Loffredo v. Daimler AG

54 F. Supp. 3d 729, 59 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 2317, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133775, 2014 WL 4704854
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedSeptember 22, 2014
DocketCase No. 10-14181
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 54 F. Supp. 3d 729 (Loffredo v. Daimler AG) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loffredo v. Daimler AG, 54 F. Supp. 3d 729, 59 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 2317, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133775, 2014 WL 4704854 (E.D. Mich. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

JULIAN ABELE COOK, JR., District Judge.

The Plaintiffs in this consolidated action 1 are retired executives of the Chrysler Corporation (“Chrysler”) and/or the DaimlerChrysler Corporation (“Daimler-Chrysler”). Their amended complaint decries acts of age discrimination arising from the Plaintiffs’ participation in the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SRP”) of Chrysler and/or DaimlerChrys-ler.

[732]*732The Defendants are (1) Daimler AG (“Daimler”), a stock corporation organized under the laws of Germany; (2) State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), a Massachusetts trust company; (3) Thomas LaSorda, a Michigan citizen who acted as a director, manager, trustee, or some other position of authority with DaimlerChrysler during all of the times that are relevant to this litigation; and (4) John Doe/Mary Roe, unidentified directors, managers, trustees, or other officers of DaimlerChrysler2.

Currently before the Court are motions to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ amended complaint filed by (1) Daimler; (2) State Street; and (3) LaSorda.

I.

The facts as presented in the Plaintiffs’ complaint are as follows. In 1998, Chrysler merged with Daimler-Benz AG to form a new company called Daimler Chrysler AG. As part of the merger, Chrysler was renamed DaimlerChrysler, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Chrysler AG and the employer of Chrysler’s employees.

On August 3, 2007, Daimler Chrysler AG sold a majority interest in Daimler-Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management, LP (“Cerberus”). Under this new ownership, DaimlerChrysler became known as Chrysler LLC. After the sale, Daimler Chrysler AG changed its name to its current form, Daimler AG.

The Plaintiffs in this action are all former employees of Chrysler, Daimler-Chrysler, or subsidiaries of these companies who were employed prior to 2007. While employed, the Plaintiffs participated in an employee benefit plan that provided retirement benefits to eligible employees. The plan was known as the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SRP”). Under the terms of the plan, the Plaintiffs were entitled to receive a monthly payment from the SRP upon their retirement. The SRP was not federally insured by the United States Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Chrysler established a trust to manage payment of SRP retirement benefits. The trust was administered by State Street and LaSorda. According to the complaint, the trust was believed to have assets in excess of $200 million in August 2007. At the time of Chrysler’s bankruptcy in 2009, the trust contained only $117,163.

The Plaintiffs allege that beginning in 2005, the Defendants knew that Daimler-Chrysler/Chrysler LLC was in danger of filing bankruptcy and that if the company did file for bankruptcy protection, the trust assets would become part of the bankruptcy estate and be subject to the claims of unsecured creditors. To avoid such an outcome, LaSorda-used assets of the trust to purchase annuities or otherwise secure the SRP retirement benefits of (a) current employees of DaimlerChrysler and (b) certain retired employees. He did not, however, similarly securitize the benefits of the majority of .former employees who had retired between 1998 and 2006-a group that, on average, was older than the group of still-active employees. The Plaintiffs are included in this group.

The action to securitize SRP retirement benefits only for actively employed SRP participants was allegedly presented to and approved by the Daimler Chrysler AG Board of Management in Germany.

On September 10, 2010, the Plaintiffs initiated a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Wayne County, Michigan, alleging that the [733]*733action to securitize only some benefits violated multiple laws. On October 19, 2010, the Daimler removed the case to this Court. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332', 1441, 1453.

The Defendants proceeded to file motions to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ original complaint. On June 6, 2011, 2011 WL 2262389, the Court granted those motions. The Plaintiffs appealed and on September 25, 2012, the Sixth Circuit reversed the dismissal of the state-law age-discrimination claim but affirmed the dismissal of all remaining claims.

On February 22, 2013, the Plaintiffs requested leave from this Court to file an amended complaint. This request was granted as to the age discrimination claim but denied as to claims related to the rabbi trust.

The Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on August 30, 2013. On September 13, 2013, the Defendants filed separate motions to dismiss the amended complaint. Those motions are now fully briefed and ready for disposition.

II.

When considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court accepts the plaintiff’s well-pleaded allegations as true and should construe each of them in a light that is most favorable to it. Bennett v. MIS Corp., 607 F.3d 1076, 1091 (6th Cir.2010). However, this assumption of truth does not extend to the plaintiffs legal conclusions because “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere eonclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The complaint “must contain either direct or inferential allegations respecting all material elements to sustain a recovery under some viable legal theory.” Bishop v. Lucent Techs., Inc., 520 F.3d 516, 519 (6th Cir.2008) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).

In order to survive an application for dismissal, the complaint must allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). To meet this standard, the “plaintiff [must] plead[] factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. In essence, “[a] pleading that states a claim for relief must contain ... a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2).

In considering a 12(b)(6) motion, “documents attached to the pleadings become part of the pleading and may be considered.” Commercial Money Ctr., Inc. v. Ill. Union Ins. Co., 508 F.3d 327, 335 (6th Cir.2007) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(c)).

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54 F. Supp. 3d 729, 59 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 2317, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133775, 2014 WL 4704854, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loffredo-v-daimler-ag-mied-2014.