John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company v. Harris Trust and Savings Bank, as Trustee of the Sperry Master Retirement Trust No. 2

Decided December 13, 1993. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 92-1074 · 510 U.S. 86 (1993) · Cited 257 times

Holding

Because the GAC 50 free funds are “plan assets,” Hancock’s actions in regard to their management and disposition must be judged against ERISA’s fiduciary standards.

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.

• Securities & Exchange Commission v. United Benefit Life Insurance · 387 U.S. 202 (1967)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Massachusetts · 471 U.S. 724 (1985)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Variable Annuity Life Insurance · 359 U.S. 65 (1959)
• Pilot Life Insurance v. Dedeaux · 481 U.S. 41 (1987)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Connecticut National Bank v. Germain · 503 U.S. 249 (1992)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• Russello v. United States · 464 U.S. 16 (1983)
• Smith v. United States · 508 U.S. 223 (1993)
• Kelly v. Robinson · 479 U.S. 36 (1986)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• Park 'N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc. · 469 U.S. 189 (1985)
• FMC Corp. v. Holliday · 498 U.S. 52 (1990)
• Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co. · 285 U.S. 393 (1932)
• A. H. Phillips, Inc. v. Walling · 324 U.S. 490 (1945)
• Massachusetts v. Morash · 490 U.S. 107 (1989)
• Rake v. Wade · 508 U.S. 464 (1993)
• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio v. Betts · 492 U.S. 158 (1989)
• Commissioner v. Clark · 489 U.S. 726 (1989)

Cited by

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

• Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran · 536 U.S. 355 (2002)
• Varity Corp. v. Howe · 516 U.S. 489 (1996)
• California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement v. Dillingham Construction, N. A. · 519 U.S. 316 (1997)
• Things Remembered, Inc. v. Petrarca · 516 U.S. 124 (1995)
• Smith v. City of Jackson · 544 U.S. 228 (2005)
• Barnett Bank of Marion County, N. A. v. Nelson · 517 U.S. 25 (1996)
• Holloway v. United States · 526 U.S. 1 (1999)
• De Buono v. NYSA-ILA Medical & Clinical Services Fund Ex Rel. Bowers · 520 U.S. 806 (1997)
• City of Chicago v. Environmental Defense Fund · 511 U.S. 328 (1994)
• City of Edmonds v. Oxford House, Inc. · 514 U.S. 725 (1995)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). 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).