Dennis Bond, Sr. v. Marriott International, Inc.
Filing
UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 8:10-cv-01256-RWT Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999744406].. [15-1160, 15-1199]
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 15-1160
DENNIS WALTER BOND, SR.; MICHAEL P. STEIGMAN,
Plaintiffs – Appellants,
and
ROBERT J. ENGLAND; LEWIS F. FOSTER; DOUGLAS W. CRAIG,
Individually, and on behalf of all others similarly
situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.; MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.
STOCK AND CASH INCENTIVE PLAN,
Defendants – Appellees.
------------------------UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF LABOR,
Amicus Supporting Appellants,
AMERICAN BENEFITS COUNCIL; CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; ERISA INDUSTRY COMMITTEE,
Amicus Supporting Appellees.
No. 15-1199
DENNIS WALTER BOND, SR.; MICHAEL P. STEIGMAN,
Plaintiffs – Appellees,
OF
THE
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and
ROBERT J. ENGLAND; LEWIS F. FOSTER; DOUGLAS W. CRAIG,
Individually, and on behalf of all others similarly
situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.; MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.
STOCK AND CASH INCENTIVE PLAN,
Defendants – Appellants.
------------------------UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF LABOR,
Amicus Supporting Appellees,
AMERICAN BENEFITS COUNCIL; CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; ERISA INDUSTRY COMMITTEE,
OF
THE
Amicus Supporting Appellants.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the District
of Maryland, at Greenbelt.
Roger W. Titus, Senior District
Judge. (8:10-cv-01256-RWT)
Argued:
October 28, 2015
Decided:
January 29, 2016
Before SHEDD, DIAZ, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Reversed in part and vacated
unpublished per curiam opinion.
in
part;
judgment
affirmed
by
ARGUED: David C. Frederick, KELLOGG, HUBER, HANSEN, TODD, EVANS
& FIGEL, P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C., for Appellants/CrossAppellees.
Jeffrey
Lee
Poston,
CROWELL
&
MORING
LLP,
Washington, D.C., for Appellees/Cross-Appellants. David Maurice
2
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Ellis, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Washington, D.C., for
Amicus United States Secretary of Labor.
ON BRIEF: Michael
Klenov, KOREIN TILLERY, L.L.C., St. Louis, Missouri; Timothy F.
Maloney, JOSEPH, GREENWALD & LAAKE, P.A., Greenbelt, Maryland;
Joshua D. Branson, KELLOGG, HUBER, HANSEN, TODD, EVANS & FIGEL,
P.L.L.C.,
Washington,
D.C.,
for
Appellants/Cross-Appellees.
Mark Muedeking, Washington, D.C., Ian C. Taylor, DLA PIPER LLP
(US), Baltimore, Maryland; Clifton S. Elgarten, Aryeh S.
Portnoy, April N. Ross, CROWELL & MORING LLP, Washington, D.C.,
for Appellees/Cross-Appellants. M. Patricia Smith, Solicitor of
Labor, G. William Scott, Associate Solicitor for Plan Benefits
Security, Elizabeth Hopkins, Counsel for Appellate and Special
Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Washington, D.C.,
for Amicus United States Secretary of Labor. Janet M. Jacobson,
AMERICAN BENEFITS COUNCIL, Washington, D.C.; Kate Comerford
Todd,
Warren
Postman,
U.S.
CHAMBER
LITIGATION
CENTER,
Washington, D.C.; Annette Guarisco Fildes, Kathryn Ricard, THE
ERISA INDUSTRY COMMITTEE, Washington, D.C.; Igor V. Timofeyev,
Stephen B. Kinnaird, J. Mark Poerio, Danielle R.A. Susanj, PAUL
HASTINGS LLP, Washington, D.C., for Amici The American Benefits
Council, The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of
America, and The ERISA Industry Committee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Dennis Bond and Michael Steigman (the Appellants), filed
this
action
against
International,
Incentive
Inc.,
Plan
program,
Retirement
alleging
(the
violates
and
their
Plan),
the
Income
former
that
employer,
Marriott’s
Marriott
Deferred
Stock
Award
a
tax-deferred
Retirement
vesting
requirements
of
Security
Act
of
1974
the
Employee
(ERISA).
After
targeted discovery on the statute of limitations, the district
court found
that
the
claims
were
timely
and
granted
summary
judgment to the Appellants on that issue. Following additional
discovery, the court granted summary judgment on the merits to
Marriott,
concluding
that
the
Plan’s
Retirement
Awards
fell
within the “top hat” exemption to ERISA. The Appellants appeal
that
ruling,
and
Marriott
cross-appeals,
contending
that
the
court erred in finding the Appellants’ claims timely. Because we
conclude that the Appellants’ claims are barred by the statute
of limitations, we affirm judgment in favor of Marriott.
