Supreme Court Report

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D.L. Markham DDS, MSD, Incorporated 401(K) Plan, et al. v. Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 22-20540 · judgment December 14, 2023


Certiorari denied · May 13, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 4% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Fifth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and down for a business respondent.

Questions presented

  1. What transactions between an ERISA plan and a service provider are prohibited by 29 U.S.C. § 1106(a)(1)(C) unless exempt under 29 U.S.C. § 1108(b)(2)?

  2. Does a district court abuse its discretion when, for reasons other than futility, it denies plaintiffs an opportunity to amend their first complaint after granting a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Christopher D. Baker
Baker Curtis & Schwartz, P.C.

For respondent
David Todd McDowell
McDowell & Hetherington LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. May 13 2024
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Apr 17 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/9/2024.
  3. Apr 11 2024
    Waiver of right of respondent Variable Annuity Life Ins. Co., et al. to respond filed.
  4. Mar 13 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 17, 2024)