Swanson v. Faulkner

• Decision Date: 05 June 1995
• Docket Number: Nos. 94-1971,94-2022,s. 94-1971
• Citation: 55 F.3d 956
• Parties: 19 Employee Benefits Cas. 1577 Norman W. SWANSON; William H. Talbert; Robert B. Campbell; Billy Clark; Charles A. Dancy; Wallace M. Davis; William E. Denton; Galena Elworth; Melvin F. Eyerman; Hamilton M. Howe; Ralph P. Hunt; Henry F. Murray; William E. Nicholson, III; Robert A. Nisbet; John L. Powell, Jr.; Donald V. Wallace; Mary L. Pritchard; Carl L. Whitney; Ira N. Schwarz; Grady L. Strange; Walter J. Bartnikowski; Marion B. Zollicoffer; Browning Adams; Pritchard C. Adams; William H. Adams; Edward H. Allen; Flossie P. Allen; Joseph A. Allen; Rachel C. Allred; Helen L. Anctil; Leo I. Anctil; Ronald E. Anderson; Clarence P. Armstrong; Carroll W. Austin; F.L. Austin, Jr.; Donald P. Bahr; Paul Ballus; Charles D. Barker, Sr.; Walter E. Barkhouse; Edward C. Barret; James L. Baxter; Russell W. Beard; Bernard L. Beatty; Richard K. Bell; Leo E. Benade; Sherman W. Betts; Joseph H. Betz; Robert L. Blevins; Franklin M. Blunt; Timothy C. Bolick; Margaret C. Boone; Henry A. Botkin; Alex Bourdas; Ola May Bovender, a/k/a Ola May Tate; Eugene A. Bowen; Lavaune K. Breda; Marlowe G. Breda; Trond G. Brekke; Laura B. Brendle; Millard Bridgers; Clarence M. Bridges; Doris K. Bridges; Cyrus H. Brooks, Jr.; Daniel R. Brown; K.A. Brown; William D. Brown; Betty P. Bullock; Robert S. Bullock; Findley Burns, Jr.; Ray G. Burrell; Richard E. Bush; James M. Byrne; Norman L. Carlton; Matthew E. Carmean; Frank Cates; J. Crawford Caton; Harry E. Chamberlain; Vincent H. Chase; Paul F. Chavez; Woodrow H. Childress; John G. Church; Herman L. Clanton; Robert L. Clarke; Charles C. Clausen, Sr.; Dennis E. Cleckner; Steve P. Clemenic; Lacy W. Coates; Rucia A. Cobb; James A. Coddington; Catheryn S. Coley; Laura K. Conder; James C. Conine; Marshall G. Cooper; Asbury Coward, III; Newton P. Cox; Ruth A. Cox; Burnett E. Creasman; Thomas J. Culkin; Hazel B. Curlee; Milton L. Dial; Beatrice G. Davis; Bernley S. Davis; Donald M. Davis; Essie M. Davis; George E. Davis; Robert J. Davis; Clifford H. Dawson; Calvin
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 956

55 F.3d 956

19 Employee Benefits Cas. 1577

Norman W. SWANSON; William H. Talbert; Robert B. Campbell;

Billy Clark; Charles A. Dancy; Wallace M. Davis; William

E. Denton; Galena Elworth; Melvin F. Eyerman; Hamilton M.

Howe; Ralph P. Hunt; Henry F. Murray; William E.

Nicholson, III; Robert A. Nisbet; John L. Powell, Jr.;

Donald V. Wallace; Mary L. Pritchard; Carl L. Whitney;

Ira N. Schwarz; Grady L. Strange; Walter J. Bartnikowski;

Marion B. Zollicoffer; Browning Adams; Pritchard C. Adams;

William H. Adams; Edward H. Allen; Flossie P. Allen;

Joseph A. Allen; Rachel C. Allred; Helen L. Anctil; Leo

I. Anctil; Ronald E. Anderson; Clarence P. Armstrong;

Carroll W. Austin; F.L. Austin, Jr.; Donald P. Bahr; Paul

Ballus; Charles D. Barker, Sr.; Walter E. Barkhouse;

Edward C. Barret; James L. Baxter; Russell W. Beard;

Bernard L. Beatty; Richard K. Bell; Leo E. Benade;

Sherman W. Betts; Joseph H. Betz; Robert L. Blevins;

Franklin M. Blunt; Timothy C. Bolick; Margaret C. Boone;

Henry A. Botkin; Alex Bourdas; Ola May Bovender, a/k/a Ola

May Tate; Eugene A. Bowen; Lavaune K. Breda; Marlowe G.