I.
A. The 1970 Plan
Marriott
enactment.
created
The
1970
the
Plan
Plan
in
remained
1970,
in
prior
effect
to
until
ERISA’s
1978
and
granted Retirement Awards “as a part of a management incentive
program
managers
whereby
and
a
other
portion
of
employees
the
for
4
annual
bonus
outstanding
awarded
to
performances
is
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in
the
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form
of
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deferred
stock.”
(J.A.
93).
Retirement
Awards “contingently vest[ed] in equal annual installments until
age
65”
or
disability,
provided
fully
or
that
upon
death.
approved
(J.A.
94).
“[v]esting
terminates
for
any
distributed
vested
retirement,
The
accruals
other
shares
early
stop
reason.”
in
“ten
1970
when
(J.A.
annual
Plan
permanent
expressly
employment
94).
Marriott
installments
after
retirement, permanent disability or upon reaching age 65” as
long
as
the
employee
refrained
from
“competing,
directly
or
indirectly, with the Company for a period of ten years after
retirement or after age 65 if employment is terminated while in
good standing prior to retirement.” (J.A. 94). Each recipient
received an Award Certificate explaining the vesting schedule.
The 1970 Plan was open to “any employee . . . whether fulltime or part-time,” including “manager[s] and other employees”
with “outstanding performances.” (J.A. 93). During the relevant
time
period,
in
Marriott’s
workforce,
salaried
employees
comprised about 10% of all employees, and somewhere between 83%
and 91.5% of these salaried employees qualified as “managers.”
Management
employees
were
paid
on
a
salary
scale
that
encompassed a vast number of grades—from 39 to the low 70s.
Grade 56 and above was limited to “executive” managers and grade
61 and above for “senior executives.”
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Using an internal four-step process, between 1976 and 1989
Marriott issued Retirement Awards to no more than 1.63% of all
Marriott
employees.
Marriott
issued
roughly
33,000
awards
in
total to almost 10,000 unique individuals, 93% of which were
below grade 56 (executive managers). The individuals held 1,386
unique job titles, including Route Driver, Storekeeper, Tennis
Pro, and Assistant Night Trainee. In every year but one, at
least one Retirement Award recipient totaled $0 gross earnings.
B. ERISA
In 1974, “after careful study of private retirement pension
plans,” Congress enacted ERISA. Alessi v. Raybestos-Manhattan,
Inc., 451 U.S. 504, 510 (1981). “Congress through ERISA wanted
to ensure that ‘if a worker has been promised a defined pension
benefit
upon
retirement-and
if
he
has
fulfilled
whatever
conditions are required to obtain a vested benefit- . . . he
actually receives it.’” Id. (quoting Nachman Corp. v. Pension
Benefit Guar. Corp., 446 U.S. 359, 375 (1980)). Congress thus
imposed a variety of new requirements on covered retirement and
pension plans. See 29 U.S.C. § 1001(a). Relevant here, Congress
prohibited the type of vesting schedule present in the Plan and
also
prohibited
“bad
boy”
clauses,
such
as
the
competition
restrictions in the Plan.
Tucked inside ERISA’s vast statutory text, however, was an
exemption for so-called “top hat” plans. ERISA defines a top hat
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plan as an unfunded plan that is “maintained by an employer
primarily for the purpose of providing deferred compensation for
a select group of management or highly compensated employees.”
29 U.S.C. § 1051(2). 1 Top hat plans receive a “near-complete
exemption” from “ERISA’s substantive requirements,” In re New
Valley Corp., 89 F.3d 143, 148 (3d Cir. 1996), and “are not
subject
to
certain
vesting,
participation,
and
fiduciary
requirements,” Kemmerer v. ICI Americas Inc., 70 F.3d 281, 286
(3d
Cir.
1995).
Given
the
breadth
of
this
exemption,
the
category of what qualifies as a top hat plan is a “narrow one.”
New Valley Corp., 89 F.3d at 148. That is, a top hat plan “must”
“be unfunded and exhibit the required purpose” and “must also
cover a ‘select group’ of employees.” Id. Whether the group of
employees
is
“select”
is
determined
1
by
looking
both
The Department of Labor (DOL) has never issued notice-andcomment rules regarding the top hat exemption. In 1990, DOL
issued
an
Advisory
Opinion
interpreting
the
“unfunded”
requirement of the top hat provision. Dep’t of Labor, Opinion
90–14A, 1990 WL 123933 (May 8, 1990). DOL explained that top hat
plan
participants
must
have
the
ability
to
“affect
or
substantially influence . . . their deferred compensation plan.”
