Ninth Circuit Holds Moench Presumption Does Not Apply in Amgen Case

In Harris v. Amgen, No. 10-56014 (9th Cir. June 4, 2013), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a district court, which had relied on the presumption of prudence to dismiss a stock-drop case against Amgen. The Moench presumption states that a plan fiduciary is presumed to be acting reasonably when maintaining a plan's investment in company shares. Following the Second Circuit, the Ninth Circuit said that the presumption does not apply when "plan terms did not require or encourage the defendant fiduciaries to invest primarily in employer stock. Accordingly, the presumption of prudence articulated . . . did not apply to a claim that defendants acted imprudently."