United States Tenth Circuit

In a class action suit brought by participants in an ERISA-governed medical benefit plan who were left with significant medical bills when their employer failed to properly fund the plan and filed for bankruptcy, summary judgment for defendant, who simultaneously served as an officer of the employer and as a plan fiduciary, is affirmed in part as the district court properly concluded that defendant's decisions regarding plan-funding were purely business decisions that did not implicate his fiduciary duties to the plan. The judgment is reversed in part due to the district court's failure to properly address certain issues.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/17/2007
• Published 01/18/2007

Judges

• BRISCOE, Circuit Judge., Before KELLY, McKAY, and BRISCOE, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Brian S. King, (Marcie E. Schaap of King, Burke & Schaap, with him on the briefs), Salt Lake City, Utah, for Plaintiff-Appellant., Jay E. Sushelsky, (Melvin R. Radowitz), AARP Foundation Litigation, Washington, D.C., filed an amicus curiae brief for the American Association of Retired Persons.


• For Appellees:
  
• Michael W. Homer, (Carl F. Huefner, Jesse C. Trentadue and John D. Luthy with him on the brief) of Suitter Axland, PLLC, Salt Lake City, Utah, for Defendant-Appellee, Michael W. Devine.