On June 1, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A., that a participant in a pension fund cannot sue the fund when her benefits are guaranteed, the fund has done nothing to threaten that guarantee, and thus no injury exists. WLF filed an amicus brief in the case urging this outcome. WLF argued that the plaintiffs lack a cognizable injury in fact, which Article III of the U.S. Constitution requires for a plaintiff to invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court held that the plaintiffs “have no concrete stake in this lawsuit.” Because “the outcome of th[e] suit would not affect their future benefit payments,” the plaintiffs “lack Article III standing.”
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