Breda; Trond G. Brekke; Laura B. Brendle; Millard

Bridgers; Clarence M. Bridges; Doris K. Bridges; Cyrus H.

Brooks, Jr.; Daniel R. Brown; K.A. Brown; William D.

Brown; Betty P. Bullock; Robert S. Bullock; Findley

Burns, Jr.; Ray G. Burrell; Richard E. Bush; James M.

Byrne; Norman L. Carlton; Matthew E. Carmean; Frank

Cates; J. Crawford Caton; Harry E. Chamberlain; Vincent

H. Chase; Paul F. Chavez; Woodrow H. Childress; John G.

Church; Herman L. Clanton; Robert L. Clarke; Charles C.

Clausen, Sr.; Dennis E. Cleckner; Steve P. Clemenic; Lacy

W. Coates; Rucia A. Cobb; James A. Coddington; Catheryn

S. Coley; Laura K. Conder; James C. Conine; Marshall G.

Cooper; Asbury Coward, III; Newton P. Cox; Ruth A. Cox;

Burnett E. Creasman; Thomas J. Culkin; Hazel B. Curlee;

Milton L. Dial; Beatrice G. Davis; Bernley S. Davis;

Donald M. Davis; Essie M. Davis; George E. Davis; Robert

J. Davis; Clifford H. Dawson; Calvin F. Dean; Orien G.

Dean, Jr.; Jack M. Deaton; Violet B. Deitmaring; Arlen J.

Devito; John E. Devlyn; Sara E. Devlyn; Joy E. Dickinson;

Mrs. Leroy B. Dickinson; James E. Diffee; Delbert R.

Dillion; Margaret H. Dopf; Raymond E. Dopf; Leroy M.

Duffy; Charles F. Dupont; Bobby R. Eason; David Edmisten;

Carl F. Effler; John H. Elder, Jr.; John R. Ellis;

Manford G. Farr; Rita Festo; John J. Filan; Angelo A.

Florentino; Robert W. Folden; Oscar F. Fowler; Melvin W.

Fritz; Walton E. Fulcher; Robert C. Fuller; Walter E.

Fuller; Frank W. Furches; Norman Carl Gaddis; Marshall L.

Gaddy; Thomas B. Gardiner; Robert F. Geissler; William E.

Gentner, Jr.; Thomas P. Ginn; Robert W. Goodman; John R.

Gordon; Bernice C. Grandy, Jr.; Steven W. Grandy; Robert

J. Green; Michael R. Greeson; James H. Griffin; Thomas M.

Groome, Jr.; James W. Gross; Arthur S. Gunderson; Hert L.

Hancock, Jr.; James M. Hardin; C. Lee Harris; Howard W.

Harris; Paul H. Harvey; Roland R. Hatcher; Henry S.

Heffley, Jr.; Carroll A. Hefner; Clarence J. Hensley, Jr.;

Richard M. Heriot; Doris T. Herring; Novis S. Herring;

Virginia R. Hildebrand; Mozelle L. Hinshaw; Herman J.

Hipps; Rufus M. Hodgin; Donald R. Hoffman; Charles K.

Hoffmeyer; Mary R. Holland; Edgar P. Holt; Ray Homeslely;

Ned A. Hood; Robert H. Hood; Stephen W. Hopkins; Clyde

L. Howard, Jr.; Kevin G. Hughes; Harvey R. Hurst; Sam P.

Hyatt; John L. Irby; Mattie B. Ives; Francis Jacobs;

Richard L. Jarrett; Jacqueline M. Jennings; Woodrow W.

Jones; Donald L. Jorgenson; Kenneth R. Joseph; Patsie W.

Joseph; Everette R. Keller; Bernard J. Kelley; Wilson P.

Kemp; Howard Lee Kerr; Margaret C. Kerr; William S.

Ketner; David L.G. King; Thomas M. King, Jr.; John E.

Kirk; Paul E. Kirkland, Sr.; Evelyn W. Kinney; Raymond B.

Kleber; George M. Knobl, Jr.; William F. Knopf; Max V.

