Supreme Court of the United States
Fifth Third Bancorp, Petitioners v. John Dudenhoeffer
June 25, 2014134 S. Ct. 2459
Summary
The Supreme Court held that ERISA does not create a special presumption of prudence for employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciaries, rejecting the Sixth Circuit's view that such a presumption applies at the pleading stage. The Court vacated and remanded the case for the Sixth Circuit to apply the Twombly and Iqbal pleading standards, considering whether alternative actions were legal and not likely to harm the fund, particularly regarding insider trading constraints and market reliance.