Pisciotta v. Teledyne Industries, Inc.
| Citation | 91 F.3d 1326 |
| Decision Date | 05 August 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-55862,CV-93-14-JNK,94-55862 |
| Parties | 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5786, 96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 9439, Pens. Plan Guide P 23923W Jimmy PISCIOTTA; Robert Stevens; Larry Anderson; Walter Herbert; Harry Trout; James Horne, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TELEDYNE INDUSTRIES, INC.; and Teledyne, Inc., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) |
Dale A. Hilmen, San Diego, California, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Mark S. Pulliam and Kenneth M. Fitzgerald, Latham & Watkins, San Diego, California, for defendants-appellees.
On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Judith N. Keep, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-93-14-JNK.
Before: GOODWIN and HAWKINS, Circuit Judges, and WARE, * District Judge.
Appellants seek review of the district court's orders dismissing Appellants' seventh and eighth causes of action, granting summary judgment in favor of Teledyne Industries, Inc. And Teledyne, Inc. ("Teledyne") and denying Appellants' motion to amend their complaint to add a claim based on promissory estoppel. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm the district court's orders.
Appellants are approximately 400 present and former salaried employees of Appellee, Teledyne Industries, Inc. Appellants contend that Teledyne violated ERISA when it imposed a monetary cap on the amount it would pay for medical insurance for retired employees. In 1972 Teledyne established a medical insurance policy for its employees which provided that upon retirement of any salaried employee with 15 or more years of continuous service, it would pay the entire health care insurance premiums for the remainder of the employee's life and the remainder of the employee's spouse's life. Subsequently, Teledyne announced modifications of the health care benefits, limiting the amount it would pay for medical insurance premiums for retired employees.
In November, 1992, Appellants filed a class action lawsuit against Teledyne in state court, contending that Teledyne's modifications and limitations of retiree health benefits deprived them of vested rights in violation of ERISA. Appellants also alleged that Teledyne's actions were a breach of contract and they alleged other related state law claims.
In January, 1993, Teledyne removed the action to federal court. The district court granted Appellants' motion to certify a class consisting of employees and who (1) retired from Teledyne after November of 1968 and who were receiving retiree medical benefits from Teledyne as of July 1, 1991 (and their surviving spouses) or (2) were eligible to retire as of June 30, 1992, whether or not they had done so.
Teledyne moved to dismiss the state law claims on the ground that they were preempted by ERISA. In June, 1993, the district court dismissed the state law claims.
In August of 1993, the district court granted a motion by Appellants to allow them to amend their complaint to add to claims denominated the seventh and eighth causes of action seeking reimbursement of the amount of insurance premiums which Appellants had paid beyond the financial cap which had been imposed by Teledyne and for an accounting. However, on October 12, 1993, the district court granted Teledyne's motion to dismiss the reimbursement and accounting claims. Appellants appeal the dismissal of those claims.
Also in August, 1993, Appellants sought permission to add a claim that Teledyne was promissorily estopped from imposing a cap. The district court denied Appellants' motion to amend the complaint to add a promissory estoppel cause of action. Appellants appeal the district court's denial of permission to add a promissory estoppel claim.
In January of 1994, the district court again denied Appellants' request to amend the complaint to add a promissory estoppel claim and, in addition, granted a motion by Teledyne for summary judgment on the entire case. Appellants filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied by the district court on March 14, 1994. Appellants timely appealed.
The appeal requests relief from the district court's orders: (1) granting Teledyne's motion for summary judgment and denying Appellants' motion for reconsideration; (2) denying Appellants' leave to amend their complaint to add a promissory estoppel claim; and, (3) granting Teledyne's motion to dismiss the seventh and eighth causes of action. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. The district court's orders are reviewed separately below.
The decision of the district court to grant a motion for summary judgment is reviewed de novo. Felton v. Unisource Corp., 940 F.2d 503, 508 (9th Cir.1991). A reviewing court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and determine whether there are any genuine issues of material fact and whether the district court correctly applied the relevant substantive law. Tzung v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., 873 F.2d 1338, 1339-40 (9th Cir.1989).
ERISA was enacted in 1974 to govern the administration of two kinds of employee benefit plans: welfare benefit plans and pension benefit plans. Fort Halifax Packing Co., Inc. v. Coyne, 482 U.S. 1, 8, 107 S.Ct. 2211, 2215-16, 96 L.Ed.2d 1 (1987). Any plan or fund or program which an employer establishes or maintains for the purpose of providing medical, surgical or hospital care or benefits to its participants or their beneficiaries is defined by ERISA as a welfare benefit plan. 29 U.S.C. § 1002(l ).
ERISA requires welfare benefit plans to be established and maintained pursuant to a written instrument. 29 U.S.C. §§ 1102(a)(1), 1102(b). In addition, an employer must provide employees with a written Summary Plan Description ("SPD") which describes the employees' plan. 29 U.S.C. § 1022(a)(1).
In order to constitute a SPD, ERISA requires that a document contain the following information: (1) the name and type of administration of the plan; (2) the name and address of the person designated as agent for the service of legal process, if such person is not the administrator; (3) the name and address of the administrator; (4) names, titles, and addresses of any trustee or trustees (if they are persons different from the administrator); (5) a description of the relevant provisions of any applicable collective bargaining agreement; (6) the plan's requirements respecting eligibility for participation and benefits; (7) a description of the provisions providing for nonforfeitable pension benefits; (8) circumstances which may result in disqualification, ineligibility, or denial or loss of benefits; (9) the source of financing of the plan and the identity of any organization through which benefits are provided; (10) the date of the end of the plan year and whether the records of the plan are kept on a calendar, policy, or fiscal year basis; (11) the procedures to be followed in presenting claims for benefits under the plan; and, (12) the remedies available under the plan for the redress of claims which are denied in whole or in part. 29 U.S.C. § 1022(b).
Alday v. Container Corp. Of America, 906 F.2d 660, 665 (11th Cir.1990), cert. denied 498 U.S. 1026, 111 S.Ct. 675, 112 L.Ed.2d 668 (1991).
Appellants contend that the language contained in an insurance booklet issued in 1969 by the then primary insurance carrier for Teledyne, Connecticut General Insurance Company, should be deemed to be a SPD. The booklet provides in pertinent part:
CONTINUATION OF INSURANCE
Retired Employee and Surviving Spouse Benefits
Hospital-Surgical-Medical Insurance for you (excluding Drug and Dental benefits) for you and your family members. $3.00 payment to you toward cost of Medicare "B" premium for you and $3.00 for your spouse age 65 and over.
During the lifetime of you and your spouse.
Surviving Spouse.... Period of Continuation
During her lifetime.
The booklet was republished in 1972 and contained the identical language. Appellants contend that the booklets constituted or should be deemed to constitute a SPD and as such would require Teledyne to provide retirees and their spouses with lifetime medical insurance premium payments.
In granting Teledyne's motion for summary judgment, the district court concluded that the 1969 and 1972 booklets did not constitute a SPD because they lacked ten of the required twelve elements set forth in 29 U.S.C. § 1022(b). Appellants argue that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Teledyne because there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the booklets may be considered a SPD. Bower v. Bunker Hill Co., 725 F.2d 1221, 1223 (9th Cir.1984).
In support of its contention, Appellants point out that the district court found that particular elements required for a SPD were lacking which were, in fact, conceded to exist by Teledyne. Appellants' argument is insignificant, however, because it is undisputed and Appellants concede that neither the 1969 booklet nor the 1972 booklet contained all twelve of the required statutory elements. Accordingly, the district court correctly concluded that there was no triable issue of material fact and...
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