William J. Mertens, Alex W. Bandrowski, James a. Clark, and Russell Franz v. Hewitt Associates

Decided June 1, 1993. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-1671 · 508 U.S. 248 (1993) · Cited 1,574 times

Holding

ERISA does not authorize suits for money damages against nonfiduciaries who knowingly participate in a fiduciary's breach of fiduciary duty.

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.

• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch · 489 U.S. 101 (1989)
• United States v. Mitchell · 463 U.S. 206 (1983)
• Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. McClendon · 498 U.S. 133 (1990)
• Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers Local No. 391 v. Terry · 494 U.S. 558 (1990)
• Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. · 463 U.S. 85 (1983)
• Pilot Life Insurance v. Dedeaux · 481 U.S. 41 (1987)
• United States v. Nordic Village, Inc. · 503 U.S. 30 (1992)
• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
• Curtis v. Loether · 415 U.S. 189 (1974)
• Alessi v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc. · 451 U.S. 504 (1981)
• Tull v. United States · 481 U.S. 412 (1987)
• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation v. LTV Corp. · 496 U.S. 633 (1990)
• Moskal v. United States · 498 U.S. 103 (1990)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• United States v. Burke · 504 U.S. 229 (1992)
• Nachman Corp. v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation · 446 U.S. 359 (1980)
• Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Central Transport, Inc. · 472 U.S. 559 (1985)
• Seminole Nation v. United States · 316 U.S. 286 (1942)

Cited by

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

• Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance v. Knudson · 534 U.S. 204 (2002)
• Montanile v. Board of Trustees of Nat. Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan · 577 U.S. 136 (2016)
• Varity Corp. v. Howe · 516 U.S. 489 (1996)
• Liu v. SEC. & Exch. Comm'n · 591 U.S. 71 (2020)
• CIGNA Corp. v. Amara · 563 U.S. 421 (2011)
• Harris Trust & Savings Bank v. Salomon Smith Barney Inc. · 530 U.S. 238 (2000)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• LOCKHEED CORP. Et Al. v. SPINK · 517 U.S. 882 (1996)
• U.S. Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen · 569 U.S. 88 (2013)
• Gundy v. United States · 588 U.S. 128 (2019)
• Sereboff v. Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc. · 547 U.S. 356 (2006)
• Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila · 542 U.S. 200 (2004)
• Hughes Aircraft Co. v. Jacobson · 525 U.S. 432 (1999)
• Peacock v. Thomas · 516 U.S. 349 (1996)
• Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson · 538 U.S. 468 (2003)
• Conkright v. Frommert · 559 U.S. 506 (2010)
• Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings & Investment Plan · 555 U.S. 285 (2009)
• Carr v. United States · 560 U.S. 438 (2010)
• SEC v. Jarkesy · 603 U.S. 109 (2024)
• AMG Capital Management, LLC v. FTC · 593 U.S. 67 (2021)

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).