Agi Consulting L. L.C. v. Am. Nat'l Ins. Co.
Agi Consulting L. L.C. v. Am. Nat'l Ins. Co.
Opinion of the Court
Now before the Court is the Motion for a New Trial filed by Plaintiff AGI Consulting L.L.C., by Assaf Al-Assaf as Trustee/Owner/Plan Administrator of an Alleged Non-Integrated Defined Benefit Plan, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 59(a)(1)(B) and 59(a)(2). See Pl.'s Mot. (Doc. No. 18). Defendant American National Insurance Company has responded in opposition (Doc. No. 19), and Plaintiff has replied (Doc. No. 20).
BACKGROUND
On July 30, 2018, the Court granted Defendant's Motion to Dismiss after Plaintiff confessed that its cause of action for fraud against Defendant was time-barred. See Order of July 30, 2018 (Doc. No. 16) (West, J.). The Court further denied Plaintiff's request, set forth in its response to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, to amend its complaint, after finding that amendment would be futile because Plaintiff's proposed claims for rescission, reformation, and breach of contract would likewise *1058be untimely under
Plaintiff has now moved the Court to vacate its Order and Judgment (Doc. Nos. 16, 17) entered on July 30, 2018, and permit Plaintiff to file an amended complaint alleging claims for breach of fiduciary duty against Defendant under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act,
STANDARD OF REVIEW
In support of its motion, Plaintiff has relied on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 59(a)(1)(B) and (a)(2). These rules provide, respectively, that the Court "may ... grant a new trial ... after a nonjury trial, for any reason for which a rehearing has heretofore been granted in a suit in equity in federal court" and "may, on motion for a new trial, open the judgment if one has been entered, take additional testimony, amend findings of fact and conclusions of law or make new ones, and direct the entry of a new judgment." Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(a)(1)(B), (a)(2).
There has been no trial, nonjury or otherwise, in this matter, however. Neither Rule 59(a)(1)(B) nor Rule 59(a)(2), therefore, applies as a method for challenging the Court's Order and Judgment. See Soto v. Bd. of Cty. Comm'rs of Caddo Cty. , No. CIV-16-416-F,
The instant motion is more properly characterized as a motion to alter or amend the Court's Order and Judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), which permits relief in certain "limited circumstances." Hayes Family Tr. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. ,
"(1) an intervening change in the controlling law, (2) [when] new evidence previously [was] unavailable, and (3) the need to correct clear error or prevent manifest injustice."
Hayes Family Tr. ,
Plaintiff has stated, "[b]y way of explanation and not as an excuse," that "when Plaintiff [first] sought to amend its [c]omplaint, Plaintiff was not clear about the *1059fact that [r]escission, [r]eformation, and [b]reach of [c]ontract all presuppose the existence of a contract and therefore ERISA would apply." Pl.'s Mot. ¶ 9. Plaintiff has argued that the Court nevertheless should have understood that Plaintiff was seeking relief under ERISA in its proposed amended complaint and not under state law for rescission, reformation, and breach of contract (as Plaintiff had argued), and more particularly should have recognized that, because Defendant was a fiduciary, it was charged with the duties imposed by
Plaintiff has contended that if the Court had done so, it would have applied
Plaintiff has conceded, however, that it did not "raise[ ] the application of ERISA" in response to Defendant's argument that amendment would be futile, (b) acknowledge in its submissions that it was seeking relief under ERISA, or (c) cite § 1113.
Because the Court's and the parties' reliance on a state statute of limitations (and failure to address whether ERISA had pre-empted Defendant's proposed state law claims
Section 1113 provides that "[n]o action may be commenced ... with respect to a fiduciary's breach of any responsibility, duty, or obligation,"
*1060after the earlier of-
(1) six years after (A) the date of the last action which constituted a part of the breach or violation, or (B) in the case of an omission the latest date on which the fiduciary could have cured the breach or violation, or
(2) three years after the earliest date on which the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the breach or violation,
except that in the case of fraud or concealment, such action may be commenced not later than six years after the date of discovery of such breach or violation.
By its express terms, then, § 1113 creates two periods for filing suit for breach of the duties imposed on ERISA fiduciaries by
The Tenth Circuit has characterized § 1113(1)'s six-year period as a "statute of repose." Fulghum v. Embarq Corp. ,
In addition to the six-year statute of repose, " § 1113 contains language providing that 'in the case of fraud or concealment,' a civil enforcement action 'may be commenced not later than six years after the date of discovery of [the] breach or violation.' " Fulghum ,
applies when the alleged breach of fiduciary duty involves a claim the defendant made "a false representation of a matter of fact, whether by words or conduct, by false or misleading allegations or by concealment of that which should have been disclosed, which deceives and is intended to deceive another so that he shall act upon it to his legal injury" or when the defendant conceals the alleged breach of fiduciary duty.
