Klawonn v. Board of Directors for the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plans — 9th Cir. (Jul 10, 2026)

No. 25-2874, 25-3230 Argued July 10, 2026 Published August 4, 2026; updated August 22, 2026

The Ninth Circuit considers cross-appeals over how the Motion Picture Industry Individual Account Plan was invested. Patricia Klawonn says the board breached its duty of prudence under ERISA, the federal pension law, and caused losses. The board says its process was reasonable and the district court correctly ended the case without a trial; it also conditionally challenges class certification. Brock Specht of Nichols Kaster will argue for Klawonn. Joshua Yount of Mayer Brown will argue for the board. The panel later vacated the judgment and sent the case back to apply its newer Anderson decision and ERISA's ‘any loss’ language. It also held that the class may continue if the district court finds a replacement representative.

Klawonn v. Board of Directors for the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plans (No. 25-2874, 25-3230) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued July 10, 2026.

Sources

Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/media/2026/07/10/25-2874.mp3

Argument listing — Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/streams-videos/archive?case=25-2874&hearingDate=2026-07-10

Memorandum disposition — Ninth Circuit:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2026/08/14/25-2874.pdf

Memorandum dispositions index — Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/decisions/memoranda/

Anderson v. Intel — Ninth Circuit:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2025/05/22/22-16268.pdf

29 U.S.C. § 1109 — GovInfo:https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/29/1109

Klawonn case page — Nichols Kaster:https://www.nka.com/cases/l-p/motion-picture-industry/

Joshua D. Yount — Mayer Brown:https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/people/y/yount-joshua-d

0:00Introduction