Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca6-14-05789/USCOURTS-ca6-14-05789-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Benefits Committee for the Commonwealth Industries, Inc. Cash Balance Plan
Appellee
Commonwealth Industries, Inc.
Appellee
Commonwealth Industries, Inc. Cash Balance Plan
Appellee
Donald Corley
Appellant

Document Text:

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION

File Name: 15a0343n.06

Case No. 14-5789

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

DONALD CORLEY,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

COMMONWEALTH INDUSTRIES, INC. 

CASH BALANCE PLAN;

COMMONWEALTH INDUSTRIES, INC.;

and

BENEFITS COMMITTEE FOR THE 

COMMONWEALTH INDUSTRIES, INC. 

CASH BALANCE PLAN

Defendants-Appellees.

____________________________________/

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED 

STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR 

THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF 

KENTUCKY

Before: MERRITT, BOGGS, and ROGERS, Circuit Judges. 

MERRITT, Circuit Judge. Throughout this ERISA litigation, Plaintiff Donald Corley 

has repeatedly argued that the plain language of his pension-benefits Plan entitles him to a larger 

lump-sum pension payment than he actually received. This appeal is the second time this case 

has been before our court on this issue. See Fallin v. Commonwealth Indus., Inc., 695 F.3d 512 

(6th Cir. 2012). In the first appeal, we held that the Benefits Committee’s interpretation of the 

 Case: 14-5789 Document: 33-2 Filed: 05/08/2015 Page: 1
Case No. 14-5789, Corley v. Commonwealth Indus. et al.

- 2 -

Plan’s terms was not arbitrary or capricious. See id. at 516. Corley fully briefed this issue then, 

and it is precisely the same argument he raises now. Because we squarely decided the issue in 

the first appeal, we hold that the law of the case doctrine precludes us from reconsidering it. See 

Vander Boegh v. EnergySolutions, Inc., 772 F.3d 1056, 1071 (6th Cir. 2014). Accordingly, the 

judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

 Case: 14-5789 Document: 33-2 Filed: 05/08/2015 Page: 2