07-4040-cv

Ladouceur v. Credit Lyonnais 1 UNI TEDSTATE S COURT OF APPEALS 2 3 FOR THE S ECOND CIRCUI T 4 5 Aug ustTe rm, 20 08 6 7 (Ar gue d: Apr il 7, 200 9 D eci ded : S ept emb er 30, 20 09) 8 9 Doc ketNo . 0 7-4 040 -cv 10 11 12 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x 13 14 Ale x H . L ado uce ur, Ro nal d J . I van s, Dav id Sil ver s, 15 16 17 Pla int iff s-Appe lla nts , 18 19 - v .- 20 21 Cre ditLy onn ais , J ohnJ. Qu inn , 22 23 Def end ant s-Appe lle es. 24 25 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x 26 Bef ore : JAC OBS , C hie f Judg e, FEI NBE RG andWALKE R, 27 28 Cir cui t Judg es. 29 30 App eal fr om a j udgmen t o f t he Uni tedSt ate s D ist ric t 31 Cou rt forth e S out her n D ist ric t o f N ew Yor k ( Buc hwa ld, J. ) 32 dis mis sin g o n s umm aryju dgmentcl aim s o f p rom iss oryes top pel 33 andbr eac h o f f idu cia ry dut y. Th ese cl aim s a re pre mis ed on 34 cha nge s t o a n e mpl oye e b ene fitpl an gov ern ed by the Emplo yee 35 Ret ire men t I nco me Sec uri ty Actof19 74, 29 U. S.C . §10 01 et 36 seq . ( “ER ISA ”). B eca use or al pro mis es can notva ry the te rms 37 of an ERI SA pla n, we aff irm .2 1 PEARL ZUCHLEWSKI (Geoffrey 2 A. Mort, Esq., on the brief), 3 Kraus & Zuchlewski LLP, New 4 York, N.Y. , f or Pla int iff s5 App ell ant s. 6 7 TRACEY A. TISKA (Barbara 8 M. Roth, Esq., on the brief), 9 Hogan & Hartson LLP, New York, 10 N.Y., for Defendants-Appellees. 11 12 13 DENNIS JACOB S, Chi ef Jud ge: 14 15 Pla int iff s h ad bee n e mpl oye d b y aCr edi t L yon nai s 16 sub sid iar y t hatwa s a bso rbe d b y t he par entco mpa ny in 200 1. 17 The y a ppe al fro m aju dgmentofth e U nit ed Sta tes Di str ict 18 Cou rt forth e S out her n D ist ric t o f N ew Yor k ( Buc hwa ld, J. ) 19 dis mis sin g o n s umm aryju dgmentth eirpr omi sso ry est opp el and 20 bre achoffi duc iar y dutycl aim s p rem ise d o n a lle gat ion s t hat 21 Cre ditLy onn ais an d i ts Hum an Res our ces Di rec tor , J ohnJ. 22 Qui nn (co lle cti vel y “ Cre ditLy onn ais ”), or all y 23 mis rep res ent ed the ef fec t o f t he mer geronth eirpe nsi on 24 ben efi ts. T he dis tri ct cou rt fou nd no evi den ce of any 25 rep res ent ati on in wri tin g. Onap pea l, pla int iff s a rgu e t hat 26 an ora l r epr ese nta tio n s uff ice s t o e sta bli sh a b rea ch of 27 fiduci arycl aimba sedona pur por tedal ter ati on of a 28 ben efi ts pla n g ove rne d b y t he Emp loy ee Ret ire men t I nco me 29 Sec uri ty Act(“ ERI SA” ), 29 U.S .C. § 100 1 e t s eq. W e 30 dis agr ee, an d a ffi rm the ju dgmentofth e d ist ric t c our t.3 1 BACKGR OUND 2 Pla int iff s A lexH. La dou ceu r, Ron aldJ. Iv ans , a nd 3 Dav id Sil ver s w ere (r esp ect ive ly) th e f ormer pre sid ent , 4 exe cut ive vi ce pre sid ent , a nd sen iorac cou nta nt of Cre dit 5 Lyo nna is Rou se (“R ous e”) , whic h h ad bee n awh oll y-o wne d 6 sub sid iar y o f C red it Lyo nna is. I n 2 000 , C red it Lyo nna is 7 dec ide d t o a bso rb Rou se eff ect ive Ja nua ry 1, 200 1. InJu ne 8 200 0 ( bef ore th e merg er) , L ado uce ur andIv ans me t w ithHuman 9 Res our ces Di rec torQu inntodi scu ss the impac t o f t he mer ger 10 on the ir sal ari es andpe nsi ons . It is unc ont est ed tha t i n 11 the me eti ng wit h Q uin n a nd dur ingsu bse que nt pre sen tat ion s 12 to Rou se sta ff, Cr edi t L yon nai s a gre ed to cal cul ate ves tin g 13 per iod s f or pen sio n b ene fit s f romth e d ate emplo yee s b ega n 14 to wor k f or Rou se (as ea rlyas 19 87) , r ath er tha n t he dat e 15 the y w oul d b egi n t o w orkfo r C red it Lyo nna is (Ja nua ry 1, 16 200 1). 