Opinion ID: 615595
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Citigroup and Prince

Text: Plaintiffs allege that Citigroup and Prince regularly communicated with Plan participants about Citigroup's expected performance. They argue that Citigroup and Prince may be held liable, under ERISA, for these communications because they intentionally connected their statements to Plan benefits. This argument fails because neither Citigroup nor Prince was a Plan administrator responsible for communicating with Plan participants. Therefore, neither acted as a Plan fiduciary when making the statements at issue. Plaintiffs rely on the Supreme Court's decision in Varity Corp. v. Howe, 516 U.S. 489, 116 S.Ct. 1065, 134 L.Ed.2d 130 (1996), in which the Court found an employer liable for misstatements made to plan participants in part because the employer intentionally connected its statements to the future of [plan] benefits. Id. at 505, 116 S.Ct. 1065. Plaintiffs, however, overlook that the employer in Varity was also the plan administrator, id. at 491, 116 S.Ct. 1065, and that only the plan administrator is responsible for meeting ERISA's disclosure requirements and therefore for communicating with Plan participants. 29 U.S.C. § 1132(c). That the employer in Varity intentionally connected its statements to plan benefits highlighted that it acted as a plan administrator and fiduciaryand not merely an employerwhen making the statements in question. Cf. Amato v. W. Union Int'l, 773 F.2d 1402, 1416-17 (2d Cir.1985) (stating that an employer is only liable under ERISA for actions it takes while acting as an ERISA fiduciary), abrogated on other grounds by Mead Corp. v. Tilley, 490 U.S. 714, 721, 109 S.Ct. 2156, 104 L.Ed.2d 796 (1989). Here, Citigroup and Prince were not Plan administrators and were not responsible for communicating with Plan participants. [5] Citigroup and Prince therefore spoke to Plan participants as employers and not as Plan fiduciaries. They cannot be held liable, at least under ERISA, for any alleged misstatements made to Citigroup employees.