Krebbs; William J. Kuhn, Jr.; James M. Langston, Jr.; Jan

W. Langston; Elmer L. Lashua; John L. Latham; Daniel M.

Lauderback; August R. Lawrence; Frieda H. Lewis; Norwood

P. Lewis; Henry G. Liles; Dorothy J. Liles; Walter E.

Linthicum; Phyllis V. Lippard; George Lott; Robert P.

Lucas; Allen M. Mabe; Thomas S. Maceluch; William F.

Marcuson, Jr.; Warner G. Maupin; Lylton E. Maxwell;

Oliver A. Mays; Samuel S. McCachren; Elizabeth S.

McCaskill; Aileen S. McCraw; Elizabeth G. McDonald; Clyde

W. McGirk; Donald D. McGuire; Norman H. McLaughlin; Doy

K. McPhail; William Ray Medlin, Jr.; Ernest E. Miller;

Margaret H. Miller; Edgar N. Millington; Harold J.

Mitchiner; Eugene E. Moody; Dorothy C. Moore; James C.

Moore, Jr.; Lucie Moorman; Robert M. Moose; Jack B.

Morris; Regena E. Morrison; Stanley B. Morse; Woodford T.

Moseley; George R. Muse; R.J. Nettles; Thomas G. Newport;

John E. Nitsche; Alfred P. Norwood; Johnnie M. Ochoa;

Elvin E. Oglesby; Oliver G. Oja; Russell E. Olson; Lloyd

A. Osborne; Paul B. Osgood; William C. Page; Lee R.

Paramore; Lewis W. Pate; Charles R. Patton; Vernon J.

Pebbles; W.W. Pegues; Mary E. Penn; John D. Penn;

Elliotte T. Perkins, Jr.; William H. Perry, Jr.; Frank J.

Piazza, Sr.; Jesse G. Pickering, III; Paul J. Phillippi;

Richard L. Phillips; Ruby A. Phillips; Dallas Pickard,

Jr.; George A. Pinter; Edward W. Piper; Frederick H.

Pless; R.F. Hoke Pollock; Lewington S. Ponder; Elbert Y.

Poole; Jennette C. Poole; Martha Boyce Poteat; Edwin H.

Price; Charles R. Pugh; Daniel J. Quesenberry; Milton H.

Quinn; Louise M. Rabbino; Thomas M. Ramsey; Jack G. Ray;

Marshall G. Ray; Hazel S. Redmon; George R. Reinhart, III;

Annie E. Renkel; Madge O. Reynolds; Franklin E.

Richardson, Jr.; Allen W. Rigsby; George M. Roberts;

Jennings B. Robinson; James P. Roth; Phifer P. Rothman;

Harold E. Ruble; Hilda H. Rultenberg; Donald E. Russell;

George W. Sabo; Lyle E. Samson; Robert L. Scheer;

Frederick L. Schuermann, Sr.; Robert J. Schullery; Elwood

M. Shaulis; Robert T. Sheridan; Stanley T. Shipley;

Charles B. Shiveley; Charles A. Shue, Jr.; Ruth M. Shue;

Elsie N. Simmons; Frederick E. Simmons; Mary B. Simpson;

Manuel F. Siverio; Joseph A. Sizoo; Evelyn S. Smith;

George B. Smith; James A. Smith; James E. Smith; James P.

Smith; Joe F. Smith; Percy H. Smith; Joseph L. Sommer;

Ray H. Spangler; James A. Sprankle; Wiley L. Standifer,

Jr.; James W. Starbuck; Gertrude D. Starling; Stacy J.

Starling; Henry C. Steed, Jr.; Roy C. Steeley; Arthur L.

Stewart; Burlena J. Stewart; John R. Stewart, Jr.; George

W. Stillway; Rita M. Stillway; Harold E. Stone; Clyde

Dalton Stowe; Harry H. Strunk; E.C. Stumpf; Ellis G.

Sumner; Leo B. Sumner; Mildred Y. Sumner; Margaret K.

Swink; James E. Sykes; Oliver B. Talbert; James D.

Terrell; Clyde E. Thompson; Emogene M. Thompson; Fred L.

Tracy; Rocco H. Trombello; John G. Truitt, Jr.; William

H. Turk; James T. Vance; Ethel D. Vanhorn; Edward J.

Vaughn; Edward Venkler; Roy L. Vick, Sr.; Kermit J.

Vinson; Myrtle H. Vinson; William E. Wade; Floyd H.

Waldrop; Wanda E. Wallace; Roland J. Weber; Grace F.

