01.15.20
Supreme Court Declines to Consider Putnam Fiduciary Breach Case
by: Robert Steyer
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a petition by Putnam Investments asking to rule on whether plaintiffs must prove a loss in an ERISA fiduciary breach lawsuit or whether sponsors must disprove a loss and that the loss was caused by the fiduciary breach. Justices provided no explanation for the decision in the case, in which Putnam asked the court to overturn an earlier ruling that placed the burden on Putnam regarding a participant's complaint about its 401(k) plan. Friend-of-the court briefs were filed by ICI, the American Benefits Council, and the ERISA Industry Committee, asking the Supreme Court to create a uniform standard for evaluating loss causation that placed the responsibility on plaintiffs.
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