DISCUSSION
Defendant has argued that whether the Court applies § 1113's three-year limitations period, the six-year statute of repose, or § 1113's six-year "fraud or concealment" provision, Plaintiff's proposed breach of fiduciary claims are time-barred and amendment as Plaintiff has now suggested would be futile. The Court agrees.
*1061Plaintiff's original complaint was filed on March 21, 2018. See Compl. (Doc. No. 1). In that pleading, Plaintiff alleged that in June 2011 it negotiated and entered into a contract with Defendant to purchase a Defined Benefit Plan ("DBP" or "Plan"), see
In the proposed amended pleading which Plaintiff had attached to its response to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, see Pl.'s Resp. Ex. 2 (Doc. No. 12-3), and which Plaintiff has now contended should have been evaluated under § 1113 (and not
(1) prior to the date Plaintiff executed the Adoption Agreement to purchase the DBP, Robyn Assaf on behalf of Plaintiff had numerous telephone conversations with Andre Fleener, Defendant's sales agent, concerning the DBP, see Pl.'s Resp. Ex. 2 ¶ 9;
(2) on the date the Adoption Agreement was executed, June 22, 2011, Assaf and Fleener together with Defendant representative Greg Valley "discussed [the form] line by line,"id. ¶ 10 ;
(3) the Adoption Agreement "modifie[d] ... [Defendant's] Prototype Plan to [Plaintiff's] ... specification[s],"id. ¶ 8 , and once the Adoption Agreement had been executed, Defendant was to administer the DBP according to the Adoption Agreement's terms;
(4) "the preprinted [Adoption Agreement] form ... had been partially filled out by [Defendant] ... in typewritten form and then was partially filled out by handwritten entries either by ... Assaf, or by ... Valley to complete the agreement,"id. ¶ 10 , although "[s]ome items on the form ... remained blank,"id. ;
(5) "[i]n addition to the Adoption Agreement[,] ... Valley prepared a 'New Plan Installation Transmittal' ... to send ... to ... Defendant,"id. ¶ 12 ; see Compl. Ex. 2 (Doc. No. 1-3);
(6) "to implement the Plan, a list or 'census' of all eligible employees[ ] ... [had to] be furnished to ... [Defendant] ... to calculate ... the [Plan's] funding requirements," Pl.'s Resp. Ex. 2 (Doc. No. 12-3) ¶ 16; e.g. ,id. ¶ 22 ("The census affects the amount of funding necessary to operate the DBP[.] The more employees who qualify for participation, the greater the funding.");
(7) Defendant first requested the 2011 census on December 29, 2011, and Plaintiff furnished the same on February 8, 2012, seeid. ¶ 18 ; censuses were thereafter provided for years 2012 and 2013, seeid. ;
(8) "[f]rom the very beginning of the contract term the parties disagreed on [which employees were] ... to be included in the census,"id. ¶ 19 , "as well as [on] other substantial matters,"id. ¶ 20 ;
(9) on August 27, 2013, Defendant notified Plaintiff "of a substantial increase in the funding requirements, id="p1062" href="#p1062" data-label="1062" data-citation-index="1" class="page-label">*1062" id. ¶ 23 , and after Plaintiff "complain[ed] about the dramatic increase,"id. , "the DBP was [f]rozen [on September 12, 2013],"id. ¶ 24 , at Fleener's instruction,id. ¶ 23 ; and
(10) the Plan started on January 1, 2011,id. ¶ 21 , and from that time until September 12, 2013, "Defendant was managing a DBP that was materially different than the Adoption Agreement ... Plaintiff had executed on June 22, 2011."Id. ¶ 20 .
Plaintiff has alleged in its proposed pleading that on August 10, 2016, three years after "the DBP was [f]rozen,"
Papers filed in this matter revealed, however, that Plaintiff had in its possession as early as March 14, 2012, a copy of the typewritten Adoption Agreement that contained the materially different terms. See
The Court finds, upon review of Plaintiff's proposed pleading and other documents properly considered, that Plaintiff had notice by March 14, 2012, that: (1) Defendant had "not provide[d] the same Adoption Agreement ... Plaintiff [had] purchased,"
Plaintiff has alleged in its proposed pleading that Defendant fraudulently "manag[ed] a DBP that was materially different than the Adoption Agreement ... Plaintiff had executed on June 22, 2011." Pl.'s Resp. Ex. 3 (Doc. No. 12-3) ¶ 20; e.g. ,
Under § 1113's "fraud or concealment" provision, an "action 'may be commenced not later than six years after the date of discovery of [the] breach or violation.' " Fulghum ,
Plaintiff therefore had six years after the date of discovery of Defendant's alleged fraudulent conduct and its alleged concealment, or until March 14, 2018, to assert causes of action under § 1109 for breach of fiduciary duty. Because Plaintiff did not seek relief until March 21, 2018 (assuming Plaintiff's claims relate back under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(c) ), amendment of Plaintiff's complaint at this stage of the litigation to more clearly articulate its ERISA claims would be futile.