17 At iss ue is pla int iff s’ con ten tio n t hatCr edi t L yon nai s 18 als o a gre ed to cal cul ate pe nsi on fun din g fr om the da te 19 emp loy ees be gantowo rk at Rou se. P lai nti ffs co nce de the y 20 hav e n o w rit tendo cument s c onf irm ingth eiral leg ed 21 und ers tan din g o f h ow the ir pen sio n b ene fit s w oul d b e 22 cal cul ate d, nordo es the re cor d c ont ainan y w rit ingtoth at 23 eff ect . The y b ase th eircl aimonor al sta tement s a lle ged ly4 1 mad e b y Q uin n a nd oth er Cre ditLy onn ais HumanRe sou rce s 2 sta ff pri or to the me rge r. Cr edi t L yon nai s d eni es tha t i t 3 mad e s uchre pre sen tat ion s i n a ny form. 4 Pla int iff s c ommenc ed dir ectemplo yme nt wit h C red it 5 Lyo nna is on Jan uar y 1 , 2 001 , b ut all re sig nedbyAu gus t o f 6 tha t y ear . Acc ord ingtopl ain tif fs, th ey dep art ed Cre dit 7 Lyo nna is und er the impre ssi on tha t t hei r p ens ionbe nef its 8 wou ld be cal cul ate d a cco rdi ng to the ir ori gin al Rou se hir ing 9 dat es. S ee Am. Co mpl . ¶ 34 . How eve r, in Apr il 200 2, Qui nn 10 all ege dlyin formedLa dou ceu r b y l ett er tha t h is pen sio n 11 ben efi ts wou ld be bas ed, no t o n h is ori gin al Rou se sta rt 12 dat e, butonth e d ate th at he beg an wor kin g f or Cre dit 13 Lyo nna is. A cco rdi ng to pla int iff s, a C red it Lyo nna is hum an 14 res our ces re pre sen tat ive th en ora llyco nfi rme d t hat“a 15 dec isi on had ... be en mad e b y u nid ent ifi ed ind ivi dua ls notto 16 pro cee d w ithth e n ece ssa ry fun din g” forpl ain tif fs’ pe nsi on 17 ben efi ts. P lai nti ffs fi ledsu it in Apr il 200 4, all egi ng 18 pro mis sor y e sto ppe l a nd bre achoffi duc iar y dutyun derER ISA 19 on the gr oun d t hatCr edi t L yon nai s h ad rep res ent ed tha t 20 pen sio n b ene fit s w oul d b e f und ed as of the da te the y b ega n 21 to wor k f or Rou se. 22 The di str ictco urtin iti all y d ism iss ed the su it in 23 Jan uar y 2 005 , r uli ng tha t p lai nti ffs fa ile d t o a lle ge a5 1 suf fic ien t w rit ingtosu ppo rt the ir cla ims . Lad ouc eurv. 2 Cre ditLy onn ais , N o. 04 Civ . 2 773 (S .D. N.Y . J an. 20 , 2 005 ) 3 (Me mor andum andOr der ). We va cat ed the di smi ssa l a nd 4 rem and ed forfu rth er pro cee din gs on the gr oun d t hat 5 pla int iff s h ad all ege d f act s s uff ici enttosu ppo rt the ir 6 cla ims , a nd tha t f urt herdi sco ver y m igh t r eve al a s uff ici ent 7 wri tin g. La dou ceu r v . C red it Lyo nna is, 05 -07 66- cv (2dCi r. 8 200 5) (Summa ry Ord er) . 