Fisher v. JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Case Updates

The Second Circuit Court affirmed the district court’s ruling.

The U.S. Chamber urged the Second Circuit to uphold the district court’s proper application of the Moench presumption of prudence in a stock drop case filed against JPMorgan. Plaintiffs, a class of JPMorgan employees, allege that the company breached its fiduciary duties by continuing to hold JPMorgan stock in the employees’ benefit plan while the value of the stock fell. The district court applied the Moench presumption of prudence, holding that the company’s maintenance of the stock fund was a proper exercise of the plan fiduciary’s discretion to offer an employer stock fund as an investment option. In its brief, the Chamber argued that Congress recognizes and encourages employer stock investment options in Employee Stock Ownership Plans, and that securities laws already provide the framework for addressing the plaintiffs’ claims regarding affirmative disclosures about employer financial performance.