Opinion ID: 771382
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: standard of review

Text: 5 The district court's grant of summary judgment is subject to plenary review, and we apply the same standard of review as the district court. See Paramore v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 129 F.3d 1446, 1449 (11th Cir.1997). Summary judgment shall be granted where there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We view the facts and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Wideman v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 141 F.3d 1453, 1454 (11th Cir.1998). 6 There are three standards of review appropriate in ERISA decisions. See Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. v. Bruch, 489 U.S. 101, 109 S.Ct. 948, 103 L.Ed.2d 80 (1989) (comparing ERISA law to trust law and adapting the standards of review from trust law to fit ERISA cases). Where an ERISA plan does not grant the fiduciary or plan administrator discretion over distribution of benefits, the court will apply a de novo standard of review. See Marecek v. BellSouth Telecommunicatons, Inc., 49 F.3d 702, 705 (11th Cir.1995). When the plan does grant the fiduciary or plan administrator such discretion, the arbitrary and capricious standard applies, which is analogous to an abuse of discretion standard. See Marecek, 49 F.3d at 705. Finally, if the plan grants the fiduciary or administrator discretion, but the court finds a conflict of interest between the fiduciary or administrator and the company, a heightened arbitrary and capricious standard applies, and the court will consider this conflict in its analysis. See Brown v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Inc., 898 F.2d 1556, 1566 (11th Cir.1990) ([W]e hold that when a plan beneficiary demonstrates a substantial conflict of interest on the part of the fiduciary responsible for benefits determinations, the burden shifts to the fiduciary to prove that its interpretation of plan provisions committed to its discretion was not tainted by self-interest.) It is important to note that where the district court agrees with the ultimate decision of the administrator, it will not decide whether a conflict exists. It is only when the court disagrees with the decision that it looks for a conflict and, when one is found, reconsiders the decision in light of this conflict. See Marecek, 49 F.3d at 705. 7 The district judge applied the arbitrary and capricious standard, which was appropriate because the Committee did have discretion over the distribution of benefits. See R1-37-A3. 5 Because the district court agreed with the Committee's decision to deny Yochum's request for benefits, it was unnecessary to determine whether a conflict of interest existed between the Committee and NationsBank. We, however, disagree with the Committee's decision, and must take into account any potential conflicts of interest while we decide whether the decision was arbitrary and capricious. 8 Where the funding for severance plans comes directly from the coffers of a company, rather than through a trust, there is a conflict of interest. See Brown, 898 F.2d at 1562 (finding that the heightened arbitrary and capricious standard must be applied when the ERISA plan was administered by an insurance company which paid benefits directly from its own assets). In this case, we find that there was a conflict of interest in the benefits decision by the Committee, because severance benefits are paid directly from the coffers of NationsBank, so a decision to award severance benefits would take money directly away from NationsBank. At the same time, members of the Committee are NationsBank employees, and their decision to deny benefits saves NationsBank a large sum of money. NationsBank had already paid money to Yochum in fulfillment of other contracts, and Yochum was now working for NationsBank's strongest competitor in the region. Based on these conflicts of interest, we will apply the heightened arbitrary and capricious standard, as the district court would have done if necessary.