Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez

Decided January 20, 2016. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 14-857 · 577 U.S. 153 (2016) · Cited 967 times

Holding

When an ERISA-plan participant wholly dissipates a third-party settlement on nontraceable items, the plan fduciary may not bring suit under § 502(a)(3) to attach the participant's separate assets.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Alvarez v. Smith · 558 U.S. 87 (2009)
• California v. San Pablo & Tulare Railroad · 149 U.S. 308 (1893)
• Yearsley v. W. A. Ross Construction Co. · 309 U.S. 18 (1940)
• Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
• Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc. · 568 U.S. 85 (2013)
• U.S. Bancorp Mortgage Co. v. Bonner Mall Partnership · 513 U.S. 18 (1994)
• Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk · 569 U.S. 66 (2013)
• Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp. · 494 U.S. 472 (1990)
• Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 · 567 U.S. 298 (2012)
• Camreta v. Greene · 563 U.S. 692 (2011)
• Brady v. Roosevelt Steamship Co. · 317 U.S. 575 (1943)
• Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corporation · 475 U.S. 574 (1986)
• Harlow v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno · 547 U.S. 332 (2006)
• Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona · 520 U.S. 43 (1997)
• Honig v. Doe · 484 U.S. 305 (1988)
• Sosna v. Iowa · 419 U.S. 393 (1975)
• Raines v. Byrd · 521 U.S. 811 (1997)
• Preiser v. Newkirk · 422 U.S. 395 (1975)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Filarsky v. Delia · 566 U.S. 377 (2012)
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 551 U.S. 701 (2007)
• Chicago & Grand Trunk Railway Co. v. Wellman · 143 U.S. 339 (1892)
• Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway v. Columbus Rolling Mill · 119 U.S. 149 (1886)
• Chafin v. Chafin · 568 U.S. 165 (2013)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Microsoft Corp. v. Baker · 582 U.S. 23 (2017)
• Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski · 592 U.S. 279 (2021)
• Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid · 592 U.S. 395 (2021)
• Texas v. New Mexico · 602 U.S. 943 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2016). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).