The U.S. Supreme Court case Hughes Aircraft Company, et al. v. Stanley I. Jacobson et al., 1998 revolved around the issue of whether a company's decision to amend its Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan from a defined benefit plan to an employee stock ownership plan constituted a breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA when the amendment resulted in substantial losses for employees' retirement savings due to poor performance by company stocks. In this case, Hughes Aircraft amended their pension plans without consulting or seeking consent from their employees and transferred $1.3 billion into new investment funds that were heavily invested in the company’s own stock which later plummeted causing significant financial loss for many retirees. The plaintiffs argued that Hughes had breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA by not acting solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries as required by law. However, The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Hughes Aircraft stating that companies have no obligation under federal pension protection laws to guarantee against losses caused by changes made within legal boundaries set forth by ERISA regulations.

In the dissenting opinion for Hughes Aircraft Company v. Stanley I. Jacobson, Justice Stevens argued that the majority's decision to dismiss the case was premature and inconsistent with precedent. He contended that whether or not a fiduciary duty existed between Hughes and its employees should be determined at trial, rather than dismissed outright by summary judgment as it had been in this case. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's interpretation of ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), arguing that it does indeed impose a fiduciary duty on employers who offer stock ownership plans to their employees - contrary to what the majority held in their ruling. In his view, dismissing this lawsuit without allowing these issues to be fully explored at trial undermined both ERISA’s purpose and previous Supreme Court rulings interpreting it.