Opinion ID: 596119
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Date on Which the Breach of Fiduciary Duty Took Place

Text: 43 The district court accepted the plaintiffs' theory of a multi-step or continuing breach and concluded that the ERISA statute of limitations did not begin to run until Murata actually recouped the excess funds, three months before the filing of suit. We find the district court's analysis unpersuasive, and we agree with Murata that the breach of fiduciary actually took place when the Plans were amended, on October 28, 1985. This conclusion is compelled by our recent decision in Gluck v. Unisys Corp., 960 F.2d 1168 (3d Cir.1992). 44 In Gluck, the plaintiffs were participants in a plan that was partially contributory and partially non-contributory. Members who donated to the contributory portion of the plan were scheduled to receive additional benefits upon retirement. The sponsoring company amended the plan to terminate the contributory portion of the plan, such that both the contributory and non-contributory portions of the plan would receive the same benefits. Participants in the contributory portion of the plan brought suit, arguing that the termination of the contributory portion denied them benefits that had vested under the terms of the plan, in contravention of 26 U.S.C. § 411(d)(3). The plaintiffs claimed, inter alia, a breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA § 404(a)(1)(A), 29 U.S.C. § 1104(a)(1)(A). The defendants argued that the suit was time-barred under ERISA § 413, 29 U.S.C. § 1113. By way of identifying the actual date of the breach of fiduciary duty, we held: 45 The 1984 failure to vest fully the accrued benefits upon partial termination of a plan could constitute a violation of 26 U.S.C. § 411(d)(3), and fiduciaries responsible for that amendment might be responsible for the violation under a breach of fiduciary duty theory. Section 1113(1)'s six-year limitations period would run from the date of the amendment's adoption. 46 Id. at 1178 (emphasis added). 47 We find no significant distinction between the situation in Gluck and the one at bar. Here, Murata amended the Plans in a manner arguably violative of their fiduciary duties under ERISA § 404, 29 U.S.C. § 1104, just as the defendant in Gluck arguably breached its fiduciary duty by amending the plans in a manner inconsistent with another ERISA provision. Further, in both cases, the defendants took subsequent steps that caused a transfer of assets later claimed by the plaintiffs. Nevertheless, in Gluck, we considered the date of the amendment to be the date on which the breach of fiduciary duty occurred, and, controlled by that decision, we consider the date of the breach of fiduciary duty in this case to have been October 25, 1985. 8 48