Id. at *1. In addition, DOL stated that it interpreted the word
“primarily” in the top hat provision to modify “for the purpose
of providing deferred compensation” and not “for a select group
of management or highly compensated employees.” Id. at *2, n.1.
Thus, in DOL’s view, the top hat exemption was limited to a
“select group of management or highly compensated employees” who
had negotiating power to negotiate the terms of their top hat
plan. Id. DOL filed an amicus brief in this case defending this
interpretation.
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qualitatively
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and
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quantitatively.
Demery
v.
Extebank
Deferred
Comp. Plan (B), 216 F.3d 283, 288 (2d Cir. 2000). Thus, “[i]n
number,
the
plan
must
cover
relatively
few
employees.
In
character, the plan must cover only high level employees.” New
Valley Corp., 89 F.3d at 148.
C. The Amended Plan
Following ERISA’s enactment, Marriott internally determined
that the 1970 Plan was a top hat plan. Also, in 1978, Marriott
altered
the
Retirement
Awards
in
response
to
requests
from
management, particularly younger managers who did not like the
long vesting period. Marriott responded by adding an option for
employees to choose either a Retirement Award or an award that
vested and was paid over a period of ten years during employment
(a “Pre-Retirement Award”).
After Marriott adopted the 1978 Plan, it drafted a lengthy
Prospectus, which it mailed to all management employees eligible
to receive Retirement Awards and filed with the Securities and
Exchange
Commission.
The
Prospectus
described
the
Retirement
Awards program and, in a section titled “ERISA,” disclosed the
following:
The Incentive Plan is an ‘employee pension benefit
plan’ within the meaning of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (the ‘Act’). However,
inasmuch as the Plan is unfunded and is maintained by
the Company primarily for the purpose of providing
deferred
compensation
for
a
selected
group
of
management or highly compensated employees, it is
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deemed a ‘select plan’ and thus is exempt from the
participation and vesting, funding and fiduciary
responsibility provisions of Parts 2, 3 and 4
respectively of Subtitle B of Title 1 of the Act.
(J.A. 298). The Prospectus explained that Marriott “will not
extend to participants any of the protective provisions of the
Act for which an exemption may properly be claimed.” (J.A. 298).
Additional prospectuses with this language were distributed in
1980, 1986, and 1991, and the Appellants do not dispute that
they received them.
In 1990, following an Advisory Opinion from the Department
of Labor, supra note 1, Marriott amended the 1978 Plan to limit
Retirement Awards to executive managers—those at pay grade 56 or
above. Managers with a pay grade below 56 were eligible only for
Pre-Retirement
Awards.
Marriott
viewed
such
a
change
as
“necessary in light of changing government interpretations of
provisions
in
[ERISA],”
and
noted
that
by
“narrowing”
the
circumstances of award availability “helps ensure the continued
application
of
this
favorable
treatment
under
ERISA”.
(J.A.
934).
D. The Appellants’ Tenure with Marriott
The
Appellants
had
long
and
successful
careers
with
Marriott. Bond joined Marriott in 1973 as an Assistant Sales
Manager at the Airport Marriott in St. Louis and eventually rose
to become the General Manager of the Marriott Pavilion in St.
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Louis until his resignation in 1992. From 1976, when he was
promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing of the City Line
Avenue Marriott in Philadelphia, until he left Marriott, Bond
occupied
positions
eligible
for
Retirement
Awards
under
the
Plan. Bond received Retirement Awards from Marriott in 1976 and
1977 (as Director of Sales and Marketing), in 1978 and 1979 (as
Regional
Director
of
Marketing),
and
in
1988
and
1989
(as
General Manager of the St. Louis Marriott). In total, Bond was
awarded
1,344
shares
of
Marriott
stock
through
Retirement
Awards. Bond voluntarily resigned from Marriott on October 19,
1991, two years before his awards would have fully vested. In
2006, Marriott paid Bond all of his vested shares.
Steigman joined Marriott in 1973 as an Assistant Restaurant
Manager
for
the
Capriccio
Restaurant
at
the
Los
Angeles
Marriott, and eventually served as the General Manager of the
Bloomington, Minnesota, Marriott, and later of the Miami Airport
Marriott,
until
Marriott
terminated
him
in
1991.
