Bellon v. The PPG Employee Life and Other Benefits Plan, 5:18-cv-00114

Background

PPG spun off its commodity chemicals division to form Axiall in January 2013; Axiall assumed responsibility for certain PPG retiree life insurance benefits for former PPG employees.
From 2013 through December 2015 Axiall provided the retiree life coverage at issue; Axiall notified participants it would terminate benefits effective January 1, 2016.
Plaintiffs (former employees) sued under ERISA and for breach of contract and fiduciary duty, claiming PPG unlawfully removed and transferred vested retiree life benefits to Axiall.
Defendants produced late-discovered Employee Benefits Committee (EBC) documents (1984 reservation of rights amendment); court found the late production improper but the documents immaterial to the legal disposition.
The court denied Plaintiffs’ Rule 56(d) request for additional discovery, granted Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and dismissed the action with prejudice.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether PPG terminated vested retiree life benefits or could be liable for Axiall's termination	Benefits vested; PPG could not transfer them away	Plaintiffs were no longer PPG participants at termination; Axiall terminated benefits; benefits were not vested and plan allowed modification	PPG did not terminate benefits; benefits were not vested; summary judgment for defendants
Timeliness of Section 510 claims (Counts II and V)	Claims timely or SOL should run later	Claims time-barred under analogous state wrongful termination SOL (two years)	Section 510 claims untimely and dismissed
Breach of fiduciary duty under 29 U.S.C. § 1104 (Count IV)	PPG and Plan Administrator breached duties by removing participants and transferring obligations	The Axiall transaction was a settlor/corporate business decision, not fiduciary action; SOL began in 2013	Claim time-barred; defendants were not acting as fiduciaries; claim fails
Breach of contract claim (Count VI)	Contract claim independent from ERISA and not preempted	Claim relates to ERISA plan and is preempted by ERISA's exclusive remedies	Contract claim preempted and dismissed
Characterization of surviving-spouse benefit (Counts VII–VIII)	Benefit is a pension plan benefit	Death/survivor benefit is a welfare benefit, not a pension	Benefit is welfare, not pension; counts fail
Alleged § 1024(b) document production violations (Count III)	Plan administrator failed to produce SPDs and pre-2002 documents	Section 1024(b) does not require production of outdated plan descriptions; plaintiffs sent requests to wrong recipients; respondeat superior against PPG unsupported	No violation; claim fails

Key Cases Cited

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986) (summary judgment burden allocation)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242 (1986) (genuine issue and sufficiency of evidence at summary judgment)
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986) (nonmovant must present specific facts to defeat summary judgment)
Stanton v. Gulf Oil Corp., 792 F.2d 432 (4th Cir. 1986) (ERISA standing limited to participants, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, Secretary of Labor)
Gable v. Sweetheart Cup Co., 35 F.3d 851 (4th Cir. 1994) (welfare benefits do not vest absent clear, express plan language)
M & G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, 574 U.S. 427 (2015) (employers may modify or terminate welfare plans)
Black & Decker Disability Plan v. Nord, 538 U.S. 822 (2003) (employers have broad leeway in structuring welfare plans)
Lockheed Corp. v. Spink, 517 U.S. 882 (1996) (distinguishing settlor/corporate decisions from fiduciary acts)
Flanigan v. Gen. Elec. Co., 242 F.3d 78 (2d Cir. 2001) (spin-off decisions are settlor actions not fiduciary breaches)
In re Lucent Death Benefits ERISA Litig., 541 F.3d 250 (3d Cir. 2008) (death benefit is a welfare benefit)
Faircloth v. Lundy Packing Co., 91 F.3d 648 (4th Cir. 1996) (narrow scope of §1024(b)(4) document production)