No. 19-1401October Term 2019Decided Jan 24, 2022
Hughes v. Northwestern Uni v.
This case involves Northwestern University employees’ claim that the university violated ERISA by offering retirement-plan investment options with unnecessarily high recordkeeping fees, higher-cost share classes, and an overly complicated menu of choices.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jan 24, 2022
- What it's about
This case involves Northwestern University employees’ claim that the university violated ERISA by offering retirement-plan investment options with unnecessarily high recordkeeping fees, higher-cost share classes, and an overly complicated menu of choices. The Supreme Court considered whether those allegations were enough to let the lawsuit go forward, even though the plans also offered some lower-cost options that participants could choose.
Question presented
Whether allegations that a defined-contribution retirement plan paid or charged its participants fees that substantially exceeded fees for alternative available investment products or services are sufficient to state a claim against plan fiduciaries for breach of the duty of prudence under ERISA, 29 U.S.C.§ 1104(a)(1)(B).
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit / Decision released Jan 24, 2022
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Timing
Decided January 24, 2022
The Court released its decision on January 24, 2022 without hearing oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology