Opinion ID: 625528
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Surcharge

Text: In the district court, Appellants argued that the administrative committee breached its fiduciary duty by failing to enforce the terms of the 2003 SPD instead of the terms of the plan master document. We find no such duty. The committee may have a duty to enforce the terms of the plan, see 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B), (3), but the terms of an SPD are not the terms of the plan, Amara, 131 S.Ct. at 1878. The committee may have breached a different duty. It had a statutory duty to provide participants with an SPD that was sufficiently accurate and comprehensive to reasonably apprise Appellants of their rights and obligations under the plan, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1022(a), 1024, and to clearly identify offsets and reductions, 29 C.F.R. § 2520.102-3( l ). Under that second theory of breach, the remedy of surcharge could hold the committee liable for benefits it gained through unjust enrichment or for harm caused as the result of its breach.
A trustee (or a fiduciary) who gains a benefit by breaching his or her duty must return that benefit to the beneficiary. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) TRUSTS § 100(b) (2012); RESTATEMENT (SECOND) TRUSTS § 205 (1959); RESTATEMENT (THIRD) RESTITUTION & UNJUST ENRICHMENT § 43 (2011); RESTATEMENT (FIRST) RESTITUTION § 138 (1937). In this case, Appellants have presented no evidence that the committee gained a benefit by failing to ensure that participants received an accurate SPD.
A trustee who breaches his or her duty could be liable for loss of value to the trust or for any profits that the trust would have accrued in the absence of the breach. RESTATEMENT (THIRD) TRUSTS § 100(a) (2012); RESTATEMENT (SECOND) TRUSTS § 205 (1959). The beneficiary can pursue the remedy that will put the beneficiary in the position he or she would have attained but for the trustee's breach. Appellants seek compensatory relief. But considering that Appellants did not rely on the inaccurate SPD, they establish no harm for which they should be compensated. Appellants argue that the harm of being deprived of their statutory right to an accurate SPD is a compensable harm, but we disagree. Appellants' interpretation would render the advisory committee strictly liable for every mistake in summary documents. In sum, Appellants have not shown that their current positions are any different than they would have been without the inaccurate SPD. The judgment is AFFIRMED.