Plaintiff also has alleged in its proposed pleading that Defendant also breached its fiduciary duty by failing to resolve the census issue on September 12, 2013, after Plaintiff complained that date about the increase in funding. Plaintiff has contended that Defendant "made its first request for a 2011 census [on December 29, 2011]," Pl.'s Resp. Ex. 2 (Doc. 12-3) ¶ 18, and that Plaintiff responded to that request on February 8, 2012, see
Section 1113(2) provides that "[n]o action may be commenced ... with respect to a fiduciary's breach of any responsibility, duty, or obligation ... after ... three years after the earliest date on which the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the breach or violation."
Following the more prevalent view
CONCLUSION
In its Motion for a New Trial, Plaintiff has prayed that this Court vacate its Order and Judgment entered on July 30, 2018, reconsider the timeliness of Plaintiff's proposed claims under § 1113, and allow Plaintiff to file another amended complaint "to clearly state an ERISA statute of limitations among other things." Pl.'s Mot. (Doc. No. 18) ¶ 32.
As stated, the Court's and the parties' reliance on a state-law statute of limitations may be deemed a manifest error of law or a misapprehension of the controlling law that required revisitation. Having now reexamined Plaintiff's proposed claims under § 1113 and having determined that amendment would be futile because those claims would be time-barred, the Court again FINDS that dismissal of this lawsuit is warranted. Accordingly, the Court DENIES
*1066Plaintiff's Motion for a New Trial (Doc. No. 18).
IT IS SO ORDERED this 28th day of March, 2019.
Plaintiff has cited Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 and its mandate that leave to amend "should [be] freely give[n] ... when justice so requires." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). In light of the Court's disposition of Plaintiff's motion, the Court has not considered whether amendment is allowed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(c), which permits "[a]n amendment to a pleading [to] relate[ ] back to the date of the original pleading...." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(c)(1).
See
In what is known as conflict preemption, ERISA provides that in certain circumstances it "shall supersede any and all State laws insofar as they may now or hereafter relate to any employee benefit plan described in [29 U.S.C. §] 1003(a) ... and not exempt under [29 U.S.C. §] 1003(b)...."
In doing so, the Court may consider not only the proposed complaint itself, but also exhibits attached thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein.
Plaintiff advised the Court and Defendant that "[o]n June 12, 2018, while looking for a lease form for a new tenant, on an old staff computer that had been archived for four (4) years, [Plaintiff] ... found a computer file labeled 'Pension' containing a downloaded copy of the typewritten plan from March 14, 2012. [Plaintiff was] ... surprised to find the electronic document as the past employee did not make [Plaintiff] ... aware of the downloaded material or print out a copy of the documents and forward them to ... [Plaintiff]." Pl.'s Resp. (Doc. No. 12) at 3, n.1. The Court finds, under these circumstances and absent any contrary authority cited by Plaintiff, that the employee's knowledge of the typewritten Adoption Agreement is imputed to Plaintiff and Plaintiff is charged with the knowledge of its employee. See W. Diversified Servs., Inc. v. Hyundai Motor Am., Inc. ,
Although Plaintiff has claimed that it intended that employees would be eligible to participate after one year of service, the New Plan Installation Transmittal which was prepared by Valley and signed by Robyn Assaf on behalf of Plaintiff and which was attached to Plaintiff's complaint, indicates the contrary: that Plaintiff intended employees would be eligible after six months of service. See Compl. Ex. 3 (Doc. No. 1-3) at 3, ¶ 1.
The Court may take judicial notice of case filings in determining when Plaintiff had knowledge of the facts underlying its causes of action. See Wei v. Univ. of Wyo. Coll. of Health Sch. Pharmacy ,
These documents reflect that, as of September 12, 2013, Plaintiff would have had actual knowledge of the terms of the DBP that Defendant was managing, absent any allegations of fraud or concealment, including the following provisions: (1) Article I, titled "Participation in the Plan," see id. at 4 (capitalization modified to initial capitals only), which advises employees that they will be eligible to participate after "completion of six (6) months of service," id. ; and (2) Article II, titled "Determination of Benefits," see id. at 5 (capitalization modified to initial capitals only), which advises employees that "[a]ccrued [b]enefit[s] will be determined based upon a retirement benefit formula ... equal to 200% of Your Average Compensation," id.
See Wright ,
Though the Tenth Circuit has not expressly adopted this view, see Mid-S. Iron Workers Welfare Plan ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- AGI CONSULTING L.L.C., BY Assaf AL-ASSAF as Trustee/Owner/Plan Administrator of an Alleged Non-Integrated Defined Benefit Plan v. AMERICAN NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY
- Status
- Published