Lori Pegram, et al. v. Cynthia Herdrich

Decided June 12, 2000. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-1949 · 530 U.S. 211 (2000) · Cited 1,043 times

Holding

Because mixed treatment and eligibility decisions by HMO physicians are not fiduciary decisions under ERISA, Herdrich does not state an ERISA claim.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Varity Corp. v. Howe · 516 U.S. 489 (1996)
• Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Central Transport, Inc. · 472 U.S. 559 (1985)
• Patsy v. Board of Regents of Fla. · 457 U.S. 496 (1982)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
• New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Insurance · 514 U.S. 645 (1995)
• Hughes Aircraft Co. v. Jacobson · 525 U.S. 432 (1999)
• Walters v. National Assn. of Radiation Survivors · 473 U.S. 305 (1985)
• LOCKHEED CORP. Et Al. v. SPINK · 517 U.S. 882 (1996)
• Grubbs v. General Electric Credit Corp. · 405 U.S. 699 (1972)

Cited by

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

• Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila · 542 U.S. 200 (2004)
• Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran · 536 U.S. 355 (2002)
• Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Glenn · 554 U.S. 105 (2008)
• Royal Canin U. S. A. v. Wullschleger · 604 U.S. 22 (2025)
• New Hampshire v. Maine · 532 U.S. 742 (2001)
• Garcetti v. Ceballos · 547 U.S. 410 (2006)
• Zedner v. United States · 547 U.S. 489 (2006)
• Arizona v. Navajo Nation · 599 U.S. 555 (2023)
• Retirement Plans Comm. of IBM v. Jander · 589 U.S. 49 (2020)

Official text

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

Explore from here

David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). 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).