Steigman
received Retirement Awards from Marriott in 1974 and 1975, both
prior
to
thereafter,
ERISA’s
effective
Steigman
elected
date.
to
In
receive
1978
and
every
Pre-Retirement
year
Awards
under the 1978 Plan. Marriott granted Steigman 693 shares of
Marriott stock under the Retirement Award program between 1978
and 1989. Shortly after his termination in 1991, Steigman signed
a release and Marriott paid him all of his vested shares.
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E. Procedural History
The
procedural
history
is
recounted
in
detail
in
the
district court’s orders in this litigation. See Bond v. Marriott
Int’l,
Inc.,
Marriott
971
Int’l,
F.Supp.2d
Inc.,
764
480
(D.
F.Supp.2d
Md.
761
2013);
(D.
Md.
England
v.
2011).
As
relevant here, on January 19, 2010, Bond, Robert England, Lewis
Foster, and Douglas Craig filed suit in federal court in the
District of Columbia, alleging that the Plan’s Retirement Awards
violated ERISA’s vesting requirements. These plaintiffs sought
equitable
relief
requiring
Marriott
to
reform
the
Retirement
Awards and pay additional benefits. The case was transferred to
the District of Maryland, and only Steigman and Bond remain as
named plaintiffs. 2
Following
targeted
discovery,
the
parties
filed
cross-
motions for summary judgment on whether the claims are barred by
the statute of limitations. The district court granted judgment
to the Appellants on the timeliness issue. Bond, 971 F.Supp.2d
at 493. The court also denied Marriott’s request to immediately
certify the ruling for appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). Id. at
2
England’s claim was dismissed because he left Marriott
before ERISA’s effective date. England v. Marriott Int’l, Inc.,
764 F.Supp.2d 761, 780-81 (D. Md. 2011). Foster and Craig
voluntarily dismissed their claims because they actually were
awarded more shares under the Retirement Awards vesting schedule
than they would have been awarded if ERISA’s vesting schedule
applied.
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494-95. Following further discovery, Marriott moved for summary
judgment,
arguing
that
the
Retirement
Awards
were
issued
pursuant to a valid top hat plan. After a lengthy hearing, the
court granted the motion. Both sides filed timely appeals.
II.
We
contends
begin
that
and
the
end
with
district
Marriott’s
court
cross-appeal,
erred
in
finding
which
the
Appellants’ claims timely. We review de novo the court’s grant
of summary judgment on this ground. Wilkins v. Montgomery, 751
F.3d 214, 220 (4th Cir. 2014).
Except for breach of fiduciary duty claims, ERISA contains
no specific statute of limitations, and we therefore look to
state law to find the most analogous limitations period. White
v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada, 488 F.3d 240, 245 (4th Cir.
2007) abrogated on other grounds by Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life
& Acc. Ins. Co., 134 S.Ct. 604 (2013). Here, we agree with the
parties that Maryland’s three year statute of limitations for
contract actions applies. However, while we apply this threeyear state limitations period, the question of when the statute
begins to run is a matter of federal law. Id. In most cases
“[a]n ERISA cause of action does not accrue until a claim of
benefits has been made and formally denied.” Rodriguez v. MEBA
Pension Tr., 872 F.2d 69, 72 (4th Cir. 1989).
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Here,
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applying
this
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“formal
denial”
rule,
the
district
court concluded that the action is timely because Marriott never
formally denied any claims from Bond or Steigman. In so ruling,
the
court
apparently
Marriott’s
answer
adopted
to
the
the
Appellants’
position
that
complaint
triggered
the
federal
limitations period.
On
appeal,
Marriott
argues,
as
it
did
below,
that
the
district court applied the wrong analysis. We agree. While the
“formal denial” rule is generally applied in ERISA cases, we
recognized,
just
one
year
after
Rodriguez,
that
in
limited
circumstances the rule is impractical to use. See Cotter v. E.
Conference of Teamsters Ret. Plan, 898 F.2d 424, 429 (4th Cir.
1990). In Cotter, we considered the question of when the statute
of limitations period begins in ERISA cases that did not involve
an
internal
explained
review
that
process
while
and
a
claim
“mandate
Rodriguez’s
formal
is
denial.
We
clear,”
its
“application . . . is tricky” in cases with no formal denial.
Id. We noted that in such cases strict application of Rodriguez
“would
lead
limitations
us
.
to
.
