Is ERISA's Three-Year Limitation Period, Which Requires Actual Knowledge of a Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Met if the Plaintiff Has Access to Documents Needed to Determine that a Breach Has Occurred, but Has Not Read or Accessed Them?

CASE AT A GLANCE Christopher Sulyma, a former employee of Intel, brought a putative class action against plan fiduciaries for overinvestment in hedge funds and private equity, which caused the actively managed portfolio to incur "massive losses and enormous excess fees." Sulyma v. Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee, 2017 WL 1217185 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 28, 2018). The district court granted summary judgment for Intel, holding that because the plaintiff had access to documents that described the plan investments, he had actual knowledge of the facts that formed the basis of the complaint more than three years before he filed suit. The Ninth Circuit then reversed, holding that the plaintiff did not have actual knowledge that his retirement funds were invested in this manner.