Fiorentino v. Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 4 Pension Plan & the Bd. of Trs. of the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 4 Pension Plan

ANGELA FIORENTINO, Plaintiff, v. BRICKLAYERS & ALLIED CRAFTWORKERS LOCAL 4 PENSION PLAN AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OFTHE BRICKLAYERS & ALLIED CRAFTWORKERS LOCAL 4 PENSION PLAN, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 15-02065 (FLW)(LHG)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

September 30, 2016

Not for Publication

OPINION

Hon. Freda L. Wolfson, U.S.D.J.:

Presently before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment on Plaintiff Angela Fiorentino's claims of entitlement to pension benefits under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B) and for breach of fiduciary duty by an ERISA plan administrator pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1104(a)(1). Defendants, the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers ("BAC") Local 4 Pension Plan (the "Pension Plan") and the Board of Trustees of the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 4 Pension Plan (the "Trustees"), argue i) that the application of § 302 of the Taft Hartley Act, codified at 29 U.S.C. §§ 186(a)-(c), renders Plaintiff legally incapable of having been a plan participant and would render illegal any payment of pension benefits to Plaintiff by Defendants, and ii) in the alternative, that the statute of limitations for Plaintiff's ERISA claims has run. Plaintiff cross moves for summary judgment on the merits based on her interpretation of the benefits eligibility criteria set forth in the Pension Plan's Plan Document.

For the reasons that follow, the Court finds that Plaintiff's claims are time barred by the applicable statutes of limitations, and therefore Defendants' motion is GRANTED.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Establishment of the Local 4 Pension Plan

Defendant Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 4 Pension Plan was established on April 14, 1959, through the execution of an Agreement and Declaration of Trust (the "Trust Agreement") by the Bergen County Conference of Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers International Union ("the Union") and the Master Builders Association of Bergen County and Home Builders Association of Northern New Jersey (collectively, "the Collective Bargaining Employers"). [Defendants' Statement of Undisputed Material Fact ("Defendants'") ¶¶ 1-2]. The Trust Agreement itself was executed pursuant to a preexisting collective bargaining agreement between the Union and the Collective Bargaining Employers, effective May 1, 1959, which required that payments be made by the collective bargaining employers for the purpose of providing a pension program. Id.

The Trust Agreement establishes the Pension Plan first, by constituting the Defendant Trustees [May 1, 1959 Agreement and Declaration of Trust, Art. II(2)], and then empowering the Trustees to establish and maintain a pension plan for the benefit of designated employees. Id. at Art. II(4)(2). The Trustees duly exercised their authority under the Trust Agreement to establish the Local 4 Pension Plan, governed by the Plan Document. The Pension Plan is a multiemployer plan as defined by Section 3(37) of ERISA. [Defendants' ¶ 4]. The parties agree that the terms of the Pension Plan, including employee eligibility criteria in order to be entitled to benefits, are setforth in the BAC Local No. 4 Pension Plan Document, effective January 1, 2003 (the "Plan Document").¹ [Plaintiff's Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ("Plaintiff's") ¶¶ 14-20].

B. Establishment of the Health Fund

Separately, in or around 1995, all of the local BAC union health funds in the State of New Jersey were consolidated into an entity now known as the New Jersey BAC Statewide Health Fund (the "Health Fund"). Mercadante Tr. 94:11-21. The Health Fund was established pursuant to an agreement not provided to the Court, which agreement, it is undisputed among the parties, is separate and distinct from the Trust Agreement establishing the Pension Plan and the Trustees. The Health Fund is not a signatory to the Trust Agreement of the Pension Plan.

Gary Mercadante was hired to administer the Health Fund in June of 1996. Between June 1996 and June 8, 2006², Mr. Mercadante performed administrative functions for the Health Fund. Mercadante Tr. 104; Mercadante Certification ¶¶ 7-9.

C. Plaintiff's Employment by the Health Fund

In 1997, Gerald DellaSalla was the administrative manager of the Pension Fund. [Plaintiff's ¶ 25]. At some point in 1997, Mr. DellaSalla advised Plaintiff that there was a job opening at the Health Fund. Id. At the time he informed her of the position, Mr. DellaSallaindicated to Plaintiff that if she were to obtain the position, she would be allowed to participate in the Pension Plan, the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 4 Annuity Fund ("Annuity Fund"), and the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers International Pension Fund ("International Fund"). [Plaintiff's ¶ 28].

