Opinion ID: 217949
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Effect of Amendment 2006-1: Claim 4 of the SAC.

Text: Claim 4 of the SAC alleges that Amendment 2006-1 was ineffective for two reasons: (1) it did not remove or strike inconsistent terms from the Plan Documents, and (2) Qwest did not amend the Group Contract with Prudential. 5 Aplt.App. 981. The district court granted summary judgment to Qwest on Claim 4, holding that Amendment 2006-1 was effective because the procedures for amending the Plan did not require striking inconsistent Plan language or amending the Group Contract in order for an amendment to take effect. Kerber, 2009 WL 928329, at . The court also noted that failure to amend the Group Contract could possibly form the basis of a challenge to the administration of benefits under the plan documents rule; however, the SAC did not allege such a claim. See id. & n. 10. On appeal, Plaintiffs advance two arguments. First, they argue that the SAC did allege that Qwest's administration of benefits violated the plan documents rule, and therefore Qwest's failure to amend the Group Contract entitles them to recovery. See Aplt. Br. 39. Second, they renew their argument that Amendment 2006-1 was ineffective because it did not strike inconsistent terms in the main Plan Documents. See Aplt. Br. 42. At the outset, we note that we need not address Plaintiffs' second argument, given our disposition of Claim 3 of the SAC. As we hold above, the 2005 Resolution reduced the life insurance benefit for Post-1990 Retirees to a flat $10,000, effective January 1, 2006. See supra. Therefore, the effectiveness of Amendment 2006-1 is irrelevantas of December 12, 2006, when Amendment 2006-1 was approved, Plaintiffs' Basic Life Coverage had already been reduced to $10,000. However, we note that the Plan's amendment procedures do not require that inconsistent Plan language be stricken or that the Plan documents be reformed in order to become effective. See 3 Aplt.App. 638. Therefore, Plaintiffs' second argument is unavailing, even if it were relevant to our final disposition of Claim 4. Plaintiffs' first argument is not supported by the record. Claim 4 of the SAC does not allege that Qwest violated the plan documents rule by failing to abide by the terms of the Group Contract in administering Plaintiffs' claims. Rather, Claim 4 alleges that Amendment 2006-1 was ineffective for failure to strike language contained in the Plan Documents, and that Plaintiffs were therefore entitled to benefits under the prior, unamended terms of the Plan. See 5 Aplt.App. 959-60, 981-82. Indeed, the SAC cites 29 U.S.C. § 1104(a)(1)(D)the statutory section that embodies the plan documents rule, see Kennedy v. Plan Adm'r for DuPont Sav. & Inv. Plan, 555 U.S. 285, 129 S.Ct. 865, 868, 172 L.Ed.2d 662 (2009)only in the context of Plaintiffs' allegations that Qwest violated the Prior Loss Proviso and in the prayer for relief. See 5 Aplt.App. 977, 992. Likewise, the SAC mentions the Group Contract only to allege that Prudential, along with Qwest, was a fiduciary under the Plan. Id. at 966. The SAC is bereft of any allegation that Qwest violated the plan document rule by failing to administer the Plan in accordance with the Group Contract. Therefore, even if the Group Contract was incorporated by the Planand we doubt that it was, see Kerber, 2009 WL 928329, at  n. 11the SAC simply does not allege violation of the plan documents rule. Instead, Claim 4 alleges only that Amendment 2006-1 was ineffective. Given our disposition of Claim 3, Claim 4 is irrelevantthe Basic Life Coverage for Post-1990 Retirees had been reduced to $10,000 as of January 1, 2006, before the PDC approved Amendment 2006-1. Even so, Amendment 2006-1 was effective, notwithstanding the fact that it did not explicitly strike inconsistent Plan language. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment on Claim 4.