Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/126/166/497964/
Timestamp: 2019-11-22 08:22:19
Document Index: 162718932

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1441', '§ 1331', '§ 514', '§ 1144', '§ 514', '§ 514', '§ 502', '§ 502', '§ 502', '§ 514', '§ 502', '§ 502', '§ 514', '§ 1104', '§ 510', '§ 510', '§ 510', '§ 510', '§ 510', '§ 502', '§ 502', '§ 502', '§ 502']

John Joyce, Appellant, v. Rjr Nabisco Holdings Corp.; Rjr Nabisco, Inc.; Nabiscobrands, Inc.; R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Co, 126 F.3d 166 (3d Cir. 1997) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Third Circuit › 1997 › John Joyce, Appellant, v. Rjr Nabisco Holdings Corp.; Rjr Nabisco, Inc.; Nabiscobrands, Inc.; R.j. R...
John Joyce, Appellant, v. Rjr Nabisco Holdings Corp.; Rjr Nabisco, Inc.; Nabiscobrands, Inc.; R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Co, 126 F.3d 166 (3d Cir. 1997)
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit - 126 F.3d 166 (3d Cir. 1997) Argued May 23, 1997. Decided Sept. 16, 1997
28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). Removal is thus governed by the district court's original jurisdiction. The district court concluded that federal jurisdiction was appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, which provides for federal question jurisdiction, because the complaint arose under ERISA. We exercise plenary review. Brown v. Francis, 75 F.3d 860, 864 (3d Cir. 1996).
As the district court correctly reasoned, the "well-pleaded complaint rule" requires that, for removal to be appropriate, a federal question must appear on the face of the complaint. Dist. Ct. Op. at 3. See also Dukes v. U.S. Healthcare, 57 F.3d 350, 353 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S. Ct. 564, 133 L. Ed. 2d 489 (1995). In this case, because Joyce pled his complaint based solely on New Jersey law, no federal question appears on the face of the complaint. Under a narrow exception to the well-pleaded complaint rule, however, Congress may "completely pre-empt" a particular area of law such that any claim that falls within this area is "necessarily federal in character." Dukes, 57 F.3d at 354 (quoting Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Taylor, 481 U.S. 58, 63-64, 107 S. Ct. 1542, 1546, 95 L. Ed. 2d 55 (1987)). In such a case, removal would be appropriate.
See generally, 16 Moore's Federal Practice, 107.14 [b] [ii] and [iii] (Matthew Bender 3d ed.1997).
The district court based its preemption analysis on § 514(a) of ERISA, which preempts "any and all State laws insofar as they may now or hereafter relate to any employee benefit plan" as defined by ERISA. 29 U.S.C. § 1144(a). Relying on cases that interpret this section, the court concluded that a law "relates to" an employee benefits plan if it has a "connection with or reference to" such a plan. Dist. Ct. Op. at 4 (citing Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 463 U.S. 85, 90-91, 103 S. Ct. 2890, 2896, 77 L. Ed. 2d 490 (1983)). Apparently applying this test, and the cases based on § 514(a), see, e.g., Nolan v. Otis Elevator Co., 102 N.J. 30, 505 A.2d 580 (1986), the court concluded that plaintiff's claims were preempted by ERISA.
ERISA preemption under § 514(a), standing alone, does not, contrary to the district court's reasoning, create federal removal jurisdiction over a claim pled under state law in state court. Franchise Tax Board of Cal. v. Construction Laborers Vacation Trust for Southern Cal., 463 U.S. 1, 25-26, 103 S. Ct. 2841, 2854-55, 77 L. Ed. 2d 420 (1983). Only state claims that come within ERISA's civil enforcement provisions in § 502(a) are completely preempted such that removal to a federal court is appropriate. METROPOLITAN LIFE, 481 U.S. AT 63-65, 107 S. Ct. AT 1546-47.3 As this Court has explained:Section 514 of ERISA defines the scope of ERISA preemption.... The Metropolitan Life complete-preemption exception, on the other hand, is concerned with a more limited set of state laws, those which fall within the scope of ERISA's civil enforcement provision, § 502. State law claims which fall outside of the scope of § 502, even if preempted by § 514(a), are still governed by the well-pleaded complaint rule and, therefore, are not removable under the complete-preemption principles established in Metropolitan Life.
