Kohl v. Association of Trial Lawyers of America

183 F.R.D. 475, 42 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 573, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19543, 1998 WL 880913
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedDecember 14, 1998
DocketNo. Civ.A. AW-97-3264
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 183 F.R.D. 475 (Kohl v. Association of Trial Lawyers of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kohl v. Association of Trial Lawyers of America, 183 F.R.D. 475, 42 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 573, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19543, 1998 WL 880913 (D. Md. 1998).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WILLIAMS, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are cross-motions for summary judgment, and Plaintiffs motion for class certification. A hearing was held on December 2, 1998 pursuant to Local Rule 105.6 (D.Md.). Upon consideration of the motions, and arguments made in support of and opposition to, the Court will deny the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, grant Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment, and motion for class certification.

BACKGROUND

This action is brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., in which the Plaintiff claims that she did not receive her full retirement benefits under her pension plan because it did not include the value of a cost [478]*478of living adjustment. The principal issue on summary judgment is whether Plaintiffs pension plan was required, either legally or contractually, to include a cost of living adjustment when plan participants elect to receive their benefits in a lump-sum payment.

The facts of this case are very straightforward. Plaintiff, Barbara Lee Kohl, was employed by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (“ATLA”) from October 1989 until July 1994, during which time Plaintiff was enrolled in the ATLA Pension Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan is subject to ERISA, and is a “defined benefit plan” under the Internal Revenue Code. The Plan provided a cost of living adjustment for those participants’ benefits that were accrued between May 1, 1985 and August 1, 1994. In January of 1994, Plaintiff received a Participant Data and Benefit Summary informing her ■ that she would be entitled to a lump sum benefit payment if she received it on August 1, 1994. On August 4, 1994, Plaintiff filed a distribution request for a lump-sum payment. On August 24, 1994, Plaintiff received payment in the amount of $85,793.38. The distribution, however, did not include a cost of living adjustment. On June 13,1996, after a series of correspondence regarding the discrepancy, Plaintiffs counsel submitted a formal claim for the additional benefits under the lump sum payment. Defendants acknowledged the claim on July 10, 1996, and rejected the claim by letter on September 13, 1996. Plaintiff appealed the rejection to the Plan’s “Appeal Committee” on September 19, 1996, and the appeal was denied on February 10, 1997. Plaintiff then filed this action on September 25,1997.

DISCUSSION

I. Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment on ERISA Violations

A. Standard of Review on Summary Judgment

“Summary judgment procedure is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed ‘to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.’ ” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citations omitted). Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment will be granted when no genuine dispute of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). While the evidence of the non-movant is to be believed and all justifiable inferences drawn in his or her favor, a party cannot create a genuine dispute of material fact through mere speculation or compilation of inferences. Runnebaum v. NationsBank of Md., N.A., 123 F.3d 156, 164 (4th Cir.1997) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Beale v. Hardy, 769 F.2d 213, 214 (4th Cir.1985)). To defeat such a motion, the party opposing summary judgment must present evidence of specific facts from which the finder of fact could reasonably find for him or her. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). As is the case here, courts are often confronted with cross-motions because Rule 56(a) and (b) allow both plaintiffs and defendants to move for summary judgment. In such situations, courts must consider each party’s motion individually to determine if that party has satisfied the summary judgment standard. See 10A Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 2720 (1983). Thus, in determining whether genuine and material factual disputes exist, the Court has considered the parties’ respective memorandums and the many exhibits attached thereto, as well as the arguments made at the hearing, and construed all facts, and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, in the light most favorable to the respective non-movant. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

Here, Plaintiff claims in her motion, and in her Response to Defendants’ motion, that the lump sum benefit payment that she received did not include the value of the cost of living adjustment (COLA), which she claims is provided under the Plan. Defendants contend, [479]*479in their motion and Response to Plaintiffs motion, that the Plan does not provide a COLA when the participant elects to receive his/her retirement benefits in the form of a lump sum payment. Because the cross-motions for summary judgment essentially assert the same arguments, the Court will discuss the substance of the motions generally.

B. The COLA as an Accrued Benefit

Plaintiff contends that under ERISA, a COLA is considered an “accrued benefit,” and thus an inextricable part of a participant’s normal retirement benefits. ERISA defines an “accrued benefit,” in terms of a defined benefit plan, as “an annual benefit commencing at normal retirement age----” 29 ILS.C. § 1002(23) (1984). Except in specific instances, ERISA forbids any decrease of a participant’s accrued benefits through an amendment to the pension plan. See 29 U.S.C. § 1054(g)(1) (1984). This is in line with one of Congress’ goals in enacting ERISA — protecting the benefits described in a pension plan by ensuring that if a participant is promised a specific benefit and meets all of the necessary requirements to receive it, then the participant will actually receive the promised benefits. See Nachman v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., 446 U.S. 359, 375, 100 S.Ct. 1723, 64 L.Ed.2d 354 (1980). Thus, Plaintiff asserts that if a COLA is considered an accrued benefit under ERISA, then the pension plan particL pant should be entitled to receive it.

Plaintiff relies primarily on the case of Hickey v. Chicago Truck Drivers, Helpers and Warehouse Workers Union, 980 F.2d 465 (7th Cir.1992). In Hickey,

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183 F.R.D. 475, 42 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 573, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19543, 1998 WL 880913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kohl-v-association-of-trial-lawyers-of-america-mdd-1998.