Colaco et al v. The Asic Advantage Simplefied Employee Pension Plan et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. Granting 102 MOTION TO DETERMINE ABUSE OF DISCRETION STANDARD OF REVIEW APPLIES. (ndrS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/2/2016)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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STEPHEN COLACO, et al.,
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Case No. 13-cv-00972-HSG
Plaintiffs,
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ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
DETERMINE ABUSE OF DISCRETION
STANDARD OF REVIEW APPLIES
v.
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THE ASIC ADVANTAGE SIMPLEFIED
EMPLOYEE PENSION PLAN, et al.,
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Defendants.
Re: Dkt. No. 102
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Pending before the Court is a motion to determine that the abuse of discretion standard of
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review will apply at trial brought by Defendants The ASIC Advantage Simplified Employee
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Pension Plan, ASIC Advantage, Inc., and Microsemi Corporation. Dkt. No. 102. The Court heard
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oral argument on December 1, 2016. For the reasons stated at the hearing and articulated below,
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the Court GRANTS the motion.1
Defendants assert that the applicable standard of review is abuse of discretion because the
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Simplified Employee Plan (the “SEP Plan”) “explicitly and repeatedly provides the employer with
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discretion to make or not make SEP Plan contributions.” Dkt. No. 102 (“Mot.”) at 1. Plaintiffs
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oppose the motion on three grounds: (1) the motion is untimely; (2) the Court should apply de
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novo review because the SEP Plan “does not clearly and unambiguously confer discretion on the
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plan administrator to interpret the plan or make claim decisions”; and (3) de novo review is
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The Court construes Defendants’ motion as a motion for summary adjudication. See e.g., Hinz v.
Hewlett Packard Co. Disability Plan, No. 10-CV-03633-LHK, 2011 WL 1230046, at *1 (N.D.
Cal. Mar. 30, 2011) (motion to determine standard of review brought as motion for summary
adjudication); Finley v. Hartford Life & Acc. Ins. Co., No. C 06-6247 CW, 2007 WL 2406872, at
*1 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 20, 2007) (same); Kowalski v. Farella, Braun & Martel, LLP, No. C-063341MMC, 2007 WL 2123324, at *1 (N.D. Cal. July 23, 2007) (same); Flores v. Prudential Ins.
Co. of Am., No. C-03-5589 MMC, 2004 WL 2075448, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 16, 2004) (same).
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appropriate because the SEP Plan did not authorize ASIC to delegate its discretionary authority to
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Microsemi. See Dkt. No. 103 (“Opp’n”).
1. Although Plaintiffs’ argument that the pending motion is untimely has some
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persuasive force, the Court has an independent duty to determine the proper standard of review at
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trial. Accordingly, in order to ensure that this action is properly tried on its merits, the Court
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exercises its discretion to address the motion. See Dukes v. Wal-Mart, Inc., 222 F.R.D. 189, 195
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(N.D. Cal. 2004) (exercising discretion to address untimely motion).
2. The Court finds that the appropriate standard of review is abuse of discretion
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because the SEP Plan unambiguously grants ASIC discretion to determine whether to make SEP
Plan contributions. A denial of benefits challenged under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B) “is to be
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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reviewed under a de novo standard unless the benefit plan gives the administrator or fiduciary
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discretionary authority to determine eligibility for benefits or to construe the terms of the plan.”
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Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch, 489 U.S. 101, 115 (1989); see also Abatie v. Alta Health &
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Life Ins. Co., 458 F.3d 955, 963 (9th Cir.2006) (en banc) (“if the plan does confer discretionary
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authority as a matter of contractual agreement, then the standard of review shifts to abuse of
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discretion”).
In the section headed “Eligibility Requirements,” the plain language of the SEP Plan
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states that “[t]he employer agrees to provide discretionary contributions” to employees’ retirement
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accounts. See Dkt. No. 91-1 at AR0010 (emphasis added). The SEP Plan reiterates the
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discretionary nature of the contributions by instructing employers that they “are not required to
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make contributions every year” and informing employees that “[a]n employer is not required to
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make SEP contributions.” Id. at AR0010, AR0011.
Accordingly, the Court holds that the SEP Plan unambiguously confers on ASIC
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“discretionary authority to determine eligibility for benefits”: each year, ASIC had discretion to
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determine whether any employees would receive SEP Plan contributions. The applicable standard
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of review thus is abuse of discretion “informed by the nature, extent, and effect on the decision-
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making process of any conflict of interest that may appear in the record.” See Abatie, 458 F.3d at
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967.
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3. The Court’s conclusion is unchanged by Plaintiffs’ argument that ASIC improperly
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delegated its discretionary authority to Microsemi, thereby prompting de novo review. See Opp’n
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at 7-8. The four cases that Plaintiffs cite in support of this proposition are inapposite. See Shane
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v. Albertson’s Inc., 504 F.3d 1166 (9th Cir. 2007); Nelson v. EG & G Energy Measurements Grp.,
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Inc., 37 F.3d 1384 (9th Cir. 1994); Madden v. ITT Long Term Disability Plan for Salaried
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Employees, 914 F.2d 1279 (9th Cir. 1990); Anderson v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., 414 F. Supp.
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2d 1079 (M.D. Ala. 2006). Each of Plaintiffs’ authorities addresses the dissimilar situation in
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which an ERISA plan fiduciary attempts, properly or improperly, to delegate its authority over an
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ERISA plan. None of Plaintiffs’ citations contemplate the current scenario involving a plan
fiduciary acquired by another entity that assumes “all of [the fiduciary’s] obligations and
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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liabilities.” See Dkt. No. 25 ¶ 39.
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For the reasons above, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion to determine that the abuse
of discretion standard applies to this action.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: December 2, 2016
______________________________________
HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR.
United States District Judge
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