The Supreme Court Gets Closer to Agreeing to Hear Amschwand

Several months ago I posted a blog entry about a case out of the Fifth Circuit, Amschwand v. Spherion, 505 F.3d 342 (5th Cir. 2007), that illustrated very well the problems with how federal courts were interpreting the remedies available under 29 U.S.C. §1132(a)(3). Fortunately, Melissa Amschwand appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General to provide its comments on whether the Court should grant the petition for certiorari.

ScotusBlog reports that Friday the Solicitor General filed its brief with the Court recommending that Amschwand be accepted for review and urging the Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit and provide meaningful remedies to plan participants and beneficiaries who are seeking "appropriate equitable relief" for breaches of fiduciary duty that cause them monetary loss. The brief, linked to courtesy of ScotusBlog, is well worth the time to read for those interested in this very important area of law under ERISA.

Hopefully, we'll know by the time the Court recesses at the end of next month whether it will agree to hear Amschwand.