Opinion ID: 185099
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jurisdiction based upon ERISA retirement plan

Text: 19 The ERISA retirement plan administered by Washington Gas also fails to provide the district court with jurisdiction over Young's claims. The fiduciary responsibilities of an ERISA plan administrator are detailed in section 1104 of the Act, as codified, which reads, in relevant part, as follows: 20 [A] fiduciary shall discharge his duties with respect to aplan solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries and-- 21 (A) for the exclusive purpose of:(i) providing benefits to participants and their beneficiaries; and(ii) defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan.... 22 29 U.S.C. S 1104(a)(1)(A) (emphasis added). There is nothing in the section to suggest that an ERISA plan administrator has a fiduciary duty to disclose information unrelated to the plan even if an employee might consider that information important to his decision to retire. Nor can we find any section of the statute that requires disclosures unrelated to the plan; indeed, the disclosure requirements are limited to information about the plan itself. See, e.g., id. S 1021 (requiring disclosure of summary plan description, terminal reports, failure to meet minimum funding standards, and transfer of excess pension assets). 23 Although the Supreme Court has stated that the federal courts, in interpreting the fiduciary standards imposed by ERISA, will develop a federal common law of rights and obligations under ERISA-regulated plans, Varity Corp. v. Howe, 516 U.S. 489, 497 (1996) (internal quotation and citation omitted), none of the cases dealing with a plan administrator's duties under ERISA have required him to assume responsibilities that are unrelated to the plan itself. The authorities upon which Young relies only serve to underscore this point, as each concerns a plan administrator's fiduciary duty when he seeks to modify an existing ERISA plan or to substitute a new plan for one already in place. See, e.g., Varity Corp, 516 U.S. at 502-03 (plan administrator breached fiduciaryduty by misrepresenting to plan participants that benefits would be unchanged by switch from ERISA plan to a new plan); Ballone v. Eastman Kodak Co., 109 F.3d 117, 121, 124 (2d Cir. 1997) (company has fiduciary duty to inform ERISA plan beneficiaries that it is considering implementation of new severance plan which would replace former ERISA plan); Eddy v. Colonial Life Ins. Co. of America, 919 F.2d 747, 750, 752 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (ERISA fiduciary had duty to inform plan beneficiary of available continuation options under plan once company terminated group plan). 24 In contrast to the situations presented in these cases, the Window Program did not replace, amend, or supplement Washington Gas's ERISA retirement plan; it merely created one-time benefits that were in addition to, and independent of, those to which the company's employees continued to be entitled under its ERISA retirement plan. Therefore, because Washington Gas had no fiduciary duty under its ERISA retirement plan to inform Young that a retirement incentive program was under consideration, this claim also failed to provide the district court with jurisdiction over this suit. 25 Nevertheless, because the district court dismissed only the ERISA claims with prejudice, Young is free to pursue his common law claims in the appropriate court.