UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 02-2419

JOSEPH A. WHITEAKER, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus

METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Rock Hill. Margaret B. Seymour, District Judge. (CA-00-2693-0-10)

Submitted: June 20, 2003 Decided: July 8, 2003

Before WIDENER, WILLIAMS, and KING, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

William A. Coates, ROE, CASSIDY, COATES, & PRICE, P.A., Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellant. J. D. Quattlebaum, HAYNSWORTH SINKLER BOYD, P.A., Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Joseph A. Whiteaker appeals the district court’s order granting Metropolitan Life’s motion for summary judgment and dismissing Whiteaker’s claim under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 1001-1168 (West 1999 & Supp. 2003). We have reviewed the record and find no reversible error.

Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons stated by the district court in its comprehensive opinion. See Whiteaker v. Metro. Life Ins.

Co., No. CA-00-2693-0-10 (D.S.C. Nov. 14, 2002). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED