Bacon v. Bd. of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Am.
Can I rely on this case?
Yes — no negative treatment found
Analysis generated from citing opinions in this archive. Not legal advice.
Bacon v. Bd. of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Am.
Opinion of the Court
Pastor David BACON, Patricia Hepner, Ruth Dold, Sharon Hvam, individually and as representative of a class of similarly situated persons, and on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Retirement Plan and the ELCA Retirement Plan for the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Appellants,
v.
BOARD OF PENSIONS OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA d/b/a Portico Benefit Services, Respondent.
REYES, Judge *439Appellants argue that their equitable claims for breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud and concealment against respondent retirement-plan trustee satisfy the requirements for certification as a mandatory class under Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(a)(1) and (2), even though they also seek monetary relief. Because the district court abused its discretion by denying appellants' motion for certification of a mandatory class, we reverse and remand.
FACTS
This appeal involves class certification in an action for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of trust, and fraud and concealment of these breaches in the management of two retirement plans (the plan). Respondent, the Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, d/b/a Portico Benefit Services (Portico), manages retirement accounts for employees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the church) and employees of organizations affiliated with the church. The plan is a defined-contribution plan, and the participants' retirement benefits are determined by the performance of the investments in the plan. There are over 39,000 participants in the plan nationally. Portico manages over $4 billion in assets for the plan, which are held in a trust with Portico as the trustee. The plan states that fiduciaries "shall discharge [their] duties with respect to the Retirement Plan solely in the interests of [appellant] members."
The plan consists of two separate plans: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Retirement Plan (ELCA plan), and the ELCA Retirement Plan for Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society (GSS plan). The plan includes 20 different investment funds from which plan participants can pick and choose to invest. Portico designs, manages, and controls these funds. Portico charges two types of fees for management: investment fees and administrative fees. The investment fees are determined by varying assignments of basis points and are determined the same way for both plans. The administrative fees are different for each plan. For the ELCA plan, the administrative fees are calculated based on the percentage share of assets within each ELCA fund and can change based on fluctuating expenses and total assets. GSS fees consist of a flat basis-point fee and an annual account fee.
Appellant plan members Pastor David Bacon, Pastor Timothy Hepner, Ruth Dold, and Sharon Hvam (members) filed suit against Portico in March 2015. Members seek recovery of monetary losses to *440the plan and seek equitable relief, such as removal of Portico as trustee, injunctive relief, restitution, accounting, and the creation of a constructive trust.
Portico moved to dismiss the action, and the district court granted the motion under the excessive-entanglement doctrine. This court reversed the district court's dismissal and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings. Bacon v. Bd. of Pensions of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Am. , No. A15-1999,
Following remand, members filed a motion for class certification under Minn. R. Civ. P. 23. The district court certified an opt-out class under Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(c) with respect to members' claims that Portico charged excessive fees (excessive-fees claims) and denied certification with respect to members' claims that Portico mismanaged funds (underperformance claims). The district court denied members' request to certify the class under Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(a) as a mandatory class for both claims. Members filed a petition for discretionary review, asking this court to review the district court's denial of certification under Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(a) with respect to the excessive-fees claim. This court granted discretionary review.
ISSUE
Did the district court abuse its discretion by denying class certification under Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(a) ?
ANALYSIS
Members argue that their excessive-fees claim satisfies both Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(a)(1) and (2) and that the class should be certified as a mandatory class under this rule. Members further contend that claims seeking monetary recovery and equitable relief for a trust can be certified under rule 23.02(a) and that the district court misinterpreted Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes ,
We review a district court's decision to certify a class for an abuse of discretion. Whitaker v. 3M Co. ,
For a class to be certified under rule 23.02(a), the action must first meet the prerequisites of rule 23.01: (1) the class is so numerous that joinder is impracticable; (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) the class representative's claims are typical of the claims of the class; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.01(a)-(d). The district court determined, and the parties do not dispute, that members' claim for excessive fees met the requirements of rule 23.01. We therefore turn to determining whether certification under rule 23.02(a) is appropriate.
Under rule 23.02(a), a class may be certified if the prosecution of separate actions would create the risk of:
Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(a)(1)-(2). Class certification under rule 23.02(a) does not require notice to individual class members. Forcier v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. ,
Under rule 23.02(c), certification is appropriate when common questions predominate over individual issues and the class action is superior to other available methods for fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(c). Unlike certification under rule 23.02(a), certification under rule 23.02(c) requires class members to receive notice and an opportunity to opt out of the class. See Dukes ,
Dukes involved an expansive class certification of Wal-Mart employees alleging sex discrimination.
Prior to Dukes , federal courts certified actions similar to this one involving analogous breach-of-trust claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The claims in this case are analogous to ERISA claims, but ERISA does not apply to "church plans." See
Portico urges us to hold that Dukes overruled the well-recognized application of federal rule 23(b)(1) as illustrated above. However, after Dukes , federal courts have continued to certify similar classes under this rule. In Krueger v. Ameriprise Fin., Inc. , on which members rely, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota certified an ERISA action alleging breach of fiduciary duty against an employer's retirement-benefit plan under federal rule 23(b)(1)(A) and (B).
Moreover, after Dukes , most federal courts addressing the issue have certified classes similar to the class in this case under the federal counterpart to rule 23.02(a). See , e.g., Leber v. Citigroup 401(k) Plan Inv. Comm. ,
The district court certified the class under Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(c), relying on Dukes . It characterized members' claims as individualized monetary claims because any relief would be payable into members' individual accounts. As a result, the district court stated that it "declines to hold that the action is maintainable under Minnesota's parallel Rule 23.02(a)" based on Dukes .
Here, members seek to recover losses to the plan assets as a result of Portico's breach of fiduciary duty that it owed to the plan as a whole. Because these are not individualized claims for monetary relief, Dukes is not controlling. See Jones ,
In the class-certification context, a district court abuses its discretion if it adopts an incorrect legal rule or misapplies the rule 23 factors. Whitaker ,
DECISION
A class action may be certified under Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.02(a) when the class seeks both equitable and monetary recovery on behalf of a retirement plan for excessive fees charged by the plan's trustee. Because members seek monetary and equitable relief on behalf of the plan as a whole, rather than asserting individualized monetary claims, the district court abused its discretion in denying rule 23.02(a) certification by relying on Dukes.
Reversed and remanded.
Nonetheless, some courts have declined to certify similar classes under federal rule 23(b)(1). See, e.g., In re First Am. Corp. ERISA Litig. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Pastor David BACON, Patricia Hepner, Ruth Dold, Sharon Hvam, individually and as representative of a class of similarly situated persons, and on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Retirement Plan and the ELCA Retirement Plan for the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society v. BOARD OF PENSIONS OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA d/b/a Portico Benefit Services
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published