equitable remedy in suits brought under” the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and the appellate court granted the DOL’s request to participate in the argument....