In or around 1997, Plaintiff applied, and was interviewed by Mr. Mercadante for an open position at the Health Fund. [Plaintiff's ¶ 29]. It is undisputed that, as a result of the interview, Plaintiff was hired by the Health Fund, in or around 1997, to act as a clerical office worker. Id. at ¶ 31. What else transpired during Plaintiff's initial job interview between Mr. Mercadante and the Plaintiff is a matter of dispute between the parties and thus cannot be relied upon by the Court in considering the present motions. Plaintiff contends that Mr. Mercadante confirmed Mr. DellaSalla's representation that, as an employee of the Health Fund, she would participate in the Pension Plan, the Annuity Fund, and the International Fund. Id. at ¶ 30. Mr. Mercadante contends that he informed Plaintiff at the interview that the base compensation package included participation in the Annuity Fund only, but that he and Plaintiff then negotiated to have Plaintiff participate in both the Annuity Fund and the International Fund, but not the Pension Plan. Mercadante Tr. 155-57.

In or around 1998, Plaintiff had a "first year review" meeting with Mr. Mercadante at which Mr. Mercadante informed Plaintiff that she would not be able to participate in the Pension Plan. [Plaintiff's ¶ 32].

At that 1998 meeting, based on her recollection of the promises made to her by Mr. DellaSalla and Mr. Mercadante at the time of her hiring in 1997, Plaintiff believed that she was entitled to participation in all three benefit funds, and, accordingly, complained to Mr. Mercadante that she was entitled to participate in the Pension Plan. Id. at ¶ 33. What exactly Mr.Mercadante said in response is disputed, but the parties agree that Mr. Mercadante informed Plaintiff that she would not be able to participate in the Pension Plan. Id. at ¶ 33.

There are numerous factual disputes concerning Plaintiff's participation in the Annuity Fund and the International Fund that are not germane to the present motions and therefore will only be briefly noted as follows. Plaintiff contends that at the 1998 "first year review" meeting Mr. Mercadante also told her she would not be able to participate in the Annuity Fund and the International Fund and that these benefits were only secured later after Plaintiff's appeals for assistance to Mr. DellaSalla and Linda Meudt, the office manager of the Health Fund. Fiorentino Tr. 16:1-12. Defendants contend that Mr. Mercadante negotiated with Plaintiff at the initial 1997 job interview meeting for Plaintiff's participation in both of these benefit funds. Mercadante Tr. 155-56. For the purpose of these motions, the Court need only observe that under either Plaintiff's or Defendants' accounts, Plaintiff was enrolled as a participant in the Annuity Fund and the International Fund and contributions were being made by the Health Fund to the Annuity Fund and the International Fund on her behalf at the latest by sometime at or around her second annual review in 1999. [Plaintiff's ¶ 43-44].

Plaintiff was employed by the Health Fund from sometime in 1997 until her retirement in June 2014. During that time, it is undisputed that Plaintiff was a "non-bargaining" or non-union employee. Id. at ¶ 2. During the period of her employment, Plaintiff did not pay dues to a union and was never issued a union book. [Defendants' ¶ 10].

During her employment after 1999, Plaintiff received annual statements confirming the Health Fund's contributions to the Annuity Fund and the International Fund on her behalf. [Defendants' ¶ 19]. Plaintiff did not receive statements concerning the Pension Plan. Id.

D. Remittance Forms Submitted for Other Health Fund Employees

Currently, the Health Fund has approximately six employees. [Plaintiff's ¶ 12 and Defendants' Objections to ¶ 12]. It appears that during the period of Plaintiff's employment there were approximately the same number of employees of the Health Fund at a given time, varying slightly based on individual hiring and departures. The Health Fund contributed to the Pension Plan on behalf of three of these employees: fund administrator Gary Mercadante, office manager Linda Meudt, and office manager in-training Oretta St. Ives.³ [Plaintiff's ¶¶ 46-47]. In addition to Plaintiff, the Health Fund did not contribute to the Pension Plan on behalf of at least one other employee, Maria Delores Lopez, who was hired at some point in 2010. [Plaintiff's ¶ 61].

The Health Fund remitted its contributions to the Pension Plan on behalf of Mr. Mercadante, Ms. Meudt, and Ms. St. Ives using the same employer remittance report form that contractors use when making contributions on behalf of employees covered by the contractors' collective bargaining agreements with the Union. [Plaintiff's ¶ 73]. The employer remittance report in use from at least 1998 through mid-2006 included the following language:

By forwarding payment, Employer acknowledges obligations to pay fringe benefits under collective bargaining agreement covering the listed employees and accepts the Trust Agreement governing said Funds. Fund is filing all of its data with the IRS.

[Plaintiff's ¶ 75]. From July 2011 onward, the employer remittance reports were revised and included the following language:

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