Hughes v. Northwestern University
142 S. Ct. 737 · Decided January 24, 2022 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Hughes v. Northwestern University was decided on January 24, 2022 unanimously (8–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Employee Retirement Income Security Act” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2021
- Supreme Court of the United States — docket 19-1401
Case details
- Citations
- 142 S. Ct. 737 · 211 L. Ed. 2d 558 · 2022 U.S. LEXIS 622
- Docket number
- 19-1401
- Decided
- January 24, 2022
- Argued
- December 6, 2021
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority | |
| Justice Neil M. Gorsuch | Majority | |
| Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh | Majority |
Did not participate: Amy Coney Barrett.
Full case caption
Hughes v. Northwestern University
SCDB identifiers: case 2021-020, docket 2021-020-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Employee Retirement Income Security Act”
- Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A.
- Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma
- Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander
- Cunningham v. Cornell University
- M & K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the Iam National Pension Fund
- Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton
Cases on the same legal provision: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
- Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association
- Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
- Bridget Hardt v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company
- James Larue v. Dewolff
- Aetna Health Inc. v. Juan Davila
- Kentucky Association of Health Plans, Inc. v. Janie A. Miller
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor
- Biden v. Missouri
- Unicolors, Inc v. H&m Hennes & Mauritz, Lp
- Gallardo v. Marstiller
- Siegel v. FitzgeraldLaw held unconstitutional
- Egbert v. Boule
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error