These allegations come within ERISA § 502. Under subsection (a) (3), individuals may recover for breaches of the fiduciary duties imposed by ERISA. Bixler v. Central Pa. Teamsters Health-Welfare Fund, 12 F.3d 1292 (3d Cir. 1993); Varity Corp. v. Howe, --- U.S. ----, ----, 116 S. Ct. 1065, 1074, 134 L. Ed. 2d 130 (1996). As Bixler makes clear, if a fiduciary "is aware of the beneficiary's status and situation," the fiduciary "has an obligation to convey complete and accurate information material to the beneficiary's circumstance," even if the beneficiary does not specifically ask for that information. 12 F.3d at 1300. Joyce's allegations that RJR knew he was eligible for benefits but failed to so inform him, come squarely within § 502(a) (3). We accordingly affirm the district court's conclusion that it had removal jurisdiction.
In Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 463 U.S. 85, 96-97, 103 S. Ct. 2890, 2899-900, 77 L. Ed. 2d 490 (1983), the Supreme Court considered whether ERISA preempted a state law which prohibited employee benefits plans from discriminating on the basis of pregnancy. The Court concluded that this provision of the state law was preempted but made clear that:
463 U.S. at 98 n. 17, 103 S. Ct. at 2900 n. 17. This Court's analysis in United Wire, Etc. v. Morristown Mem. Hosp., 995 F.2d 1179 (3d Cir. 1993), points to the same conclusion:
Our conclusion finds support in several recent Supreme Court cases, most notably N.Y. State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Ins. Co., 514 U.S. 645, 115 S. Ct. 1671, 131 L. Ed. 2d 695 (1995), and De Buono v. NYSA-ILA Med. and Clinical Services, --- U.S. ----, 117 S. Ct. 1747, 138 L. Ed. 2d 21 (1997). In Travelers, the Court refused to read the term "relate to" in § 514 literally, reasoning that to do so would provide no stopping point for ERISA preemption. 514 U.S. at 655-57, 115 S. Ct. at 1677. Instead, the Court directed, the objectives of ERISA must provide the basis for understanding the scope of Congress' intention to preempt state laws. Id. The Court applied this analysis in De Buono and concluded that ERISA did not preempt a state tax on gross receipts of health care facilities. The law did not refer to ERISA or ERISA plans, did not require the provision of employee benefits, and did not depend upon benefits plans to provide the cause of action. --- U.S. at ----, 117 S. Ct. at 1752. The same is true here.
The amended complaint alleges that RJR breached its fiduciary duties to Joyce and that RJR forced Joyce to resign in order to avoid paying him long-term disability benefits. The district court granted summary judgment on both counts. We exercise plenary review over the district court's decision, Glaziers and Glassworkers Union Local No. 252 Annuity Fund v. Newbridge Securities, 93 F.3d 1171, 1178 (3d Cir. 1996), and evaluate whether there is a "genuine issue as to any material fact." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). In making this determination, we consider the record in the light most favorable to Joyce, and draw all reasonable factual inferences in his favor. See Glaziers, 93 F.3d at 1178.
29 U.S.C. § 1104(a) (1). We also look to the common law of trusts to delineate a fiduciary's obligations under ERISA. Ream v. Frey, 107 F.3d 147, 154 (3d Cir. 1997).
This Court has held that a fiduciary's obligations include the duty to provide complete and accurate information to participants and beneficiaries. This duty extends beyond just responding to requests about specific benefits; instead, if the fiduciary has reason to believe that a beneficiary is eligible for benefits that are not the precise subject of his or her request, the fiduciary may violate its duties if it fails to provide information about those benefits. Jordan v. Federal Express Corp., 116 F.3d 1005, 1016 (3d Cir. 1997); Glaziers, 93 F.3d at 1182. Thus if a beneficiary requests information about medical and death benefits, the fiduciary's failure to inform her that she could purchase continuation coverage could constitute a breach of fiduciary duties, even if she did not specifically ask for that information. Bixler v. Central Pa. Teamsters Health-Welfare Fund, 12 F.3d 1292 (3d Cir. 1993). Similarly, a fiduciary has not discharged its obligations when an employee asks about a program for which the employee is not eligible, and the fiduciary fails to give him information about a similar program for which he is eligible. Eddy v. Colonial Life Ins. Co., 919 F.2d 747 (D.C. Cir. 1990). The question in this case is whether Joyce has come forward with enough evidence to withstand summary judgment on his claim that RJR violated its fiduciary duties when it failed to provide him specific information about long-term disability benefits, where the company had already provided him with a comprehensive benefits manual which included extensive information about these benefits.
