Barnes v. Program

• Decision Date: 22 June 2010
• Docket Number: No. C 08-04058 MHP.,C 08-04058 MHP.
• Citation: 718 F.Supp.2d 1167
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
• Parties: Quiller BARNES, Plaintiff, v. AT & T PENSION BENEFIT PLAN-NONBARGAINED PROGRAM, Defendant(s).

718 F.Supp.2d 1167

Quiller BARNES, Plaintiff,

v.AT & T PENSION BENEFIT PLAN-NONBARGAINED PROGRAM, Defendant(s).

No. C 08-04058 MHP.

United States District Court,N.D. California.

June 22, 2010.

R. Joseph Barton, Bruce Frank Rinaldi, Robyn Swanson, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Washington, DC, Michelle Lee Roberts, Claire Kennedy-Wilkins, Cassie Springer-Sullivan, Springer-Sullivan & Roberts LLP, Oakland, CA, for Plaintiff.

Gary T. Lafayette, Rebecca Kim Kimura, Susan Tayeko Kumagai, Lafayette & Kumagai LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Defendant(s).

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

MARILYN HALL PATEL, District Judge.

Re: Plaintiff Barnes' Motion to Strike Affirmative Defenses

In this action, plaintiff Quiller Barnes (“Barnes”), on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, alleges that defendant AT & T Pension Benefit Plan- Nonbargained Program (“AT & T”) wrongfully denied him pension benefits to which he was entitled. Barnes' amended complaint asserts three causes of action under the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act (“ERISA”) for: (1) failing to provide adequate notice of the reasons for benefit denial, 29 U.S.C. § 1133(1); (2) failing to pay benefits due, 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B); and (3) violating ERISA's anti-cutback provision, 29 U.S.C. § 1054(g). Before the court is Barnes' motion to strike the affirmative defenses in AT & T's answer to Barnes' amended complaint. Having considered the parties' arguments and submissions and for the reasons stated below, the court enters the following memorandum and order.

BACKGROUND ¹

Barnes originally filed this action in Contra Costa County Superior Court on January 20, 2008. The twenty-paragraph complaint contained a single cause of action to recover benefits due under the pension plan pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B). Barnes worked for the Pacific Bell Telephone Company (“Pacific Bell”) and Pacific Bell's successors-in-interest from 1979 until October 29, 1996, and then again from May 1, 1997 until June 17, 2003. During both periods of employment, Barnes was enrolled in the Pacific Telesis Group Cash Balance Pension Plan for Salaried Employees (“the Plan”). Upon Barnes' first exit from Pacific Bell's employment in 1996, Barnes elected to take a discounted lump sum pension benefit payment, known as an Accelerated Transition Benefit (“ATB”). Barnes' ATB was discounted because he had not worked for the company for 30 years or more and had not yet reached the age of 55. Six months later, however, Barnes was rehired by Pacific Ball in the same position. He stayed with Pacific Bell until he terminated his employment again on June 17, 2003. At the end of his second period of employment, Barnes received his second retirement pension package; this benefit, however, was much lower than Barnes expected it to be. Barnes contends that his second term of employment at Pacific Bell “bridged” his service at the company such that had he worked one, continuous period, he would have been entitled to a non-discounted ATB. Accordingly, Barnes asserts that he is entitled to a “redetermined ATB” to adequately compensate him for his terms of service with Pacific Bell.

Thereafter, Barnes submitted a claim with the pension plan, contending that he was entitled to additional benefits. The pension plan denied Barnes' claim, whereupon Barnes appealed the denial through the pension plan's internal appeal process. After Barnes' appeal was denied he filed this action. On August 25, 2008, AT & T removed the case to this court. Docket No. 1 (Notice of Removal).

The action languished on this court's calendar during Barnes' first counsel's representation of him and until new counsel entered the case. For all intents and purposes Barnes was essentially pro se for most of the time, from the filing of the action until new counsel's appearance. On January 26, 2010, Barnes moved the court to file an amended complaint. Docket No. 39 (Mot. to Amend Compl.). Ten days later, AT & T filed a motion for summary judgment. Docket No. 47 (Mot. Summ. J.). On April 5, 2010, 2010 WL 1340543, the court granted Barnes' motion to amend the complaint and terminated AT & T's motion for summary judgment.

Docket No. 132 (Order Granting Mot. to Amend Compl.). After AT & T filed its answer to the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), Barnes filed the instant motion to strike all of AT & T's twenty-four affirmative defenses, and admit certain allegations which Barnes argues were not answered by AT & T. See Docket No. 138 (Mot.) at 3, 14-16. On June 7, 2010, AT & T filed its opposition to Barnes' motion to strike. See Docket No. 142 (Opp.).

