Dissecting Hughes v. Northwestern University: Client Alert Digest

Summary

This client alert digest discusses the Hughes v. Northwestern University case, as decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 24, 2022. Hughes v. Nw. Univ., 142 S. Ct. 737 (2022). In an 8-0 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals had improperly dismissed a suit against Northwestern University and the fiduciaries of its Section 403(b) savings plans, for failing to state a claim. The Supreme Court determined that the Circuit Court had, with respect to the plan's participant-directed investment alternatives, "erred in its reliance on the participants' ultimate choice over their investments to excuse allegedly imprudent decisions by respondents," citing to its precedent set in Tibble v. Edison Int'l, 575 U.S. 523 (2015).