Opinion ID: 1104139
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Persons empowered to bring a civil action

Text: A civil action may be brought (1) by a participant or beneficiary       (B) to recover benefits due to him under the terms of his plan, to enforce his rights under the terms of the plan or to clarify his rights to future benefits under the terms of the plan;       (3) by a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary (A) to enjoin any act or practice which violates any provision of this subchapter or the terms of the plan, or (B) to obtain other appropriate equitable relief (i) to redress such violations or (ii) to enforce any provisions of this subchapter or the terms of the plan; (emphasis added.)       (7) by a State to enforce compliance with a qualified medical child support order (as defined in section 1169(a)(2)(A) of this title); (e) Jurisdiction (1) Except for actions under subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section, the district courts of the United States shall have exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions under this subchapter brought by the Secretary or by a participant, beneficiary, fiduciary ... State courts of competent jurisdiction and district courts of the United States shall have concurrent jurisdiction of actions under paragraphs (1)(B) and (7) of subsection (a). (emphasis added)
Congress specifically bestowed upon state courts concurrent jurisdiction in matters arising under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B) and (7). That being the case, we, construing § 1132 narrowly, interpret this section to mean that a participant or a beneficiary may bring an action in either state or federal court to 1) recover benefits due to him; 2) enforce his rights; and 3) clarify his rights to future benefits, under the terms of the plan. Also under paragraph seven (7) of subsection (a) of this section, a State may seek relief in state court to enforce compliance with a qualified medical child support order. (emphasis added). Here, Copeland is neither the proper party (a participant, beneficiary or State) to bring an action in this Court under ERISA, nor is this action one that falls within the scope of this Court's concurrent jurisdiction. Copeland is the fiduciary seeking to enforce a subrogation right under the terms of its employee benefit plan. It is apparent that this action is not within the realm of this Court's concurrent jurisdiction as enumerated by the Act. Thus, based upon the clear wording of section 1132, the federal district court would have exclusive subject matter jurisdiction to determine whether Copeland is entitled to reimbursement pursuant to a subrogation agreement.