Walker v. Pharmaceutical Research and Mfrs.
| Decision Date | 17 July 2006 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 04-1991 (RMU). |
| Citation | 439 F.Supp.2d 103 |
| Parties | Barbara J. WALKER, Plaintiff, v. PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH AND MANUFACTURERS OF AMERICA, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Barbara J. Walker, Alexandria, VA, pro se.
Jeffrey G. Huvelle, Covington & Burling, Christopher A. Weals, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Washington, DC, for Defendants.
This case comes before the court on the defendants1 motion for summary judgment. The plaintiff alleges that defendant Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ("PhRMA") erroneously classified her as an independent contractor, thus denying her pension and welfare benefits in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq., and the common law of the District of Columbia ("D.C."). Because the plaintiffs claims that the defendants violated ERISA are time-barred and because ERISA preempts the plaintiffs common law claims, the court grants the defendants' motion for summary judgment.
The plaintiff, an attorney, began her employment at PhRMA's predecessor organization, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association ("PMA") in December 1977 as Regional Director for State Government Affairs. Pl.'s Mem. of P. & A. in Opp'n to PhRMA Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J. ("Pl.'s Opp'n") at 3. The plaintiff was promoted to the positions of Assistant General Counsel and Associate General Counsel in July 1982 and November 1986, respectively. Id. at 4.
Following the birth of her second child in 1988, the plaintiff requested a part-time work arrangement. Id. at 6. PMA's President, Gerald Mossinghoff, however, "did not believe in parttime professionals" and denied her request. Pl.'s Opp'n Ex. 19 at 1-2. As a result, the plaintiff resigned her position on March 28, 1988 and sought employment elsewhere. Defs.' Mem. of P. & A. in Support of their Mot. for Summ. J. ( ) at 2; Pl.'s Opp'n at 6. After the plaintiff received an offer of employment elsewhere, PhRMA's General Counsel, Bruce Brennan, suggested to her that she serve as an independent contractor to PhRMA. Pl.'s Opp'n at 6. The plaintiff accepted and signed an independent contractor agreement on March 24, 1988.2 Id. The plaintiff alleges that she signed the independent contractor agreement based on the belief that, as a professional, she was ineligible for part-time employment and based on the belief that part-time employees were not eligible for employee benefits. Pl.'s Mot. at 6.
The independent contractor agreement stated that the plaintiff "shall be engaged as an independent contractor, not as an employee, and shall not be entitled to participate in any of [PhRMA's] employee benefit plans." Defs.' Mot. Ex. 8A. The March 24, 1988 independent contractor agreement terminated on January 28, 1989. Once that independent contractor agreement expired, PhRMA and the plaintiff signed identically worded agreements every year until 2001. Defs.' Mot Ex. 8; Defs.' Mot. at 3. The parties executed their final agreement on September 12, 2001. Defs.' Mot. at 3. "This final agreement also provided [the plaintiff] with notice of PhRMA's intent not to continue their relationship following the expiration of the agreement on June 30, 2002." Id.
The plaintiff filed her original complaint on November 11, 2004. On August 25, 2005, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint, and the defendants moved for summary judgment on October 21, 2005. The court now turns to the defendants' motion.
The plaintiffs complaint makes several claims under ERISA and D.C. common law. Specifically, the plaintiff asserts that: (1) she is entitled to benefits under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B) ("ERISA § 502"); (2) the defendants interfered with her rights to retirement benefits, in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 1140 ("ERISA § 510"); (3) the defendants breached their fiduciary duties, in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 1104 ("ERISA § 404"); (4) PhRMA abused the parties' employment relationship; and (5) PhRMA breached its obligations to the plaintiff. See generally Am. Compl.3 The court analyzes each of these claims in turn.
