Haberern v. Kaupp Vascular Surgeons Ltd. Defined Benefit Plan & Trust Agreement

151 F.R.D. 49, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18229, 1993 WL 385768
District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania·Decided August 16, 1993·No. Civ. A. No. 88-1853·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

ORDER

HUYETT, District Judge.

Upon consideration of Defendants’ motion for amendment of judgment pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 52(b), relief from judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b), for judgment as a matter of law, and for a new trial pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(a) (Document No. 82), Plaintiffs response, and because:

1. Plaintiff Ruth Haberern from 1974 to 1985 worked full-time as a secretary-bookkeeper for a professional corporation formerly known as Kaupp Vascular Surgeons, Ltd., and later known as Lehigh Valley Vascular Surgeons., Ltd. Defendants are the professional corporation, its defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans, and the pension plans’ trustee. Plaintiff commenced this action under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 1001-1461 (West 1985 & Supp.1993) to recover back salary and pension benefits that Defendants allegedly wrongfully withheld, as well as costs and attorney’s fees. Following a nonjury trial, the Court made findings of fact and conclusions of law, provided a discussion of its reasons, and entered several judgments in favor of Plaintiff and against certain Defendants in the total amount of $614,165.99. Haberern v. Kaupp Vascular Surgeons Ltd. Defined Benefit Plan & Trust Agreement, 822 F.Supp. 247 (E.D.Pa.1993).

2. Defendants move this Court to amend the findings of fact, discussion, conclusions of law and order and to enter judgments accordingly, or in the alternative, to order a new trial. A court may amend its findings of fact or make additional findings and may amend the judgment accordingly upon motion of a party. Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(b). The primary purpose of Rule 52(b) is to [51] ensure that the trial court’s findings of fact and legal reasoning are clear, cover the essential factual and legal points, and will be understood by the appellate court, not to allow a party a second opportunity to prove its case. 9 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2582 (1971). “The purpose of motions to amend is to correct manifest errors of law or fact or, in some limited situations, to present newly discovered evidence....” Kravco Co. v. Valley Forge Center Assocs., Civ.A No. 91-4932, 1992 WL 5893, at *2 (E.D.Pa. Jan. 8, 1992) (quoting Fontenot v. Mesa Petroleum Co., 791 F.2d 1207, 1219 (5th Cir.1986)). A Rule 52(b) motion to amend should not “be employed to introduce evidence that was available at trial but was not proffered, to relitigate old issues, to advance new theories, or to secure a rehearing on the merits.” Id. A court will not amend its findings or judgment where a party essentially requests the court to completely rewrite its findings and reverse its judgment. Erickson Tool Co. v. Balas Collet Co., 277 F.Supp. 226, 234 (N.D.Ohio 1967), aff'd, 404 F.2d 35 (6th Cir.1968).

3. The Court has examined Defendants’ motion and supporting memorandum of law and compared these documents to Defendants’ pre- and post-trial findings of fact and conclusions of law and supporting memoranda of law, and the arguments of counsel during trial. The comparison reveals that in their instant motion Defendants raise nearly all of the same issues and arguments that they raised previously.1 Defendants essentially seek to relitigate all of the issues raised previously, and move the Court to rewrite its findings of fact, discussion, conclusions of law, and reverse its judgment accordingly. The Court considered with great care the pretrial proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and memoranda of law, the evidence and arguments presented during the three-day trial, and the post-trial findings of fact and conclusions of law and memoranda of law of both sides. The Court issued clear and comprehensive findings of fact and conclusions of law. Defendants have failed to show that there are manifest errors of law or fact that need to be corrected.

4. A court may grant a. new trial in a nonjury action “for any of the reasons for which rehearings have heretofore been granted in suits in equity in the courts of the United States.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(a)(2). “A motion for a new trial in a nonjury case ... should be based upon manifest error of law or mistake of fact, and a judgment should not be set aside except for substantial reasons.” 11 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2804 (1973). The Court has already considered the issues and arguments raised by Defendants in their motion for a new trial and has ruled.

5. A court may relieve a party from a final judgment for several reasons. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b). Among those reasons are mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(1). Defendants contend that this Court erred when it included paragraph 6 in its Order dated May 10, 1993. In the first five paragraphs of the Order, the Court entered judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against one or more Defendants for various sums. Paragraph 6 of the Order provides: “As set forth above, JUDGMENT IS ENTERED in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants in the total amount of $614,165.99.” Defendants believe that this paragraph directs that judgment be entered in that amount against all Defendants, and therefore conclude that the Order results in an incorrect duplication of damages. The Court did not intend that judgment be entered in amount of $614,165.99 against all Defendants jointly and severally. Rather, it intended for judgment to be entered in various amounts against certain Defendants “as set forth above” in paragraphs 1 to 5 of the Order. There is no need to delete paragraph 6.

6. Under Rule 60(b)(6) a court may relieve a party from judgment for “any other reason.” A court should relieve a party from judgment under Rule 60(b)(6) “whenever such action is appropriate to accomplish justice,” but only in “extraordinary circum[52] stances.” Liljeberg v. Health Services Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847, 864, 108 S.Ct. 2194, 2204, 100 L.Ed.2d 855 (1988). Defendants have failed to show any extraordinary circumstances that would justify relief under this rule.

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Haberern v. Kaupp Vascular Surgeons Ltd. Defined Benefit Plan & Trust Agreement, 151 F.R.D. 49, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18229, 1993 WL 385768 (E.D. Pa. 1993).

151 F.R.D. 49 (Haberern v. Kaupp Vascular Surgeons Ltd. Defined Benefit Plan & Trust Agreement) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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