Employer Recapture of ERISA Contributions Made by Mistake: A Federal Common Law Remedy To Prevent Unjust Enrichment

This Note investigates more fully the policies animating ERISA in order to ascribe an appropriate construction to the mistaken contribution section. Part I analyzes the Ninth Circuit\u27s anomalous implied cause of action theory. Searching the legislative history as well as ERISA\u27s language and structure, this Part finds lacking the requisite expression of congressional intent to support a statutorily implied remedy. As an alternative, Part II explores the appropriateness of common law relief. Part II defends the creation of common law relief by the federal courts as consistent with the direct and indirect evidence suggesting that Congress envisioned judicial supplementation of BRISA. BRISA generally seeks the protection of employees\u27 interests. Part III identifies two subcomponents that comprise this goal: expansion of private pension coverage and protection of pension fund assets. Recognizing the potential tensions between these considerations, Part III argues that letting employers recoup overpayments optimizes achievement of both goals. Part IV contends that this remedy should be typed an unjust enrichment action. This Note embraces an equitable model for the recovery of mistaken payments, capturing both statutory and traditional equitable concerns. Each of the circuits which permit recovery, whether under the statute or common law, make equitable balancing the touchstone of their analysis. Part IV canvasses a range of considerations that bear on the refund decision and assesses their comparative weight

The Bank of Gallipolis: its place in national banking history

In his 1842 report concerning the failure of the Bank of Gallipolis, Ohio Bank Commissioner Bela Latham blamed its demise on “overissue” stemming from an 1839 Board of Directors’ resolution giving carte blanche powers to M.B. Sherwood in consultation with E.E. Smith and A.H. Scoville.1 By passing the resolution, the Directors inadvertently opened the door to fiscal folly. In some respect, the Bank of Gallipolis was doomed to fail even before it began operations in August 1839. The failure of the Bank of Gallipolis holds more significance than that of the greatest monetary loss to befall the citizens of Ohio due to a bank failure between 1831-1844.2 The Bank of Gallipolis serves as an example of an institution that generated the kinds of problems that could befall Americans because of the absence of the Second Bank of the United States. Without the restraining influence of the Second Bank, dishonest individuals, like the officers of the Bank of Gallipolis, could recklessly issue outrageous amounts of bank notes without limitations, leaving the citizens of the United States to suffer for want of a stable currency

POPULATION DYNAMICS AND GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION OF THE THREATENED FRESHWATER MUSSEL SPECIES FUSCONAIA ASKEWI, FUSCONAIA LANANENSIS, AND PLEUROBEMA RIDDELLII

North America has the most diverse freshwater mussel fauna in the world with approximately 300 species; unfortunately, extinction rates for freshwater mussels rivals the rates of many other groups of organisms. Population-level natural life history data is essential in the management of species of conservation concern, yet basic information about freshwater mussel life-history and demographic traits are unknown for many species. To further complicate matters, taxonomic uncertainty exists among some members of the group. The work detailed herein had two goals: to gain further understanding of the taxonomic relationship between Fusconaia lananensis and F. askewi by sequencing genes that had not been previously examined for these species, genes 16S and ITS1, and collect data on the population size, density, and structure for both F. askewi and F. lananensis, as well as for Pleurobema riddellii, all of which are classified as state threatened in Texas. The second goal was accomplished via qualitative analysis of data from 0.25 m2 quadrats and through mark-recapture studies at field sites where the highest densities of these species have been recorded. Specifically, quadrat surveys were conducted at seven mark-recapture sites in the Neches, Sabine, and Angelina Rivers during the summers of 2014 and 2015. In terms of my genetic analysis, data collected from the 16S gene has provided additional support that F. askewi and F. lananensis are one single species, as recently proposed by other researchers. Data collected from the ITS1 gene showed no genetic differentiation between F. askewi, F. lananensis, and F. flava, though recently published research indicates that there is low genetic variation within the ITS1 gene for several different species found in genus Fusconaia. Sites on the Neches and Angelina Rivers had significantly higher recapture rates between 2014 and 2015 than sites on the Sabine River, likely because of a flooding event that occurred in the Sabine River during that time. The largest population estimate for a F. askewi population was 302±26.72 in 2015 within the 25 m area while the largest population estimate for a P. riddellii population was 101±4.99 in 2015 within the 25 m area. Fewer juvenile P. riddellii were detected than F. askewi, leading to left-skewed size class distributions for P. riddellii. As conservation efforts for freshwater mussels increase, continued analysis of established freshwater mussel populations will be crucial