.
the
did
anomalous
not
result
begin
to
that
run
the
until
statute
after
of
[the
plaintiff’s] lawsuit was filed.” Id. 3 To avoid this result and
3
In one of its earlier orders in this litigation, the
district court concluded that the “anomaly” we recognized in
Cotter “may here be the reality.” England, 764 F.Supp.2d at 772.
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remain “consistent” with Rodriguez, we applied the “alternative
approach of determining the time at which some event other than
a denial of a claim should have alerted [the plaintiff] to his
entitlement to the benefits he did not receive.” Id. Under this
approach, “a formal denial is not required if there has already
been a repudiation of the benefits by the fiduciary which was
clear
and
made
known
to
the
beneficiary.”
Miller
v.
Fortis
Benefits Ins. Co., 475 F.3d 516, 520-21 (3d Cir. 2007) (emphasis
in original); see also Carey v. Int’l Bhd. of Elec. Workers
Local
363
Pension
Plan,
201
F.3d
44,
47
(2d
Cir.
1999)
(collecting cases applying the clear repudiation rule from the
Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits).
The “clear repudiation” rule serves the goals of statutes
of
limitations,
to
“promote
justice
by
preventing
surprises
through the revival of claims that have been allowed to slumber
until evidence has been lost, memories have faded, and witnesses
have disappeared,” Order of R.R. Telegraphers v. Railway Express
Agency,
Inc.,
321
U.S.
342,
348-49
(1944),
and
to
encourage
“rapid resolution of disputes,” Carey, 201 F.3d at 47. These
goals “are served when the accrual date anchors the limitations
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period
to
a
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plaintiff’s
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reasonable
discovery
of
actionable
harm,” Miller, 475 F.3d at 522. 4
Applying this rule here, we conclude that the Appellants’
claims are untimely. To begin, the 1978 Prospectus—in a section
entitled “ERISA”—plainly stated that the Retirement Awards did
not
need
to
comply
with
ERISA’s
vesting
requirements.
The
Prospectus explained that “inasmuch as the Plan is unfunded and
is
maintained
providing
by
the
deferred
Company
primarily
compensation
for
a
for
the
selected
purpose
of
group
of
management or highly compensated employees,” the Plan was a top
hat plan “exempt from the participation and vesting, funding and
fiduciary responsibility provisions” of ERISA. (J.A. 298). This
language clearly informed plan participants that the Retirement
Awards were not subject to ERISA’s vesting requirements, the
very
claim
made
by
the
Appellants
here.
This
language
was
included in prospectuses distributed in 1980, 1986, and 1991.
The Appellants’ claim is that the Retirement Awards violate
ERISA’s vesting schedule and that Marriott essentially admitted
this
violation
in
response
to
the
4
DOL’s
Advisory
Opinion
in
Applying a discovery rule in this context is consistent
with ERISA. In fact, ERISA’s statute of limitations for breach
of fiduciary duty claims likewise includes a discovery rule. See
29 U.S.C. § 1113(2) (stating limitations period runs from “the
earliest date on which the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the
breach or violation”).
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1990. See Appellant’s Br. at 26 (arguing that Marriott’s 1990
plan
amendment
was
“an
admission
that
the
prior
Plan
was
deficient”). That argument, however, undermines their contention
that Marriott does not satisfy the clear repudiation standard.
Marriott
informed
the
Appellants
in
1978
that
the
Plan
was
exempt from ERISA’s vesting requirements. The Appellants then
waited more than 30 years to file suit, alleging that the Plan
violates ERISA’s vesting requirements. While the discovery rule
“serve[s]
to
soften
the
hard
edges
of
statutory
limitations
periods,” “[c]ommencement of a limitations period need not . . .
await the dawn of complete awareness.” Brumbaugh v. Princeton
Partners,
985
F.2d
157,
162
(4th
Cir.
1993).
Here,
Marriott
clearly repudiated any right the Appellants had to the vesting
requirements of ERISA in 1978. 5
III.
For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the Appellants’
ERISA claims are untimely under Maryland’s three-year statute of
limitations
for
contract
actions.
We
therefore
reverse
the
district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Appellants on
that ground and grant summary judgment to Marriott. Because this
conclusion is dispositive and we do not reach the question of
5
The Appellants also argue that the statute of limitations
should be equitably tolled in this case. Having reviewed this
argument, we find it to be without merit.
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whether Marriott’s Plan was a valid top hat plan, we vacate the
court’s later order granting summary judgment to Marriott. In
light of these rulings, we affirm the judgment in Marriott’s
favor.
REVERSED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART;
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED
17
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