9 Aft er comple tio n o f d isc ove ry, Cr edi t L yon nai s m ove d 10 forsumma ry jud gme nt. I n Augu st 200 7, the di str ictco urt 11 gra nte d C red it Lyo nna is’ s m oti on, co ncl udi ng tha t p lai nti ffs 12 hadno t i den tif iedan y w rit ingco nta ini ng the al leg ed 13 rep res ent ati ons , a nd tha t a bse nt suc h awr iti ng the y c oul d 14 est abl ishne ith er pro mis sor y e sto ppe l n or bre achof 15 fiduci arydu ty. L ado uce ur v. Cre ditLy onn ais , N o, 04 Civ . 16 277 3 ( S.D .N. Y. Aug . 2 1, 200 7) (Me mor andum andOr der ). Th is 17 app eal fo llo wed . 18 19 DIS CUS SION 20 Pla int iff s d id notap pea l t he dis tri ct cou rt’ s e ntr y o f 21 summar y j udgmen t o n t hei r p rom iss oryes top pel cl aim , a nd we 22 dee m t hatcl aimtobe ab and one d. Se e S hak ur v. Sel sky , 3 91 23 F.3 d 1 06, 11 9 ( 2d Cir . 2 004 ). Pl ain tif fs’ so le arg ume nt on6 1 app eal is th at the di str ictco urter redindi smi ssi ng, “f or 2 lac k o f a ny wri tin g,” th eircl aimfo r b rea ch of fiduci ary 3 dut y u nde r E RIS A. 4 We re vie w t he dis tri ct cou rt’ s s umm aryju dgment 5 dec isi on de nov o. Ro e v . C ityofWa ter bur y, 542 F. 3d 31, 35 6 (2dCi r. 200 8). S umm aryju dgmentis ap pro pri ate if“t her e 7 is no gen uin e i ssu e a s t o a ny mat eri al fac t” and“t he mov ant 8 is ent itl ed to jud gme nt as a m att er of law .” Fe d. R. Civ . 9 P. 56( c). 10 ERI SA imp ose s afi duc iar y dutyonpl an adm ini str ato rs 11 to adm ini ste r abe nef its pl an “wi th the ca re, sk ill , 12 pru den ce, an d d ili gen ce und er the ci rcumst anc es the n 13 pre vai lin g t hata pru den t m an act ingina lik e c apa cit y a nd 14 fam ili ar wit h s uchma tte rs wou ld use inth e c onductofan 15 ent erp ris e o f ali ke cha rac teran d w ithli ke aim s.” 2 9 16 U.S .C. § 110 4(a )(1 ). Gi venth is fiduci aryob lig ati on, “[ a] 17 pla n a dmi nis tra torma y n ot mak e a ffi rma tiv e m ate ria l 18 mis rep res ent ati ons topl an par tic ipa nts ab outch ang es to an 19 emp loy ee pen sio n b ene fit s p lan .” Mu lli ns v. Pfi zer , I nc. , 20 23 F.3 d 6 63, 66 9 ( 2d Cir . 1 994 ) ( int ern al quo tat ionma rks 21 omi tte d, alt era tio ns in ori gin al) . The qu est iononap pea l 22 is whe the r a n a lle gedor al rep res ent ati on tha t p urp ort s t o 23 cha nge anemplo yee pe nsi on ben efi ts pla n c an sup por t acl aim7 1 forbr eac h o f f idu cia ry dut y u nde r E RIS A. 2 “[O ]ra l p rom ise s a re une nfo rce abl e u nde r E RIS A a nd 3 the ref ore ca nno t v aryth e t erm s o f a n E RIS A p lan .” Pe rre ca 4 v. Glu ck, 29 5 F .3d21 5, 225 (2 d C ir. 20 02) ; s ee als o 2 9 5 U.S .C. § 110 2(a )(1 ) ( “Ev eryemplo yee be nef it pla n s hal l b e 6 est abl ish ed andma int ain ed pur sua nt to a w rit tenin str ume nt 7 . . . .”) . Forth is rea son , w e h eldinPe rre ca tha t a n o ral 8 sta tementpu rpo rti ng to alt er the te rms ofanER ISAbe nef it 9 pla n w as ins uff ici enttogi ve ris e t o acl aimfo r p rom iss ory 10 est opp el. P err eca , 2 95 F.3 d a t 2 25. 