Opinion ID: 767322
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: internal revenue code s 408

Text: 23 Internal Revenue Code S 408 defines the terms individual retirement account and individual retirement annuity. The definitions contain various requirements which must be met in order to receive the IRA appellation. 26 U.S.C. S 408. 6 Because Judge Armstrong had held that Appellants cannot avoid dismissal by attempting to present inconsistent facts in their opposition brief (May 2, 1997 Order of Judge Armstrong, at 12), Judge Breyer held that Judge Armstrong's decision was law of the case and agreed that Appellants could not contend that the Plan was not an IRA plan. See Russell v. Rolfs, 893 F.2d 1033, 1037 (9th Cir. 1990) (judicial estoppel bars a party from making a factual assertion in a legal proceeding which directly contradicts an earlier assertion made in the same proceeding or a prior one); see also Thomas v. Farley, 31 F.3d 557, 558-9 (7th Cir. 1994)([I]f a plaintiff does plead particulars, and they show that he had no claim, then he is out of luck -he has pleaded himself out of court.). Both judges correctly held that Appellants could not contradict their earlier allegations in an effort to survive summary judgment. 24 The District Court (Judge Breyer) continued and also correctly found that although plaintiffs have indicated at various times that the Plan is not an IRA under the Internal Revenue code, 26 U.S.C. S 408 . . . . neither plaintiffs' opposition to this summary judgment motion, nor any other document filed by plaintiffs with the Court, provides any specific support for their argument. 25 Appellants argue that the District Court erred in failing to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Appellants. They assert that the District Court improperly held that the Appellants were required to produce evidence that the Plan failed to meet the criteria of I.R.C. S 408. However, the District Court properly applied the summary judgment standard. The Supreme Court in Celotex Corp. v. Catrett held that Rule 56(e) requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by her own affidavits, or by the depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. 477 U.S. 317, 324 (citations and internal quotations omitted). 26 In support of their motions for summary judgment, Appellees presented considerable evidence that the Plan qualifies as an IRA within the definition set out at I.R.C. S 408. Appellants contend that Appellees presented only the CBA. This contention overlooks the Group Individual Retirement Annuity Policy which had been presented without opposition to the court. Having offered both the CBA and the Annuity Policy, Appellees laid out specifically those provisions of the documents which meet the six requirements of I.R.C. S 408(b). Neither Appellants' briefs nor the Record reveal any evidence contradicting the inference that the Plan qualifies under I.R.C. S 408(b). 27 It is telling that Appellants, in their Declaration In Opposition To All Defendants Motions For Summary Judgment, present facts which indicate that the Plan fails Regulation S 2510.3-2, but not I.R.C. S 408. 7 EOR 193-95. Clinging to the inaccurate assertion that failing S 2510.3-2 is sufficient to make the Plan subject to all parts of Title I of ERISA, Appellants asserted in vain facts which even when viewed in a light most favorable to Appellants do not support their claims and therefore are not material. 28 Additionally, Appellants argue on appeal that the Plan does not constitute an IRA under I.R.C. S 408 because there is no written trust document. Section 408, however, reveals that the written trust requirement appears in S 408(a) which refers to individual retirement accounts. Appellees do not claim section 408(a) status, but rather rely on S 408(b) which refers to individual retirement annuities. Again, Appellants' assertion is not material. 29 In support of their motions for summary judgment, Appellees produced evidence in the form of the CBA and the Annuity Policy that indicates the Plan meets the requirements set forth in I.R.C. S 408. Appellants did not counter with anything more than mere allegation. Therefore, the District Court correctly found that Appellants had failed to raise a genuine issue of fact as to whether the Plan was an IRA as defined in I.R.C. S 408. The uncontroverted evidence presented by the Appellees indicated that the Plan was an IRA underS 408. The District Court did not err in treating it as such.