The Supreme Court Decision in Tibble vs. Edison Is a Game-Changer

On May 18, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Tibble v. Edison International. On its face, the court’s holding is unremarkable. In a rare 9-0 decision, it ruled that plan sponsors have a continuing duty to review investments in retirement plans and to decide whether or not to keep or sell them. The lower courts (the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and a federal District Court) previously held that, because some of the funds at issue were put into the plan in 1999, claims relating to those funds should be barred.

The Supreme Court looked at the body of law governing the conduct of trustees and applied it to the obligations of plan sponsors, stating:

“Under trust law, a trustee has a continuing duty to monitor trust investments and remove imprudent ones. This continuing duty exists separate and apart from the trustee’s duty to exercise prudence in selecting investments at the outset.”

Read the rest of the article at The Huffington Post.