On January 18, 2013, a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by Laborers’ Local 265 Pension Fund and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local No. 572 Pension Fund (the “Plaintiffs”) against BFA, BTC, and the current members of the iShares Trust Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of iShares, Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”) for alleged violations of, among other things, Sections 36(a) and 36(b) of the 1940 Act. The complaint purports to be brought derivatively on behalf of iShares Trust and iShares, Inc., as well as the following eight funds: iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF; iShares MSCI EAFE ETF; iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF; iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF; iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF; iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF; iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF; and iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF. The complaint alleges, among other things, that BFA and BTC breached their fiduciary duties under the 1940 Act by charging allegedly excessive fees in connection with the provision of securities lending services to the above eight funds, that the individual defendants breached their fiduciary duties under the 1940 Act by approving those fee arrangements, and that the securities lending contracts are unenforceable under Section 47(b) of the 1940 Act. Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief, rescission of the securities lending contracts, and monetary damages of an unspecified amount. Defendants believe the claims are without merit and intend to vigorously defend themselves against the allegations in the lawsuit. On March 11, 2013, the Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. On August 28, 2013, the court dismissed the claims without prejudice. The deadline for the Plaintiffs’ request to amend the complaint was September 17, 2013. The Plaintiffs submitted a motion to extend the time to file and the court granted the 30-day extension until October 17, 2013. The Plaintiffs did not amend their complaint prior to this deadline. The Court dismissed the complaint with prejudice on October 24, 2013. The Plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal on November 8, 2013. On February 13, 2014, the Plaintiffs filed an appeal brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (“the Sixth Circuit”). The Defendants filed a response on March 17, 2014. The Plaintiffs filed their response on April 3, 2014.  Oral argument of the Plaintiff’s appeal was heard by the Sixth Circuit on July 30, 2014. The Sixth Circuit will consider the matter and is expected to render a decision later in 2014.