§ 4.3.3 Statute of Limitations. The various statutes of limitations principles applicable to ERISA issues are relatively well-settled for purposes of the Arizona practitioner absent a United States Supreme Court interpretation of the Act. Even so, some of the nuances involved in applying the statutes of limitations remain to be developed, particularly in situations where it is unclear when various problems arose and when the potential plaintiff knew or should have known that a problem existed.
The statute of limitations period for asserting a breach of fiduciary duty is articulated in the statute itself.11 The action must be commenced within (1) three years after the earliest date on which the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the breach of fiduciary duty or violation of the plan terms or ERISA, or (2) six years after either (a) the date of the last act which constituted part of the breach of duty, or (b) six years following the latest date the fiduciary could have cured the breach or violation where the asserted misconduct is an omission, whichever time period expires first. As with any general rule, there is an exception. Where there has been fraud or concealment in the course of the breach of fiduciary duty, the action may be commenced no later than six years following the date of discovery of the breach or violation.
The general statute of limitations applicable to benefits claims applies a default rule common to federal statutes that do not contain a specific statute of limitations. The court should select the statute most closely analogous to the federal claim, which in this scenario is an ERISA action to recover benefits.12 It is also now plain that only one state statute can be borrowed and applied to the ERISA claim for benefits per state.13 The statute of limitations applicable to ERISA claims is the one for breach of a written contract.14 Application of the state statute of limitations for written contracts also applies to written claims for collection of unpaid employer contributions.15
These rules of construction are not necessarily the end of the analysis because one must still decide which state's written contract statute of limitations to borrow for purposes of creating a federal common law rule applicable to claims and contributions cases. Generally, the court will apply the state statute of limitations of the forum state so long as application of that time period will not impede the effectuation of federal policy.16 However, if the...
