Opinion ID: 1381305
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Count IIClaim for Penalties

Text: The district court correctly dismissed Count II. Neither Prudential nor Hunt may be held liable under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(c).
Section 1132(c) authorizes the district court to impose statutory penalties upon a plan administrator if the plan administrator fails or refuses to comply with a request for any information which such administrator is required by this subchapter to furnish to a participant. 29 U.S.C. § 1132(c)(1)(B). Prudential may not be held liable for statutory penalties because § 1132(c) only provides a cause of action against plan administrators. See Ross v. Rail Car Am. Group Disability Income Plan, 285 F.3d 735, 743-44 (8th Cir.2002) (affirming the district court's dismissal of a § 1132(c) claim against the claims administrator because § 1132(c) only provides a cause of action against plan administrators); Krauss, 517 F.3d at 631 (same); VanderKlok v. Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co., 956 F.2d 610, 618 (6th Cir.1992) (same). Hunt, not Prudential, is the plan administrator. See 29 U.S.C. § 1002(16)(A). Governing precedent forecloses Brown's argument that Prudential was the de facto plan administrator. See Ross, 285 F.3d at 743 (rejecting a de facto [p]lan [a]dministrator argument, which cannot stand in the face of the uncontroverted facts, ERISA, and settled case law).
Brown complains Hunt failed to provide her with claims manuals, and thus she is entitled to statutory penalties from Hunt under § 1132(c). Nothing in the relevant subchapter, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1191c, requires plan administrators to disclose claims manuals to plan participants. For example, the district court correctly held claims manuals are not the other instruments mentioned in § 1024(b)(4). See, e.g., Brown v. Am. Life Holdings, Inc., 190 F.3d 856, 861 (8th Cir.1999) (construing other instruments in § 1024(b)(4) to include only formal documents that establish or govern the plan). Even if we assume the relevant regulations to § 1133 require a plan administrator to disclose claims manuals to plan participants, see, e.g., 29 C.F.R. § 2560.503-1(h)(2)(iii) (requiring disclosure of all documents, records, and other information relevant to the claimant's claim for benefits), we agree with our sister circuits that a plan administrator may not be penalized under § 1132(c) for a violation of the regulations to § 1133. See, e.g., Wilczynski, 93 F.3d at 405-07; Stuhlreyer v. Armco, Inc., 12 F.3d 75, 79 (6th Cir.1993); VanderKlok, 956 F.2d at 618; Groves v. Modified Ret. Plan for Hourly Paid Employees of Johns Manville Corp. & Subsidiaries, 803 F.2d 109, 116-18 (3d Cir. 1986).
Because Hunt may not be penalized under § 1132(c) for failing to disclose claims manuals to Brown, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Brown's motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f) to conduct discovery regarding whether Hunt possessed any claims manuals. To the extent Brown requests wide-ranging discovery from Hunt and Prudential for the first time on appeal, we find such requests insufficiently preserved for our review. See, e.g., TRI, Inc. v. Boise Cascade Office Prods., Inc., 315 F.3d 915, 920 (8th Cir.2003) (holding an argument regarding discovery was not preserved for appeal absent indication [the appellant] brought these discovery complaints to the attention of the district court).