Opinion ID: 762432
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: claims brought by the plans

Text: 25 The defendants object to the plaintiffs' attempts to distinguish the claims brought by the Plans from those brought by Stauter. They assert that Stauter is the only real party in interest for all of the claims because he is the sole beneficiary of the Plans. We acknowledge that our distinction between Stauter and the Plans may, in this context, appear somewhat artificial. However, application of ERISA requires us to identify the role played by each party with respect to the various claims, and the rules we apply to this case must be the same as those that apply to larger plans with many beneficiaries. As we discuss below, ERISA confers different rights on plans as entities unto themselves than it confers on participants and beneficiaries.
26 The plaintiffs argue that even if Stauter's fiduciary claims are preempted, the claims brought by the Plans are not preempted because plans do not have standing to sue for breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA. We note that the absence of a remedy under ERISA does not necessarily mean that state-law remedies are preserved. See Tolton, 48 F.3d at 943. ERISA authorizes participants to sue on behalf of a plan for breach of fiduciary duty, see 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(2), which is what Stauter did when he filed the 1993 lawsuit in federal court. 3 Permitting such suits by participants is the mechanism which Congress established to enforce the plan's right to recover for a breach of fiduciary duty. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 1109(a), 1132(a); Massachusetts Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Russell, 473 U.S. 134, 140, 105 S.Ct. 3085, 87 L.Ed.2d 96 (1985). It would circumvent Congress's enforcement scheme to allow a plan to enforce the duties created in § 1109(a) by suing directly under state law. Therefore, the fact that the Plans have been listed as plaintiffs in these cases does not save the state-law fiduciary-duty claims from preemption.
27 The Plans' other claims against their former fiduciaries are also preempted. In providing for broad preemption under ERISA, Congress sought to establish uniform federal control over the relationships among ERISA entities, including plans, plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and beneficiaries. Compare Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Mahoning National Bank, 112 F.3d 252, 255-56 (6th Cir.1997) (holding that plan's poorly disguised ERISA withdrawal liability claims against employer were preempted), with Coyne & Delany Co. v. Selman, 98 F.3d 1457, 1471-72 (4th Cir.1996) (holding that ERISA did not preempt plan's malpractice claim against nonfiduciary insurance professionals because the state-law duty of care [did] not depend on ERISA in any way [and did] not affect relations among the principal ERISA entities). The remedy Congress has provided for the misconduct of a fiduciary is a suit by a beneficiary or participant, another fiduciary, or the Secretary of Labor. See 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a); Mass. Mut., 473 U.S. at 140, 105 S.Ct. 3085. Just as the Plans cannot circumvent Congress's scheme through a state-law claim for breach of fiduciary duty, they cannot circumvent that scheme by using other state causes of action to define the duties and liabilities of an ERISA fiduciary. 28 The Plans' claims against nonfiduciaries, however, are another matter. ERISA gives plans the ability to sue and be sued in their own right. See 29 U.S.C. § 1132(d)(1). They may conduct business and acquire the same rights of action under state law as other entities not created by ERISA. When an ERISA plan's relationship with another entity is not governed by ERISA, it is subject to state law. See Michigan Affiliated Healthcare Sys., Inc. v. CC Sys. Corp. of Mich., 139 F.3d 546, 550 (6th Cir.1998) (holding that federal courts lacked jurisdiction over breach of contract action brought by ERISA plan against a nonfiduciary plan administrator); Arizona State Carpenters Pension Trust Fund v. Citibank (Arizona), 125 F.3d 715, 722-24 (9th Cir.1997) (holding that plan could bring state-law claims against a nonfiduciary service provider because Citibank's relationship with the Trust Fund funds was no different from that between Citibank and any of its customers); see also Painters of Philadelphia Dist. Council No. 21 Welfare Fund v. Price Waterhouse, 879 F.2d 1146, 1151-53 (3d Cir.1989) (refusing to imply an ERISA cause of action for plans against nonfiduciaries, on assumption that state law provides the remedy); Pedre Co., Inc., v. Robins, 901 F.Supp. 660, 666 (S.D.N.Y.1995) (holding that ERISA preempts claims against fiduciaries and claims by participants against nonfiduciaries, but not claims against nonfiduciaries by plans and their sponsors and trustees). Therefore, to the extent that the Plans have asserted state-law claims against non-ERISA entities, those claims are not preempted. We express no opinion on the merits of these claims.