CASEY CUNNINGHAM, CHARLES E. LANCE, STANLEY T. MARCUS, LYDIA PETTIS, AND JOY VERONNEAU, individually and as representatives of a class of participants and beneficiaries on behalf of the Cornell University Retirement Plan for the Employees of the Endowed Colleges at Ithaca and the Cornell University Tax Deferred Annuity Plan, Plaintiffs-Appellants-Cross-Appellees, -v.- CORNELL UNIVERSITY, THE RETIREMENT PLAN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, MARY G. OPPERMAN, AND CAPFINANCIAL PARTNERS, LLC D/B/A CAPTRUST FINANCIAL ADVISORS, Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants.*Link to the text of the note, 86 F.4th 961


Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-In plaintiffs' class action, the district court correctly dismissed plaintiffs' prohibited transactions claim and certain duty-of-prudence allegations for failure to state a claim and did not err in granting partial summary judgment to defendants on the remaining duty-of-prudence claims because, to state a claim for a prohibited transaction pursuant 29 U.S.C.S. § 1106(a)(1)(C), it was not enough to allege that a fiduciary caused the plan to compensate a service provider for its services; rather, the complaint must plausibly allege that the services were unnecessary or involved unreasonable compensation, thus supporting an inference of disloyalty.