Summary judgment is appropriate when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Diamond v. Atwood, 43 F.3d 1538, 1540 (D.C.Cir.1995). To determine which facts are "material," a court must look to the substantive law on which each claim rests. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A "genuine issue" is one whose resolution could establish an element of a claim or defense and, therefore, affect the outcome of the action. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must draw all justifiable inferences in the nonmoving party's favor and accept the nonmoving party's evidence as true. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A nonmoving party, however, must establish more than "the mere existence of a scintilla of evidence" in support of its position. Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must show that the nonmoving party "fail[ed] to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548. By pointing to the absence of evidence proffered by the nonmoving party, a moving party may succeed on summary judgment. Id.
In addition, the nonmoving party may not rely solely on allegations or conclusory statements. Greene v. Dalton, 164 F.3d 671, 675 (D.C.Cir.1999); Harding v. Gray, 9 F.3d 150, 154 (D.C.Cir.1993). Rather, the nonmoving party must present specific facts that would enable a reasonable jury to find in its favor. Greene, 164 F.3d at 675. If the evidence "is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (internal citations omitted).
The plaintiff alleges that the defendants interfered with her right to benefits under the PhRMA employee welfare benefit plans and pension plans and that she is entitled to benefits for the years 1988-2002 under ERISA § 502. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 23, 75. The defendants move to dismiss the ERISA § 502 claim, arguing that it is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Defs.' Mot. at 5.
ERISA does not provide a statute of limitations for § 502 claims. As a result, courts apply the statute of limitations for the most analogous state law claim. "[C]ourts have uniformly characterized [ERISA § 502] claims as breach of contract claims for purposes of determining the most analogous statute of limitations under state law." Meade v. Pension Appeals & Review Comm., 966 F.2d 190, 195 (6th Cir.1992); see also Trs. of United Ass'n Full-Time Salaried Officers and Employees of Local Unions, Dist. Councils, State and Provincial Ass'ns Pension Plan v. Steamfitters Local Union 395, 641 F.Supp. 444, 446 n. 1 (D.D.C.1986) (). The D.C. statute of limitations for breach of contract claims is three years. D.C.Code § 12-301(7)-(8). In a case such as this one where the plaintiff did not file a claim for benefits, the statute of limitations on an ERISA § 502 claim begins to run when the fiduciary clearly and unequivocally repudiates the beneficiary's benefits claim.4 Union Pac. R.R. Co. v. Beckham, 138 F.3d 325, 330-31 (8th Cir.1998).
The defendants argue that PhRMA clearly and unequivocally repudiated the plaintiffs benefits in the March 24, 1988 independent contractor agreement and the subsequent yearly independent contractor agreements. Defs.' Mot. Ex. 8. The independent contractor agreements explicitly stated that the plaintiff was ineligible to participate in the defendants' pension plans. Id. The plaintiff does not expressly address the defendants' arguments regarding repudiation except to say that she did not knowingly waive her rights to retirement benefits.5 Pl.'s Opp'n at 6-7, 25.
The court's inquiry, however, does not center on whether the plaintiff knowingly waived any rights. Rather, the court's inquiry centers on whether the defendants repudiated their obligations under the retirement plans, and whether the defendants clearly communicated the repudiation to the plaintiff. Romero v. Allstate Corp., 404 F.3d 212, 223 (3d Cir.2005) (); see also Daill v. Sheet Metal Workers' Local 73 Pension Fund, 100 F.3d 62, 66 (7th Cir.1996); Miles v. N.Y. State Teamsters Conference Pension & Ret. Fund Employee Pension Benefit Plan, 698 F.2d 593, 598 (2d Cir.1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 829, 104 S.Ct. 105, 78 L.Ed.2d 108 (1983).
Here, the defendants' independent contractor agreement clearly communicated to the plaintiff that she was ineligible to receive benefits under the PhRMA retirement plans. Defs.' Mot. Ex. 8. As stated by one court, "all of the district courts that have considered claims made by individuals who were classified or treated as independent contractors have held that the statute of limitations begins to run when...
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