Zink v. Heiser

109 Misc. 2d 354, 438 N.Y.S.2d 209, 1981 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2399
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedApril 16, 1981
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 109 Misc. 2d 354 (Zink v. Heiser) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zink v. Heiser, 109 Misc. 2d 354, 438 N.Y.S.2d 209, 1981 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2399 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1981).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Harold Hyman, J.

This is an action brought by the plaintiff to recover moneys allegedly due to him based upon an employer’s separate pension plan and profit-sharing plan made by it for the benefit of its employees (hereinafter participants). Both plans were noncontributing as to such participants.

The nature of the single action is that there are specific moneys due to the plaintiff on both plans; but, that, result[355]*355ing from certain alleged activities of both plans, the trustees are charged with.dissipation, waste, diversion, negligence in the performance of their duties, and breach of fiduciary duty. Plaintiff seeks to recover, based upon the foregoing fiduciary activities, directly against the trustees.

In order to reach a determination of this matter, the court has found it necessary to divide such cause into two separate causes, one based upon the pension plan and the other based upon the profit-sharing plan. As to the pension plan, there is no novelty since it merely requires a consideration and interpretation of the terminology contained therein. As to the profit-sharing plan, there too there is no novelty, but when combining the both within the realm of fiduciary responsibility, the novelty lies in the issue of State and/or Federal jurisdiction.

The novelty is not as to the nature of the issues involved; it lies in the necessity of interpreting the meaning of the statutory language as to whether or not a participant has a right of action in a State court, or exclusively in the Federal courts. Federal statutes which make up the whole body of the Employee Retirement Income Security Program, familiarly known as ERISA (US Code, tit 29, §§ 1001-1381); more particularly the sections thereof as denominated, 1104 (fiduciary duties); 1109 (liability for breach of fiduciary duty); 1105 (liability for breach of cofiduciary), and 1132 (civil enforcement) with respect to certain subsections and subdivisions thereof, are the ones involved.

Bound by Federal statutes, this (State) court was obliged to make its determination accordingly. These determinations have been divided into the following three parts, namely: Part I — Pension Plan; Part II — Profit-Sharing Plan; Part III — Final Observations. It should be observed, that, had this (State) court the jurisdictional power to decide the main issue of fiduciary obligation, duty, activity and personal liability, the determination thereof might have resulted in different judgmental findings.

The pertinent facts and the application of State law and equity, as limited to Part I (Pension Plan) is set forth briefly therein.

[356]*356The pertinent facts, and the interpretation of the Federal statutory law, limited as it is to Part II (Profit-Sharing Plan) is also set forth briefly therein.

Part III (Final Observations) is an attempt to clarify how pointless the necessity of dismissing this complaint has become, solely caused by congressional pre-emption to the Federal courts. Had this (State) court the jurisdictional right and power to make a full determination on the merits, every facet thereof could have been determined now; but, under the circumstances of pre-emption, it may not now be determined, but must await other litigations in the Federal court which may run on for a period which may ultimately make the determination, as to this plaintiff, useless.

PART I — PENSION PLAN

Defendant Heiser contends, with regard to the pension plan, that: plaintiff had not reached “retirement” age of 65, and therefore he had no right to payment under the pension plan because it had not “accrued” at the time of commencement of the action and, therefore, that his action, if any, is premature; and, he further indicates that section 4 of article 7 of said pension plan provides: “Upon termination of employment of a participant for less than twenty years the percentage of his vested interest in the Trust Fund shall be computed”. He, therefore, indicates that when plaintiff terminated his employment he had a vested interest in the pension plan in the amount of $7,305.32, but not presently due and payable.

Section 5 of article 7 of the pension plan provides that the trustees shall take the same action with respect to a “participant’s vested interest” upon termination of employment as they would in the case of a participant who has retired after reaching his “normal retirement date”; and, yet, another provision (art 5, §3) provides that benefits under the plan commence at a participant’s “normal retirement date”, which, according to section 1 of article 5, is “the anniversary date of the Plan (October 31) following the participant’s sixty-fifth birthday.”

Is there, as suggested by plaintiff, any ambiguity in the verbiage of the pension plan which requires interpretation [357]*357in its use of the verbiage “termination of employment” as it shall apply to “vesting”? Must it be construed to mean that “vesting” occurs only after reaching one’s 65th birthday, as claimed by defendants? Or does the term mean “at any time”, whether it be a voluntary or involuntary termination even before one reaches his 65th birthday so long as there be a “termination”?

It is the opinion of the court that an examination of sections 1 and 3 of article 5 together with section 5 of article 7, above set forth, leads to the conclusion, namely, that, “termination of employment”; as it applies to “vesting”, means “at any time”. This is so because under section 5 of article 7, the trustees are directed to take the same action with regard to a participant’s vested interest “upon termination of employment” as they would be obliged to do in case such employee retired after reaching his 65th birthday, his “normal retirement date”. But the matter of “vesting!’ is not really the issue; what is the issue is when payment of such “vested” rights may, or can or should, be made by the trustees.

Since plaintiff had “terminated” his employment at the age of 61, and as a participant for seven years had credited to his account the sum of $20,872.34, section 4 of article 7 of the plan granted to him 35% of the gross amount credited, namely, $7,305.32. He therefore is entitled to commence receiving benefits under the plan, within the provision of article 5, that is, sections 1 and 3, “the anniversary date of the plan” (Oct. 31) following the participant’s 65th birthday (Nov. 2, 1980), and, therefore, commencing on October 31, 1981.

The action to recover upon such “vested” right, regardless of whether it could be brought in a State court or was pre-empted by Federal statute (ERISA) to the Federal courts, was, therefore, “premature” as to the pension plan on its face; as such “vested” right does not become effective until October 31, 1981 it must, therefore, be dismissed (Cowan v Keystone Employee Profit Sharing Plan Fund, 586 F2d 888; Reiherzer v Shannon, 581 F2d 1266; Silfen v United Whelan Corp., 30 AD2d 523; Alt v Long Is. R. R. Co., 81 Misc 2d 99, affd 54 AD2d 724) at this time.

[358]*358PART II — PROFIT-SHARING PLAN

Admittedly, plaintiff also has a “vested” interest in the profit-sharing plan as of October 31,1976 in the amount of $9,394.38. The profit-sharing plan expressly provides that upon a participant’s employment terminating, prior to “retirement date”

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State ex rel. Montgomery Ward & Co. v. Peters
636 S.W.2d 99 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1982)

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Bluebook (online)
109 Misc. 2d 354, 438 N.Y.S.2d 209, 1981 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2399, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zink-v-heiser-nysupct-1981.