In this case, on the other hand, there is not sufficient evidence from which a trier of fact could conclude that RJR knew Joyce was eligible for LTD benefits. Indeed, Joyce has presented little evidence that he was in fact eligible for those benefits at all in Dr. Katz's estimation--neither his affidavit nor his deposition states that Dr. Katz conditioned his return to work on RJR finding a new position for him.8 Instead, Joyce argues that we can infer his eligibility for long-term benefits from his statement that "Dr. Katz recommended that I return to a position with less responsibility." Similarly, Joyce argues that RJR should have inferred that Dr. Katz permitted Joyce's return to work only if RJR gave Joyce a new position, even though there is no evidence that Joyce or Dr. Katz actually said this to RJR. From this inference, the argument goes, RJR should have known that Joyce might be eligible for LTD benefits if RJR did not provide him with a new job. This evidence, in light of the benefits manual provided to Joyce and the other evidence canvassed above, is simply too attenuated to withstand RJR's motion for summary judgment.9 See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S. Ct. 2505, 2510-11, 91 L. Ed. 2d 202 (1986) (reasoning that summary judgment may be granted where evidence is "not significantly probative").
The second count of Joyce's amended complaint alleges that RJR "forced [Joyce] to resign in order to prevent [Joyce] from attaining long-term disability benefits which [Joyce] was eligible and entitled to receive." If true, such conduct would violate ERISA § 510, which provides:
The touchstone of a § 510 claim, as the text of the statute makes clear, is an improper motive. Thus one component of a prima facie § 510 claim is that the action was "taken for the purpose of interfering ... with the attainment of any right to which an employee may be entitled." Berger v. Edgewater Steel Co., 911 F.2d 911, 922 (3d Cir. 1990) (quoting Gavalik v. Continental Can Co., 812 F.2d 834 (3d Cir. 1987)). In this case, however, Joyce has not come forward with evidence that suggests that RJR acted with a motive prohibited by § 510.
As the district court observed, constructive discharge claims under § 510 of ERISA are governed by an "objective standard," which asks whether the employer "creat [ed] conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would resign." Berger, 911 F.2d at 923. Under this standard, the district court reasoned, situations in which an employee becomes frustrated with the "pressures" or "challenges" of a job do not constitute constructive discharge, and therefore RJR's action of "requiring an employee to remain in his or her position cannot reasonably be an intolerable condition" of employment. Dist. Ct. Op. at 12, 14.
Metropolitan Life considered the preemption of claims under ERISA § 502(a) (1) (B), not claims under § 502(a) (3). Our opinion in Dukes, however, speaks in terms of § 502 claims generally. This is consistent with the opinions of other Courts of Appeals, which have found that the complete preemption doctrine also applies to claims of breaches of fiduciary duties under § 502(a) (3). See Romney v. Lin, 94 F.3d 74, 81 (2d Cir. 1996), rehearing denied, 105 F.3d 806 (2d Cir. 1997); see also Kramer v. Smith Barney, 80 F.3d 1080, 1083 (5th Cir. 1996)
If Joyce claims that RJR failed to accommodate his disability in order to deny him benefits, this claim may be preempted by ERISA. See, e.g., Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. McClendon, 498 U.S. 133, 111 S. Ct. 478, 112 L. Ed. 2d 474 (1990). This was Joyce's allegation in the amended complaint. In that complaint, however, Joyce was forced to plead only under ERISA, and for this reason may have dropped the allegation that appeared in the original complaint that RJR simply failed to accommodate his disability