Hardy v. Adam Rose Retirement Plan

957 F. Supp. 2d 407, 56 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 1677, 2013 WL 3716933, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99940
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJuly 16, 2013
DocketNo. 11-CV-4303 (CS)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 957 F. Supp. 2d 407 (Hardy v. Adam Rose Retirement Plan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hardy v. Adam Rose Retirement Plan, 957 F. Supp. 2d 407, 56 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 1677, 2013 WL 3716933, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99940 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SEIBEL, District Judge.

Before the Court are Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, (Doc. 19), and Plaintiffs Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, (Doc. 27). For the following reasons, Defendants’ Motion is GRANTED and Plaintiffs Motion is DENIED.

I. BACKGROUND

The facts relevant to the disposition of the instant Motions, which are essentially not in dispute, are set forth below.

Plaintiff Thomas Hardy was employed by Defendant Adam Rose at Rose’s home, known as “AP Farm,” from 1998 until 2006. (P’s 56.1 ¶ 1; Ds’ 56.1 ¶ 1.)1 In or [410]*410around 2003, Plaintiff was promoted to the position of Grounds Manager, a full-time position with benefits such as housing, health insurance, use of a vehicle, and paid vacation. (P’s 56.1 ¶¶ 3, 5.)

On April 2, 2005, Rose sent Plaintiff a Next week I will be purchasing you an annuity which will pay you $7,000 per year. This is your income for life and will not be deducted from your salary. It remains your income whether or not you work at AP Farm.
I am retaining ownership of this annuity so that you are prevented from the temptation of selling or liquidating it. As you know, the intent is to start to provide a retirement program and this is part of it.
Because I own the annuity with you as the beneficiary, your new income is tax free. Congratulations.

(Id. ¶7; Rose Aff. Ex. A.)2 Around the same time, Rose decided he would purchase two other annuities naming AP Farm’s Butler (Joseph Minotto) and Chef (Salvatore Torre), respectively, as beneficiaries, (see P’s 56.1 ¶¶ 6, 9, 10); Rose chose not to purchase annuities for AP Farm’s Gardener (Cristobal Salazar) and Horticulturist (Bruce Blevens), (see id. ¶¶ 6, 11). Apparently, the decision to grant the benefit of these annuities to some, but not all, employees was based on the importance of their position; Rose considered the recipients to be managers and “ ‘therefore they received something special.’ ” (Id. ¶ 10 (quoting Rose Dep. 37).)3

On April 20, 2005, Rose purchased the three “lifetime income” annuity plans. (Id. ¶¶ 16, 18; Ds’ 56.1 ¶ 3.) The annuity agreements named Hardy, Minotto, and Torre, respectively, as “annuitants,” which the agreements define as the “Person on whose life expectancy any life contingent Annuity Payments are based.” (Frumkin Deck Ex. D, at 88, 93; id. Ex. E, at 110, 115, 129, 134.)4 Although each of the annuities was to provide $7,000 annually (in monthly installments) to their respective beneficiaries, the single premium (i.e., the cost) of each varied among the three, as it depended on the life expectancy, and thus the age, of the annuitant. (See id. Ex. D, at 91 (single premium of $124,146.48 for Hardy, age 39); id. Ex. E, at 113 (single premium of $120,582.04 for Torre, age 43); id. at 132 (single premium of $122,435.60 for Minotto, age 41).) The monthly payouts apparently commenced on May 20, 2005. (See id. Ex. D, at 88; id. Ex. E, at 110,129; Ds’ 56.1 ¶ 5.)

On November 20, 2005, Rose sent a memorandum to Hardy, Torre, and Minot-to, stating, in full:

As you know, each of you is now the beneficiary of an annuity which pays you $7,000 annually, tax-free for life. This income is yours regardless of whether or not you continue to be employed at AP Farm.
Although this is intended to be a retirement benefit, the fact that it has already started paying is extremely unusual. In [411]*411fact, I have never heard of another employer providing a benefit like this one. As committed when it was given, this benefit will not be deducted from your salary. However, any bonuses or holiday gifts are assumed to be more than covered by your annuity.
Any employment situation is to be viewed in its entirety, with all aspects viewed in balance. We hope that you agree that our package is a generous one.

(Rose Aff. Ex. B; Frumkin Decl. Ex. F.) Plaintiff continued to receive monthly payments under the annuity until shortly after his February 2006 resignation, (see P’s 56.1 ¶ 22; Ds’ 56.1 ¶¶5, 7), when Rose changed the beneficiary of the annuity to himself, (P’s 56.1 ¶ 23; Ds’ 56.1 ¶8). On May 23, 2006, Rose enacted the Adam R. Rose Retirement Plan. (Ds’ 56.1 ¶ 10.)5

Plaintiff sued Rose in the New York Supreme Court alleging that the April 2, 2005 and November 20, 2005 memoranda established a binding employment contract (or modification thereof) and that the annuity was a gift. See Hardy v. Rose, 60 A.D.3d 904, 876 N.Y.S.2d 118, 120 (2d Dep’t 2009).6 On March 24, 2009, the Appellate Division granted judgment for Rose and held that: (a) he “retained the unilateral right, under the terms of the annuity contract, to change the beneficiary”; (b) “[t]he memoranda do not constitute a binding employment contract based upon past consideration since they were unsigned and the statement with respect to past consideration was vague and imprecise”; and (c) any gift was not complete because Rose “never divested himself of dominion and control over the property.” Id.

On July 16, 2010, Plaintiffs counsel, litigation counsel here, sent a letter to “Adam Rose Plan Administrator,” care of Defendants’ litigation counsel here, stating that the letter was an “appeal of the Plan’s refusal to provide [Plaintiff] his annuity benefit by removing [Plaintiff] as the named beneficiary of the Plan.” (Frumkin Decl. Ex. K, at 1; see P’s 56.1 ¶ 28.) In the letter, Plaintiffs counsel asserted, among other things, a claim under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B), a provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), Pub.L. No. 93-406, 88 Stat. 829. (Frumkin Decl. Ex. K, at 1, 3-4.) Defendants’ counsel responded on August 4, 2010 stating “that [Plaintiffs] appeal had been denied and he would not be receiving the annuity benefits to which he was [allegedly] entitled.” (P’s 56.1 ¶ 29; see Frumkin Decl. Ex. L (“Mr. Hardy’s employer was Adam R. Rose; no one else. Mr. Hardy was never employed by Rose Associates or AP Farm which is not a legal entity. He was not a participant in any ‘Plan,’ as Mr. Rose created no Plan. As you well known, the existence of a ‘benefit’ (if there was one) does not necessarily mean that a Plan was in existence.”).)

[412]*412Plaintiff commenced this action on June 24, 2011. (Doc. 1.) The Complaint alleges that the annuities provided to Plaintiff and others — in combination with the April 2, 2005 and November 20, 2005 memoranda — established a “Retirement program” subject to ERISA, and that Defendants violated 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B) by failing to continue to provide Plaintiff with annuity payments following his resignation. (Complaint, (Doc. 1), ¶¶ 11, 13-16, 21.) Upon completion of discovery, I gave the parties leave to file cross-motions for summary judgment, which are now before the Court.

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Related

In re Avaya Inc.
573 B.R. 93 (S.D. New York, 2017)
Hardy v. Adam Rose Retirement Plan
576 F. App'x 20 (Second Circuit, 2014)

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Bluebook (online)
957 F. Supp. 2d 407, 56 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 1677, 2013 WL 3716933, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99940, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hardy-v-adam-rose-retirement-plan-nysd-2013.