Conner v. Phoenix Steel Corp.
| Citation | 249 A.2d 866 |
| Parties | Frederick F. CONNER, Plaintiff Below, Appellant, v. PHOENIX STEEL CORPORATION, a corporation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Defendant Below, Appellee. |
| Decision Date | 08 January 1969 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Delaware |
Daniel B. Ferry, Wilmington, for appellant.
Ernest S. Wilson, Jr., and William J. Alsentzer, Jr., of Wilson & Lynam, Wilmington, for appellee.
This is an appeal from an order of the Court of Chancery dismissing an amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. The amended complaint, filed by Frederick F. Conner, a former employee of Phoenix Steel Corporation, sought a declaration that Conner has a vested interest in the Phoenix pension plan; that Phoenix be required specifically to perform the plan as to Conner, and that Phoenix be compelled to pay Conner accumulated monthly payments since May 22, 1965.
The amended complaint was dismissed by the Vice Chancellor on the grounds (1) that since Conner was discharged, he is not eligible for early retirement benefits; (2) that even if Conner be considered to have been laid off, he is not entitled to early retirement benefits since the layoff was not accompanied by a declaration by Phoenix that a return to employment was unlikely, and (3) that since Conner's employment was terminable at will, he could be discharged without cause, thus making him ineligible for early retirement benefits.
At the time the motion to dismiss was filed, the only record before the Vice Chancellor was the amended complaint. Under such a circumstance, the allegations of the amended complaint are to be taken as established. Accordingly, for present purposes, the facts of the cause may be summarized as follows:
Conner, at the time of the termination of his employment, was 56 years old and had been employed by Phoenix, or by its predecessors, for a period of 28 years and 9 months. On May 22, 1965, without any advance warnings, reprimands or complaints, his employment was arbitrarily and without cause terminated by Phoenix. On September 15, 1965, he was notified that he was ineligible for retirement benefits.
At the time Conner's employment was terminated, there was in effect a pension plan by which, as an employee with 15 years of continuous service, Conner was covered. The plan, by Section III, 4(b)(2), provided that a covered employee was eligible for early retirement benefits if his age plus years of continuous service equaled, in the case of 15 years of continuous service, 75. At the time of his discharge, Conner's combined years of continuous service, 28 years 9 months, and his age, 56 years, equaled 84.
Conner argues that he is entitled to early retirement benefits. The particular provision of the plan relied upon provides for such benefits to an employee whose combined age and years of continuous service equal or exceed the required total; who is absent from work by reason of 'a layoff * * * and whose return to active employment is declared unlikely by the Company.'
Conner equates his discharge without cause with a 'layoff' and declaration by Phoenix that his 'return to active employment' is 'unlikely'. Phoenix, on the other hand, argues that Conner's employment was terminable at will; that since he was discharged and not laid off with a declaration of unlikelihood of return to employment, he does not qualify.
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