LEGAL STANDARD I. Motion to Strike

A Court may strike affirmative defenses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) if they present an “insufficient defense, or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(f). The purposes of a Rule 12(f) motion is to avoid spending time and money litigating spurious issues. See Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty, 984 F.2d 1524, 1527 (9th Cir.1993), rev'd on other grounds, 510 U.S. 517, 114 S.Ct. 1023, 127 L.Ed.2d 455 (1994). A defense is insufficiently pled if it fails to give the plaintiff fair notice of the nature of the defense. See Wyshak v. City Nat'l Bank, 607 F.2d 824, 827 (9th Cir.1979). A matter is immaterial if it has no essential or important relationship to the claim for relief pleaded. See Fogerty, 984 F.2d at 1527. A matter is impertinent if it does not pertain and is not necessary to the issues in question in the case. See id.

While a Rule 12(f) motion provides the means to excise improper materials from pleadings, such motions are generally disfavored because the motions may be used as delaying tactics and because of the strong policy favoring resolution on the merits. See Stanbury Law Firm v. I.R.S., 221 F.3d 1059, 1063 (8th Cir.2000). Accordingly, once an affirmative defense has been properly pled, a motion to strike which alleges the legal insufficiency of an affirmative defense will not be granted “unless it appears to a certainty that plaintiffs would succeed despite any state of the facts which could be proved in support of the defense.” See William Z. Salcer, Panfeld, Edelman v. Envicon Equities Corp., 744 F.2d 935, 939 (2d Cir.1984) (citing Durham Indus., Inc. v. North River Insur. Co., 482 F.Supp. 910, 913 (S.D.N.Y.1979)); see also McArdle v. AT & T Mobility LLC, 657 F.Supp.2d 1140, 1149-50 (N.D.Cal.2009) (Wilken, J.). If a claim is stricken, leave to amend should be freely given when doing so would not cause prejudice to the opposing party. Wyshak, 607 F.2d at 826.

II. Motion to Deem Allegations Admitted

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(b) requires that “[i]n responding to a pleading, a party must: (A) state in short and plain terms its defenses to each claim asserted against it; and (B) admit or deny the allegations asserted against it by an opposing party.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(b)(1). Rule 8(b)(6) states that: “An allegation-other than one relating to the amount of damages-is admitted if a responsive pleading is required and the allegation is not denied.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(b)(6).

DISCUSSION

Barnes suggests two primary arguments for why all of AT & T's affirmative defenses should be stricken from the answer. First, Barnes contends that most of the affirmative defenses are “insufficient” because, under the federal pleading standard, they lack sufficient supporting factual allegations. Second, Barnes seeks to strike other affirmative defenses because they are negative defenses as opposed to affirmative defenses. Finally, Barnes also requests that this court deem AT & T to have admitted certain allegations in the amended complaint due to AT & T's purported failure to adequately admit or deny those allegations. The court addresses each argument in turn.

I. Striking of “Insufficient” Affirmative Defense

Barnes asserts that all twenty four of the affirmative defenses that AT & T has pled in its answer to the complaint are insufficient because they fail to provide adequate notice to Barnes. Mot. at 5-9. Barnes argues that in order for an affirmative defense to be properly pled, it must give the plaintiff fair notice of the defense being advanced. Mot. at 3. He submits that the pleading standard applied to complaints in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), and clarified in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), applies to the pleading of affirmative defenses. In response AT & T argues that each of its affirmative defenses has been properly pleaded and provides fair notice to Barnes. Opp. at 4. In particular, AT & T contends that the heightened pleading standard in Twombly and Iqbal does not apply to the pleading of affirmative defenses and that merely naming the defense provides adequate notice to Barnes. Id. at 5. Further, AT & T argues that because Barnes has broadened his complaint to include a putative class of other allegedly similarly situated individuals, he cannot demonstrate that the affirmative defenses lack the requisite specificity in regard to the unknown members of the putative class. Id. at 6.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 governs pleading whether by complaint or answer. Rule 8(c) specifically addresses affirmative defenses and requires that a party “affirmatively state any avoidance or affirmative defense” in the responsive pleading. Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(c)(1). In pleading an affirmative defense, a defendant must comply with Rule 8's requirement of a “short and plain” statement to give the opposing party fair notice of the defense and the grounds upon which it rests. Wyshak, 607 F.2d at 827 (“The key to determining the sufficiency of pleading an affirmative defense is whether it gives plaintiff fair notice of the defense.”); see also Hayne v. Green Ford Sales, Inc., 263 F.R.D. 647, 649 (D.Kan.2009) (holding that Rule 8 requires a “short and plain” statement so as to give the opposing part...