Weiner; Lona C. Weisner; Lawrence D. Welch; Paul B.

Welch, Jr.; George L. Westerlind; William B. White; T.M.

Whittington, Jr.; George W. Wilkins; Robert S. Williams,

Jr.; William C. Williams; Winton H. Williams; Harold P.

Williamson; Edna Mae Wilson; Robert Graves Wilson, Jr.;

Ernest G. Winston; Peter S. Wondolowski; Robert V. Wood;

Maynard B. Woodbury; Evelyn W. Woodbury; Jack R. Worley;

John T. Worrell; George T. Worrell; George E. Yale, Jr.;

William P. Yarborough; Charles L. Berry; Robert D. Lennon;

Zebulon V. Moseley, III; Gary W. O'Neal; Milton S. Price;

Martin L. Dpeicher; Paul H. Turney, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Janice H. FAULKNER, Secretary of the North Carolina

Department of Revenue; Harlan E. Boyles,

Treasurer of the State of North

Carolina; North Carolina

Department of Revenue,

Defendants-

Appellees.

Norman W. SWANSON; William H. Talbert; Robert B. Campbell;

Billy Clark; Charles A. Dancy; Wallace M. Davis; William

E. Denton; Galena Elworth; Melvin F. Eyerman; Hamilton M.

Howe; Ralph P. Hunt; Henry F. Murray; William E.

Nicholson, III; Robert A. Nisbet; John L. Powell, Jr.;

Donald V. Wallace; Mary L. Pritchard; Carl L. Whitney;

Ira N. Schwarz; Grady L. Strange; Walter J. Bartnikowski;

Marion B. Zollicoffer; Browning Adams; Pritchard C. Adams;

William H. Adams; Edward H. Allen; Flossie P. Allen;

Joseph A. Allen; Rachel C. Allred; Helen L. Anctil; Leo

I. Anctil; Ronald E. Anderson; Clarence P. Armstrong;

Carroll W. Austin; F.L. Austin, Jr.; Donald P. Bahr; Paul

Ballus; Charles D. Barker, Sr.; Walter E. Barkhouse;

Edward C. Barret; James L. Baxter; Russell W. Beard;

Bernard L. Beatty; Richard K. Bell; Leo E. Benade;

Sherman W. Betts; Joseph H. Betz; Robert L. Blevins;

Franklin M. Blunt; Timothy C. Bolick; Margaret C. Boone;

Henry A. Botkin; Alex Bourdas; Ola May Bovender, a/k/a Ola

May Tate; Eugene A. Bowen; Lavaune K. Breda; Marlowe G.

Breda; Trond G. Brekke; Laura B. Brendle; Millard

Bridgers; Clarence M. Bridges; Doris K. Bridges; Cyrus H.

Brooks, Jr.; Daniel R. Brown; K.A. Brown; William D.

Brown; Betty P. Bullock; Robert S. Bullock; Findley

Burns, Jr.; Ray G. Burrell; Richard E. Bush; James M.

Byrne; Norman L. Carlton; Matthew E. Carmean; Frank

Cates; J. Crawford Caton; Harry E. Chamberlain; Vincent

H. Chase; Paul F. Chavez; Woodrow H. Childress; John G.

Church; Herman L. Clanton; Robert L. Clarke; Charles C.

Clausen, Sr.; Dennis E. Cleckner; Steve P. Clemenic; Lacy

W. Coates; Rucia A. Cobb; James A. Coddington; Catheryn

S. Coley; Laura K. Conder; James C. Conine; Marshall G.

Cooper; Asbury Coward, III; Newton P. Cox; Ruth A. Cox;

Burnett E. Creasman; Thomas J. Culkin; Hazel B. Curlee;

Milton L. Dial; Beatrice G. Davis; Bernley S. Davis;

Donald M. Davis; Essie M. Davis; George E. Davis; Robert

J. Davis; Clifford H. Dawson; Calvin F. Dean; Orien G.

Dean, Jr.; Jack M. Deaton; Violet B. Deitmaring; Arlen J.

Devito; John E. Devlyn; Sara E. Devlyn; Joy E. Dickinson;

Mrs. Leroy B. Dickinson; James E. Diffee; Delbert R.

Dillion; Margaret H. Dopf; Raymond E. Dopf; Leroy M.

Duffy; Charles F. Dupont; Bobby R. Eason; David Edmisten;

Carl F....