Hager v. NationsBank N.A.

• Decision Date: 24 February 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-10304,98-10304
• Citation: 167 F.3d 245
• Parties: 22 Employee Benefits Cas. 2521, Pens. Plan Guide (CCH) P 23,951Q Tanis S. HAGER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NATIONSBANK N.A., A National Banking Association and as Trustee of the NationsBank Pension Plan; NationsBank of Texas, N.A.; NationsBank Corporation Pension Plan; NationsBank Corporation, as Administrator of the NationsBank Corporation Pension Plan; NationsBank of North Carolina, as Trustee of NationsBank Corporation Pension Plan, Defendants-Appellees. Summary Calendar.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 245

167 F.3d 245

22 Employee Benefits Cas. 2521,

Pens. Plan Guide (CCH) P 23,951Q

Tanis S. HAGER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NATIONSBANK N.A., A National Banking Association and as Trustee of the NationsBank Pension Plan; NationsBank of Texas, N.A.; NationsBank Corporation Pension Plan NationsBank Corporation, as Administrator of the NationsBank Corporation Pension Plan; NationsBank of North Carolina, as Trustee of NationsBank Corporation Pension Plan, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 98-10304

Summary Calendar.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

Feb. 24, 1999.

Mark Hamblin How, Dallas, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Jeffrey Jack Wolf, James Robert Griffin, Jackson & Walker, Fort Worth, TX, for Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Before KING, Chief Judge, and BARKSDALE and STEWART, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Tanis Hager brought suit for benefits to which she contends she was entitled under the terms of her early retirement plan. The district court dismissed her claims for failing to exhaust administrative remedies, relying on Hager's alleged failure to present additional information in support of her claim to the same committee that denied the appeal of her claim. Hager appeals, arguing that she had no additional information to submit and that she had exhausted her intra-plan administrative remedies by filing a claim and then appealing the denial of that claim. We agree, and therefore reverse the district court's dismissal of Hager's claims and remand for further proceedings.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

NationsBank, N.A. (NationsBank) offered Tanis Hager, an employee of twenty-two years, the option of taking an early retirement. Hager alleges that she took early retirement in reliance on a January 30, 1996 memorandum (the January Memorandum), in which NationsBank stated that, if she retired early, she would receive a retirement benefit of $1122.59 per month payable beginning the first month after her retirement date of March 31, 1996. After Hager retired, NationsBank sent her a Summary of Plan Benefits memorandum (the Summary Memorandum) indicating that the benefits payable to Hager with an immediate payment date would be only $621.90 per month.

Hager filed this action on July 17, 1997, asserting claims based on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461, and pendent state law claims against the appellees (collectively referred to as NationsBank). Under ERISA, Hager claimed that she was entitled to recover denied benefits, that she was entitled to a clarification of her benefits, and that NationsBank breached its fiduciary duty to her. Her state law claims included claims based on breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, breach of fiduciary duty, promissory estoppel, and misrepresentation. On October 20, 1997, NationsBank filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Hager's state law claims were preempted by ERISA and that her ERISA claims should be dismissed because she failed to exhaust her intra-plan administrative remedies. On February 9, 1998, the district court dismissed each of Hager's claims against NationsBank. Hager timely appealed, arguing that the district court erred in dismissing her ERISA claims. Hager does not appeal the district court's dismissal of her state law claims.

II. DISCUSSION

NationsBank argued to the district court that Hager's ERISA claims should be dismissed under either Rule 12(b)(1), for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, or alternatively under Rule 12(b)(6), for failure to state a claim. NationsBank premised its motion to dismiss on its contention, supported by an affidavit attached to its motion, that Hager failed to exhaust her administrative remedies before filing suit. The district court explicitly relied on NationsBank's affidavit, as well as on documents attached to Hager's complaint, in its opinion dismissing Hager's claims for failing to exhaust, thus converting the 12(b)(6) motion into a 12(c) motion. See FED. R. CIV. P. 12(c); Gutierrez v. City of San Antonio, 139 F.3d 441, 444 n. 1 (5th Cir.1998). We therefore view the district court's order dismissing Hager's claims as either an order dismissing for lack of subject matter jurisdiction or as a grant of summary judgment to NationsBank. ¹ See Gutierrez, 139 F.3d at 444 n. 1; Washington v. Allstate Ins. Co., 901 F.2d 1281, 1284 (5th Cir.1990).

We review dismissals for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and grants of summary judgment de novo. See John G. & Marie Stella Kenedy Mem'l Found. v. Mauro, 21 F.3d 667, 670 (5th Cir.1994) (stating that review of dismissal under Rule 12(b)(1) is de novo); Norman v. Apache Corp., 19 F.3d 1017, 1021 (5th Cir.1994) (stating that review of grant of summary judgment is de novo). We can affirm the district court's dismissal of Hager's claims if dismissal was appropriate on either ground. See United States v. Real Property Located at 14301 Gateway Boulevard West, 123 F.3d 312, 313 (5th Cir.1997) (stating that "we will not reverse a judgment of the district court if it can be affirmed on any ground, regardless of whether the district court articulated the ground"); see also Trauma Serv. Group v. United States, 104 F.3d 1321, 1324 (Fed.Cir.1997) (stating that where district court based its decision on both lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, it "need only find sufficient justification for one of these grounds").

The district court's dismissal of Hager's ERISA claims for failing to exhaust administrative remedies would not have been proper under either Rule 12(b)(1) or Rule 56. It is true that a plaintiff generally must exhaust all administrative remedies afforded by her plan before filing an ERISA claim in federal court. See Hall v. National Gypsum Co., 105 F.3d 225, 231 (5th Cir.1997); Medina v. Anthem Life Ins. Co., 983 F.2d 29, 33 (5th Cir.1993). However, our review of the record leads us to conclude that the district court erred in determining that Hager failed to exhaust her intra-plan administrative remedies before filing suit. ²

Hager received the Summary Memorandum from NationsBank, outlining her benefits under her early retirement plan, in August 1996. Hager promptly made a demand for review of the benefits determination, claiming that the amount of benefits stated in the Summary Memorandum understated the amount NationsBank originally informed her she would receive in the January Memorandum. In support of her claim, Hager sent NationsBank a copy of the January Memorandum, as well as a letter stating that she had relied on the January Memorandum in deciding to accept early retirement.

On August 26, 1996, NationsBank sent Hager a letter denying her claim (the Claim Denial Letter). The Claim Denial Letter stated that the benefits figures in the January Memorandum were "in error," that the figures were only an "estimate," and that the benefits amounts in the Summary Memorandum were accurate. In addition, the Claim Denial Letter outlined the process by which Hager could appeal the denial of her claim. Specifically, the Claim Denial Letter stated We are unable to resolve this issue to your satisfaction. The standard administrative process has been exhausted.

If you wish to take further action on this matter, your next step is to file a formal claim with the Benefits Appeals Committee and appeal under ERISA regulations.

On September 25, 1996, Hager sent a letter to NationsBank requesting a review of the denial of her claim, and, on October 23, 1996, Hager sent a formal letter of appeal to NationsBank, arguing again that the amount of benefits reflected in the Summary Memorandum was incorrect in light of the January Memorandum. Hager offered the same two documents in support of her appeal; she included with her appeal copies of both the January Memorandum and the letter she had written stating that she had relied on the higher benefits amount in deciding to retire early.

The Benefits Appeals Committee denied Hager's...