Amicus Briefs

For more information on the Council's amicus ("friend of the court") brief program, contact Lynn Dudley, senior vice president, global retirement and compensation policy, or Katy Johnson, president, at (202) 289-6700.

April 7, 2025

Council Amicus Brief with Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohnemus v. TDS

The Council encouraged the Eighth Circuit to uphold a district court's dismissal of yet another frivolous class-action 401(k) fee case, urging the court to reject of the plaintiffs' arguments of a merely implied imprudent process and a so-called "high bar" for pleading standards.

March 3, 2025

Council Amicus Brief with U.S. District Court for Western District of Washington in Maneman v. Weyerhaeuser

The Council asked a federal court to dismiss a class-action lawsuit against a pension plan sponsor accused of improperly selecting an annuity for purposes of executing a pension liability transfer. We argue that preserving employers' ability to engage in risk transfers is critical to maintaining a robust, voluntary retirement system.

February 26, 2025

Council Amicus Brief with Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Watt v. FedEx

In a case relating to actuarial assumptions and the use of mortality tables for defined benefit pension plans, the Council's brief urges the court to reject the imposition of vague "reasonableness" and "currentness" standards on plan design.

February 3, 2025

Council Amicus Brief with 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Drummond v. Southern Company

January 23, 2025

Council Amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Doherty v. Bristol Myers Squibb

The Council's brief defends the legality and importance of pension risk transfer (PRT) transactions, arguing that preserving employers' ability to transfer risk is critical to maintaining a robust, voluntary retirement system.

January 9, 2025

Council Amicus Brief with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Johnson v. Parker-Hannifin

In this case related to a plan sponsor's selection of target-date funds, the Council urges the full appellate court to reconsider a previous decision finding that the underperformance of those funds represents a breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA.

January 3, 2025

Council Amicus Brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Cunningham v. Cornell

The Council's brief urges the high court to dismiss the plaintiff's suit alleging that the hiring of a plan recordkeeper constitutes a prohibited transaction under ERISA.

December 17, 2024

Council Amicus Brief with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Massachusetts in Piercy v. AT&T

The Council urged the district court to dismiss the pension risk transfer lawsuits brought against AT&T, explaining that pension risk transfers are an important feature that encourages employers to offer pension plans.

December 12, 2024

Council Amicus Brief with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Knight v. IBM Corporation

The Council's brief with the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals urges the court to uphold clear rules for filing deadlines to protect benefit plans, warning that changing these rules could lead to costly burdens for plans and harm their financial stability.

November 15, 2024

Council Amicus Brief with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Eastern Division) in Staffing Services Association v. Flanagan

In this case related to an Illinois benefits law targeting employers of temporary workers, the Council's brief urges the district court to affirm that the plaintiff, a plan sponsor, is likely to succeed on the merits of its ERISA preemption claim.

October 18, 2024

Council Amicus Brief for the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Reichert v. Kellogg Company

The American Benefits Council filed an amicus ("friend of the court") brief in this case related to defined benefit plan de-risking.

September 26, 2024

Council Amicus Brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Baleja v. Northrop Grumman

The American Benefits Council, in partnership with the National Association of Manufacturers, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Baleja v. Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. Salaried Pension Plan, a case related to pension plan offsets.

June 18, 2024

Amicus Brief in Derek Kramer, v. American Electric Power Service Corporation (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit)

The American Benefits Council has filed an amicus ("friend of the court) brief in support of American Electric Power (AEP) in an Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) case.

May 9, 2024

Council Amicus Brief before the U.S. Supreme Court Requesting Cert in Bugielski v. AT&T

As a part of ongoing efforts to push back on harmful and ill-founded litigation against employee benefit plans, the American Benefits Council is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appellate court decision with sweeping implications for 401(k) retirement plan sponsors. If the decision is allowed to stand, it will be much more difficult for plan sponsors to fend off class action fee cases.

March 18, 2024

Council Amicus Brief with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Vellali v. Yale

The American Benefits Council filed an amicus ("friend of the court") brief in this case related to an allegation of a retirement plan's fiduciary breach under ERISA.

September 11, 2023

Council Amicus Brief before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Bugielski v. AT&T

On September 11, the Council filed an amicus brief requesting that the Ninth Circuit grant a rehearing en banc in the case of Bugielski v. AT&T, a 401(k) fee case in which a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit recently ruled that a prohibited transaction occurs any time that a plan sponsor amends a contract with a service provider.

July 19, 2023

Council Amicus Brief in TMA v. Tri-Agencies Before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

On July 19, the American Benefits Council filed an amicus ("friend of the court ") brief in support of final regulations issued by the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury (the "tri-agencies"), implementing the arbitration process set up under the No Surprises Act (NSA).

June 30, 2023

Amicus brief Bristol v. Cigna

Council Files Amicus Brief Supporting ERISA Preemption in Bristol SL Holdings, Inc. v. Cigna Health Life Ins. Co.

April 11, 2023

Council Amicus Brief before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in PCMA v. Mulready (Not Accepted)

The brief emphasized the practical importance of ERISA preemption for employer plan sponsors and how the PRPC Act directly impacts plan design. This was an important effort not only because of the Council's long history of supporting ERISA preemption but also because the Council had heard from several members that, due to the PRPC Act, they were being forced to change plan design including, f...

March 17, 2023

Council Amicus Brief before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Tyler Division) in TMA v Tri-Agencies III (Surprise Billing)

Council Amicus Brief before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Tyler Division) in TMA v Tri-Agencies III (Surprise Billing)