Macaronesia Acts as a Museum of Genetic Diversity of Relict Ferns: The Case of Diplazium caudatum (Athyriaceae)

Macaronesia has been considered a refuge region of the formerly widespread subtropical lauroid flora that lived in Southern Europe during the Tertiary. The study of relict angiosperms has shown that Macaronesian relict taxa preserve genetic variation and revealed general patterns of colonization and dispersal. However, information on the conservation of genetic diversity and range dynamics rapidly diminishes when referring to pteridophytes, despite their dominance of the herbaceous stratum in the European tropical palaeoflora. Here we aim to elucidate the pattern of genetic diversity and phylogeography of Diplazium caudatum, a hypothesized species of the Tertiary Palaeotropical flora and currently with its populations restricted across Macaronesia and disjunctly in the Sierras de Algeciras (Andalusia, southern Iberian Peninsula). We analysed 12 populations across the species range using eight microsatellite loci, sequences of a region of plastid DNA, and carry out species-distribution modelling analyses. Our dating results confirm the Tertiary origin of this species. The Macaronesian archipelagos served as a refuge during at least the Quaternary glacial cycles, where populations of D. caudatum preserved higher levels of genetic variation than mainland populations. Our data suggest the disappearance of the species in the continent and the subsequent recolonization from Macaronesia. The results of the AMOVA analysis and the indices of clonal diversity and linkage disequilibrium suggest that D. caudatum is a species in which inter-gametophytic outcrossing predominates, and that in the Andalusian populations there was a shift in mating system toward increased inbreeding and/or clonality. The model that best explains the genetic diversity distribution pattern observed in Macaronesia is, the initial and recurrent colonization between islands and archipelagos and the relatively recent diversification of restricted area lineages, probably due to the decrease of favorable habitats and competition with lineages previously established. This study extends to ferns the concept of Macaronesia archipelagos as refugia for genetic variation

Corallorhiza odontorhiza Nutt.

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/16623/thumbnail.jp

Seedling Emergence from Seed Banks in Ludwigia hexapetala-Invaded Wetlands: Implications for Restoration

Soil seed banks play a critical role in the maintenance of wetland plant communities and contribute to revegetation following disturbances. Analysis of the seed bank can therefore inform restoration planning and management. Emergence from seed banks may vary in response to hydrologic conditions and sediment disturbances. To assess the community-level impact of exotic Ludwigia hexapetala on soil seed banks, we compared differences in species composition of standing vegetation among invaded and non-invaded wetlands and the degree of similarity between vegetation and soil seed banks in northern California. To determine potential seed bank recruitment of L. hexapetala and associated plant species, we conducted a seedling emergence assay in response to inundation regime (drawdown vs. flooded) and sediment depth (surface vs. buried). Plant species richness, evenness, and Shannon’s H’ diversity were substantially lower in standing vegetation at L. hexapetala invaded sites as compared to non-invaded sites. Over 12 months, 69 plant taxa germinated from the seed banks, including L. hexapetala and several other exotic taxa. Seedling density varied among sites, being the highest (10,500 seedlings m−2) in surface sediments from non-invaded sites subjected to drawdown treatments. These results signal the need for invasive plant management strategies to deplete undesirable seed banks for restoration success

House Plants

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Development of a Molecular Identification Key for the Freshwater Mussels of East Texas

This poster was presented at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/student_posters/1009/thumbnail.jp