Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
M & K Employee Solutions, LLC, et al. v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 22-7157, 22-7158, 23-7028 · judgment February 9, 2024
Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a D.C. Circuit decision below, a business petitioner, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below.
Question presented
Granted limited to the following question: whether 29 u. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act imposes "withdrawal liability" when an employer withdraws from an underfunded multiemployer pension plan. This withdrawal liabilty covers the employer's share of the plan's underfunding. Because a plan's amount of underfunding hinges on projections about its projected liabilities and assets decades into the future, withdrawal liability computations are partly a product of actuarial assumptions about anticipated interest rates and other predictions. Withdrawal liability must be computed "as of the end of the plan year preceding the plan year in which the employer withdraws." E.g., 29 U.S.C. 1391(b)(2)(E)(i). The question presented is: Whether 29 U.S.C. 1391's instruction to compute withdrawal liability "as of the end of the plan year" requires the plan to base the computation on the actuarial assumptions to which its actuary subscribed at the end of the year, or allows the plan to use different actuarial assumptions that were adopted after the end of the year.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Michael Edward Kenneally Jr.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
For respondent
John Edward Roberts
Proskauer Rose LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage · 9 merits
(3 supporting pet./neither, 6 respondent)
Argument & decision
Argued January 20, 2026 — Michael E. Kenneally · John E. Roberts. Audio and transcript
Decided May 21, 2026. Opinion by Jackson.
Proceedings
- Jun 22 2026Judgment Issued.
- May 21 2026Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Jackson, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
- Jan 20 2026Argued. For petitioners: Michael E. Kenneally, Jr., Washington, D. C. For respondent: John E. Roberts, Providence, R. I., and Kevin J. Barber, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.)
- Dec 09 2025Record received electronically from the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and available with the Clerk.
- Dec 09 2025Record received from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The record is electronic and is available on PACER.
- Dec 01 2025CIRCULATED
- Nov 18 2025Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
- Nov 13 2025Reply of petitioners M & K Employee Solutions, LLC, et al. filed.
- Nov 12 2025SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
- Nov 10 2025Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
- Oct 21 2025Brief amicus curiae of United States filed.
- Oct 21 2025Brief amicus curiae of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations filed.
- Oct 21 2025Brief amici curiae of The Segal Group, Inc., et al. filed.
- Oct 21 2025Brief amici curiae of AARP, et al. filed.
- Oct 21 2025Brief amicus curiae of Pension Rights Center filed.
- Oct 21 2025Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
- Oct 20 2025Brief amicus curiae of National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans filed.
- Oct 14 2025Brief of respondents Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund filed.
- Sep 04 2025Brief amicus curiae of James P. Naughton filed.
- Sep 04 2025Brief amicus curiae of HR Policy Association filed.
- Sep 04 2025Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed.
- Aug 28 2025Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed)
- Aug 28 2025Brief of petitioners M & K Employee Solutions, LLC, et al. filed.
- Jul 17 2025Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
- Jul 17 2025Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including August 28, 2025. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including October 14, 2025.
- Jul 03 2025The order granting the petition for a writ of certiorari is amended as follows. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted limited to the following question: Whether 29 U. S. C. §1391’s instruction to compute withdrawal liability “as of the end of the plan year” requires the plan to base the computation on the actuarial assumptions most recently adopted before the end of the year, or allows the plan to use different actuarial assumptions that were adopted after, but based on information available as of, the end of the year.
- Jun 30 2025Petition GRANTED limited to the following question: Whether 29 U. S. C. §1391’s instruction to compute withdrawal liability “as of the end of the plan year” requires the plan to base the computation on the actuarial assumptions to which its actuary subscribed at the end of the year, or allows the plan to use different actuarial assumptions that were adopted after the end of the year.
- Jun 10 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/26/2025.
- Jun 10 2025Supplemental brief of petitioners M & K Employee Solutions, LLC, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Jun 06 2025Supplemental brief of respondents Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund filed. (Distributed)
- May 27 2025Brief amicus curiae of United States filed.
- Oct 07 2024The Solicitor General is invited to file a brief in this case expressing the views of the United States.
- Jul 31 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
- Jul 31 2024Reply of petitioners M & K Employee Solutions, LLC, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Jul 12 2024Brief of respondent Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund in opposition filed.
- Jun 12 2024Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed.
- May 24 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including July 12, 2024.
- May 22 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 12, 2024 to July 12, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- May 09 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 12, 2024)