Opinion ID: 588199
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Accrual and Laches

Text: 7 United's strongest argument on appeal is that once the magistrate judge found that the conditions of laches had been met, the case should have been dismissed with prejudice. Lingenfelter v. Keystone Consol. Inds., Inc., 691 F.2d 339, 341 (7th Cir.1982). While we agree in principle, we do not need to reach the issue. Instead, we agree with Leonard's original argument that his cause of action did not accrue until his pension benefits vested on his retirement in August 1981. 8 There is overwhelming authority for the proposition that a Veterans' Act claim for lost pension benefits does not accrue until the benefits vest at retirement. See Davis v. Alabama Power Co., 383 F.Supp. 880, 893 (N.D.Ala.1974), aff'd per curiam, 542 F.2d 650 (5th Cir.1976), cert. denied on this point, 429 U.S. 1037, 97 S.Ct. 731, 50 L.Ed.2d 748 (1977), aff'd on other issues, 431 U.S. 581, 97 S.Ct. 2002, 52 L.Ed.2d 595 (1977); Tennyson v. Babcock & Wilcox Co., 105 LRRM (BNA) 2927, 2930, 1979 WL 2023 (S.D.Ind.1980); Letson v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 523 F.Supp. 1221, 1225 (N.D.Ga.1981); Troiani v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 570 F.Supp. 1140, 1143 (E.D.Pa.1983); Gall v. United States Steel Corp., 598 F.Supp. 769, 773 (W.D.Pa.1984); and, most recently, Grzyb v. New River Co., 793 F.2d 590, 592 (4th Cir.1986). This is also the accrual rule the Department of Labor supports. U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans' Reemployment Rights Handbook, 23-2 (1988). The rule applies whether or not the veteran knows in advance that his claimed pension benefits will not be paid. Davis, 383 F.Supp. at 893 (plaintiff knew in 1967, sued in 1972); Letson, 523 F.Supp. at 1225 (plaintiff knew in 1947, sued in 1979); Grzyb, 793 F.2d at 592 (plaintiff knew in 1946, sued in 1977). It applies to voluntary, contributory pension plans as well as to plans that are entirely funded by the employer. Letson, 523 F.Supp. at 1226-27. 9 We recognize that the rule may work some hardship on employers forced to defend claims brought long after the relevant events took place. United, for instance, threw away in 1961 its files relating to Leonard's 1948 withdrawal from the plan, during a spate of normal corporate housekeeping. But the interests of veterans weigh heavily in the scales: [t]his legislation is to be liberally construed for the benefit of those who left private life to serve their country in its hour of great need.... Fishgold v. Sullivan Drydock & Repair Corp., 328 U.S. 275, 285, 66 S.Ct. 1105, 1111, 90 L.Ed. 1230 (1946); Alabama Power, 431 U.S. at 584, 97 S.Ct. at 2004-05. Further, the Department of Labor's construction of the Act is entitled to some measure of deference. Dyer v. Hinky Dinky, Inc., 710 F.2d 1348, 1352 (8th Cir.1983). We will not make new law here. 10 United argues that the accrual-at-retirement rule does not apply because Leonard cashed out of the Plan in 1948. Unlike the plaintiffs in the cases cited, Leonard accelerated his pension rights and could have sued immediately upon his return from service. We do not find this argument persuasive. First, the cases cited do not depend on the proposition that the veterans involved were forced to wait until retirement to sue. In Davis, for example, the court expressly notes that the employee could have sued earlier under a theory of anticipatory breach of contract. 383 F.Supp. at 893. Second, whether or not he cashed out, Leonard ultimately seeks to have his years in the military credited to his existing pension. His right to the benefits he claims could not accrue until he retired. 11 Having decided that Leonard's cause of action accrued in 1981, we must still decide whether the six-year delay between 1981 and 1987 constituted laches. Although questions of laches are usually committed to the equitable discretion of the district court, Lingenfelter, 691 F.2d at 341, we find that we may resolve the issue without remand. Laches requires a finding of unreasonable and inexcusable delay by the plaintiff and prejudice to the defendant. Id. at 340. As an initial matter, we may exclude the time Leonard spent pursuing internal administrative remedies. Attempts to resolve a dispute without resorting to a court do not constitute unreasonable delay. EEOC v. Vucitech, 842 F.2d 936, 943 (7th Cir.1988). The remaining delay is attributable to the government. Courts have divided on the question whether governmental delay in pursuing a Veterans' Act claim should be charged against the veteran. Goodman v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 606 F.2d 800, 807 (8th Cir.1979) (collecting cases), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 913, 100 S.Ct. 1844, 64 L.Ed.2d 267 (1980); cf. Martin v. Consultants & Administrators, Inc., 966 F.2d 1078 (7th Cir.1992). On the one hand, it is argued that it is unfair to the veteran to penalize him for the government's delay. See, for example, Blair v. Page Aircraft Maintenance, Inc., 467 F.2d 815, 821 (5th Cir.1972) (Tuttle, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). On the other hand, the veteran need not seek the government's assistance in bringing suit, and the government's delay causes just as much prejudice to the defendant. Goodman, 606 F.2d at 807. We need not weigh the relative equities, however, since we find that United could not demonstrate prejudice from the government's delay. 12 There is no question that United lost significant evidence when it threw out its pension files in 1961. Memories have dimmed since 1953. But although United has argued that the delay between 1981 and 1987 constitutes laches, it has made no allegation that relevant evidence was lost during the period. Indeed, Leonard's pursuit of his claim starting in 1981 must have notified United that it should preserve whatever evidence it then had. Without prejudice to United, laches does not bar Leonard's claim. 13 Even the delay from 1953 does not prejudice United in the present posture of the case. The loss of documentary and testimonial evidence over the years might have hurt United in a trial on the merits. 2 But Leonard won on summary judgment. Like the district court before us, we will resolve all factual disputes and draw all inferences in United's favor. Even if we assume that United's version of events is completely accurate, Leonard still wins on the merits.