Key takeaway: The Supreme Court held that to state an ERISA prohibited-transaction claim under 29 U.S.C. § 1106(a), a plaintiff needs only to plausibly allege the elements contained in § 1106(a) itself and does not need to...more
4/21/2025
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pleading Standards ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rule 11 ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority
Key takeaway: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to address the pleading standards for prohibited-transaction claims under 29 U.S.C. § 1106(a).
On October 4, 2024, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Cunningham v....more
On June 7, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Jack Daniel’s Properties v. VIP Products, reversing the Ninth Circuit and holding in favor of the owner of the Jack Daniel’s whiskey brand. In a unanimous...more
6/12/2023
/ Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc v Goldsmith ,
Dilution ,
First Amendment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jack Daniels Properties Inc v VIP Products LLC ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Parody ,
Rogers Test ,
SCOTUS ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
The US Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith, holding that the purpose and character of the Andy Warhol Foundation’s use of a copyrighted photograph of the...more
5/23/2023
/ Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc v Goldsmith ,
Artists ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Derivative Works ,
Fair Use ,
Fine Art ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Photographs ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act ,
Transformative Use
Last fall, after returning from a year of telephone arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly changed its argument format. The biggest change was the addition of an untimed round of questioning at the end of each...more
This fall, after returning from a year of telephone arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly changed its argument format. The biggest change was the addition of an untimed round of questioning at the end of each...more
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, an important ERISA case. Although the Court’s decision vacated a Seventh Circuit victory for plan sponsor...more
1/28/2022
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Plan Participants ,
Pleading Standards ,
Remand ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated
This fall, after returning from a year of telephone arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly changed its argument format. The biggest change was the addition of an untimed round of questioning at the end of each...more
This fall, after returning from a year of telephone arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly changed its argument format. The biggest change was the addition of an untimed round of questioning at the end of each...more
On December 6, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Hughes v. Northwestern University, a case debating the allegations necessary to state a plausible claim for breach of ERISA’s fiduciary duties in cases challenging...more
12/9/2021
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Breach of Duty ,
Certiorari ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Oral Argument ,
Pleading Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS
This fall, after returning from a year of telephone arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly changed its argument format. The biggest change was the addition of an untimed round of questioning at the end of each...more
This fall, after returning from a year of telephone arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly changed its argument format. The biggest change was the addition of an untimed round of questioning at the end of each...more
In Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the U.S. Supreme Court answered two important questions regarding the standards that govern class certification in securities fraud actions, affirming the...more
6/25/2021
/ Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v Goldman Sachs Group ,
Basic v Levinson ,
Burden of Persuasion ,
Burden of Proof ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Investors ,
Presumption of Reliance ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision impacting personal jurisdiction Thursday in Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court et. al. and Ford Motor Co. v. Adam Bandemer, a pair of cases about...more
In one of its last opinions to be released this Term, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision on June 22, 2020 in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case about whether and to what extent disgorgement is an...more
6/25/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On March 3, the Supreme Court heard argument in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a case involving two questions about the structure of the CFPB: (1) whether the provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street...more
3/4/2020
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Authority ,
Removal For-Cause ,
SCOTUS ,
Seila Law LLC v Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ,
Separation of Powers ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Single Director
On March 3, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case about whether disgorgement is an available remedy in SEC enforcement actions filed in federal court under a...more
3/4/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations