Opinion ID: 686516
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Claims for Benefits Due

Text: 3 Appellants allege that Armco is an employer liable for benefits due under the terms of the unfunded, terminated plans. ERISA expressly provides that [a] civil action may be brought (1) by a participant or beneficiary ... (B) to recover benefits due to him under the terms of his plan. Sec. 502(a)(1)(B), 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1132(a)(1)(B). The plans stopped paying benefits in 1986. These claims were first asserted in 1992. The district court held the claims time-barred under Minnesota's two-year statute of limitations governing claims for the recovery of wages and other compensation. Minn.Stat. Sec. 541.07(5). We agree. 4 ERISA contains no statute of limitations for actions to recover plan benefits. Therefore, as a matter of federal law we must look to Minnesota law for the most analogous state statute of limitations. At least in this circuit, it is settled that a claim for ERISA benefits is characterized as a contract action for statute of limitations purposes. In a State such as Minnesota that has more than one statute of limitations for contract actions, the federal court must decide which statute governs claims that are most analogous to the ERISA benefit claims at issue. See Johnson v. State Mut. Life Assur. Co. of America, 942 F.2d 1260, 1261-63 (8th Cir.1991) (en banc). 5 Appellants argue that Minnesota's six-year statute of limitations for contracts not falling within a more specific statute should govern. See Minn.Stat. Sec. 541.05(1). The district court instead applied Sec. 541.07(5), the two-year statute of limitations for wage claims, which provides in relevant part: 6 [T]he following actions shall be commenced within two years: 7