11 Thi s l ogi c a ppl ies wi th equ al for ce to all ege d b rea che s 12 of fiduci arydu ty whe n t he all ege d b rea ch is an ora l 13 rep res ent ati on tha t p urp ort s t o c han ge an ERI SA ben efi t 14 pla n. Si nce su ch a s tat eme nt can notef fec t ach ang e i n a n 15 ERI SA pla n, we see nore aso n t o g ive th e s tat eme nt eff ectby 16 re- cha rac ter izi ng it as a b rea ch of fiduci arydu ty. G ivi ng 17 suc h e ffe ct to an ora l s tat eme nt “wo uldun dermin e E RIS A’s 18 framew orkwh ichen sur es tha t [ ERI SA] pl ans be go ver nedby 19 wri tte n d ocumen ts, ” M oor e v . Metr o. Lif e I ns. , 8 56 F.2 d 4 88, 20 492 (2 d C ir. 19 88) , a s w ell as di lut e t he pro tec tio n 21 con fer redbyth e w rit ingre qui rement , whic h p rev ent s 22 “emplo yee s f romha vin g t hei r b ene fit s e rod ed by ora l 23 mod ifi cat ion s t o t he pla n.” S mit h v . D unh am- Bus h, Inc ., 9598 1 F.2 d 6 , 1 0 ( 2d Cir . 1 992 ). 2 Pla int iff s a rgu e t hatth e r eas oni ng of Per rec a d oes no t 3 app ly to cla ims fo r b rea ch of fiduci arydu ty, an d t heyci te 4 cas es in whi ch we hav e u phe ld suc h c lai ms bas ed on all ege d 5 mat eri al mis rep res ent ati ons re gar din g c han ges toanER ISA 6 ben efi t p lan . See ge ner all y Abbr usc atov. Empir e B lue Cr oss 7 & B lue Sh iel d, 274 F. 3d 90, 102-03 (2 d C ir. 20 01) ; Mull ins , 8 23 F.3 d a t 6 69. B ut the se cas es eit herin vol vedwr itt en 9 rep res ent ati ons ordi d n ot ind ica te whe the r t he 10 rep res ent ati ons we re wri tte n o r o ral . See Ab bru sca to, 27 4 11 F.3 d a t 9 4-9 5 ( dis cus sin g t he var iou s “ mat eri als ” a nd 12 “do cument s” con tai nin g t he all ege d m isr epr ese nta tio ns) ; 13 Mul lin s, 23 F.3 d a t 6 69 (re cit ingth at the de fen dan t h ad 14 mad e r epr ese nta tio ns by mea ns of an “an nou nce [me nt] toit s 15 emp loy ees ” w ith outin dic ati ng whe the r t he ann oun cementwa s 16 wri tte n o r o ral ). Th e c ite d c ase s a re the ref ore in app osi te. 17 Fin all y, pla int iff s p oin t o ut tha t w e h ave ne verhe ld 18 tha t acl aimfo r b rea ch of fiduci arydu ty und er ERI SA can not 19 be mai nta ine d w ith outa wri tin g. Th at is tru e; butnosu ch 20 cat ego ric al requir eme nt is nee dedtode cid e t his ca se. W e 21 hol d o nlyth at a p art y a lle gin g abr eac h o f f idu cia ry dut y 22 on theba sisof a sta tem entpu rpo rti ng to alt er thete rmsof 23 an ERI SA ben efi t p lanmu st poi nt to a w rit tendo cumentA pri or Summar y O rde r i n t his ca se mad e r efe ren ce to 1 a w rit ingre qui rementinth e c ont extofanER ISAfi duc iar y dut y c lai m. Se e L ado uce ur v. Cre ditLy onn ais , No. 07-4040- cv (2d Cir. 2005) (Summary Order) . The wr iti ng requir eme nt ref ere nce d i n t hator deris th e r equ ire men t o f awr iti ng in a c lai m f or bre achoffi duc iar y dutyba sedonanal leg ed alt era tio n o f t he terms of an ERI SA ben efi t p lan . 9 1 con tai nin g t he all ege d s tat eme nt. 1 2 Pla int iff s h ave id ent ifi ed no doc ume nt in the re cor d 3 con tai nin g t he all ege d r epr ese nta tio ns pur por tin g t o 4 ret roa cti vel y f undth eirER ISAbe nef its . Bec aus e t he 5 summar y j udgmen t r eco rd doe s n ot sup por t p lai nti ffs ’ 6 fiduci arydu ty cla im, Cr edi t L yon nai s i s e nti tle d t o 7 jud gme nt as a m att er of lawonth at cla im. 8 Acc ord ing ly, we af firm t he jud gme nt of the di str ict 9 cou rt.