The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and industry groups suing the Labor Department over its fiduciary rule in a Texas court filed an emergency request Friday asking a judge to stop the rule from taking effect while they take their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn, in her Feb. 8 decision upholding Labor's fiduciary rule, said Congress "gave DOL broad discretion" to protect retirement investors. But the nine plaintiffs suing Labor over its fiduciary rule in a Texas court — which includes the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association as well as the Financial Services Institute — appealed Lynn's decision on Feb. 25. 

"Absent immediate relief, the fiduciary rule will bring about the most sweeping changes to the retirement savings system since the adoption of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA")—even as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals examines whether the rule is lawful and the Department of Labor considers whether to revise or rescind it," Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Eugene Scalia wrote in court papers. "The rule would require a wholesale reordering of the financial-services and insurance industries."