Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, et al. v. Janette Knudson and Eric Knudson

Decided January 8, 2002. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 99-1786 · 534 U.S. 204 (2002) · Cited 1,264 times

Holding

Because petitioners are seeking legal relief—the imposition of personal liability on respondents for a contractual obligation to pay money—§ 502(a)(3) does not authorize this action.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Mertens v. Hewitt Associates · 508 U.S. 248 (1993)
• Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers Local No. 391 v. Terry · 494 U.S. 558 (1990)
• Curtis v. Loether · 415 U.S. 189 (1974)
• Bowen v. Massachusetts · 487 U.S. 879 (1988)
• Grupo Mexicano De Desarrollo, S. A. v. Alliance Bond Fund, Inc. · 527 U.S. 308 (1999)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Varity Corp. v. Howe · 516 U.S. 489 (1996)
• Tull v. United States · 481 U.S. 412 (1987)
• Porter v. Warner Holding Co. · 328 U.S. 395 (1946)
• Mitchell v. Robert DeMario Jewelry, Inc. · 361 U.S. 288 (1960)
• Bell v. Hood · 327 U.S. 678 (1946)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Holmberg v. Armbrecht · 327 U.S. 392 (1946)
• Fort Halifax Packing Co. v. Coyne · 482 U.S. 1 (1987)
• Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc. · 398 U.S. 375 (1970)
• Ross v. Bernhard · 396 U.S. 531 (1970)
• Nachman Corp. v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation · 446 U.S. 359 (1980)
• Department of the Army v. Blue Fox, Inc. · 525 U.S. 255 (1999)
• Harris Trust & Savings Bank v. Salomon Smith Barney Inc. · 530 U.S. 238 (2000)

Cited by

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

• Montanile v. Board of Trustees of Nat. Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan · 577 U.S. 136 (2016)
• Sereboff v. Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc. · 547 U.S. 356 (2006)
• Liu v. SEC. & Exch. Comm'n · 591 U.S. 71 (2020)
• CIGNA Corp. v. Amara · 563 U.S. 421 (2011)
• Department of Education v. California · 604 U.S. 650 (2025)
• Thole v. U. S. Bank N. A. · 590 U.S. 538 (2020)
• Sandoz Inc. v. Amgen Inc. · 582 U.S. 1 (2017)
• Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila · 542 U.S. 200 (2004)
• Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas Global Group, L. P. · 541 U.S. 567 (2004)
• Conkright v. Frommert · 559 U.S. 506 (2010)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2002). 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).