ERISA Claim – Time-barred

By: Derek Hawkins//September 9, 2019//

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Kenneth J. Bauwens, et al. v. Revcon Technology Group, Inc., et al.

Case No.: 18-3306

Officials: MANION, SYKES, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: ERISA Claim – Time-barred

Two companies set up a pension plan for their employees, then withdrew from it. This triggered federal requirements that the companies contribute to the plan. This withdrawal liability became the subject of a dance between the companies and the pension plan’s trustees: defaults and lawsuits, followed by partial payments and dismissals of the lawsuits.

The most recent lawsuit was dismissed as time-barred. On appeal the trustees ask us to create a federal common law mechanism which would allow them to decelerate the withdrawal liability they previously accelerated. This would, in turn, preserve the timeliness of their claim. We say “create” because the statute makes no mention of such a deceleration mechanism. We decline to do so, and agree the plan trustees’ claim is time-barred.

Affirmed

Full Text

Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

Select Region or Brand

Upcoming Event