Opinion ID: 2975410
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: summary judgment on second claim

Text: Marzuola argues that the district court erred by dismissing his claim for declaratory relief on standing grounds. “This Court reviews de novo the district court's decision to dismiss a claim for lack of standing.” Coyne v. Am. Tobacco Co., 183 F.3d 488, 492 (6th Cir. 1999). “To satisfy Article III's standing requirement, a plaintiff must have suffered some actual or threatened injury due to the alleged illegal conduct of the defendant; the injury must be ‘fairly traceable’ to the challenged action; and there must be a substantial likelihood that the relief requested will redress or prevent the plaintiff's injury.” Id. at 494. As the district court observed, ruling the release invalid would not have a substantial likelihood of redressing Marzuola’s alleged injuries–that he was denied severance benefits under 1 Although Marzuola argues in his brief that he was entitled to vested benefits under the 1994 plan, he stated at oral argument that the benefits in question were not vested. Further, since he has no colorable claim remaining under either policy, this court need not address whether either policy provided for vested benefits under ERISA. 5 either policy. Unsigned, the release does not hinder Marzuola from seeking to redress those alleged harms in court, as he has done in this action. Contrary to Marzuola’s contentions otherwise, if he signed the release, he would retain the ability to challenge its validity in court. See, e.g., Astor v. Int’l Bus. Machs. Corp., 7 F.3d 533, 537 (6th Cir. 1993) (“While this covenant not to sue broadly covers all claims relating to the employment relationship, it cannot cover suits that challenge the validity of the release agreement itself. Otherwise, the plaintiffs would be denied the means to escape a voidable obligation not to sue.”). Finally, even if the release were shown to violate the specific statutes that Marzuola alleges, he has made no other claims for relief under those statutes, and declaring the unsigned release invalid would have no effect. Therefore, the district court did not err in dismissing Marzuola’s second claim for relief for lack of standing.