By: Derek Hawkins//February 1, 2016//
US Supreme Court
Case Name: Amgen Inc. v. Harris
Case No.: 15-278
Practice Area: Breach of Fiduciary Duty
9th Circuit court fails to properly evaluate complaint.
“The Court now holds that the Ninth Circuit failed to properly evaluate the complaint. That court explained that its previous opinion (that is, the one it issued before Fifth Third was decided) “had already assumed” the standards for ERISA fiduciary liability laid out by this Court in Fifth Third. 788 F. 3d, at 940. And it reasoned that the complaint at issue here satisfies those standards because when “the federal securities laws require disclosure of material information,” it is “quite plausible” that removing the Amgen Common Stock Fund “from the list of investment options” would not “caus[e] undue harm to plan participants.” Id., at 937–938. The Ninth Circuit, however, failed to assess whether the complaint in its current form “has plausibly alleged” that a prudent fiduciary in the same position “could not have concluded” that the alternative action “would do more harm than good.” Fifth Third, supra, at ___ (slip op., at 20).”
Reversed and Remanded