United States Seventh Circuit

In a suit by an employee under ERISA to recover 401(k) contributions that defendant-employer allegedly promised but failed to make, judgment and award of damages to plaintiff and denial of statutory penalties are affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) plaintiff was entitled to relief under both breach-of-fiduciary-duty and recovery-of-benefits-owed claims; 2) the relief under the benefits-recovery claim was to consist of both the unpaid contributions and a reasonable estimate of their growth had they been timely deposited in plaintiff's 401(k) plan, and remand was necessary to recalculate the benefits owed; 3) a supplemental claim regarding failure to pay sales commissions was not an ERISA claim, but must be considered on remand as a supplemental state-law claim; and 4) the failure to grant statutory penalties must be reconsidered on remand in light of defendants' willful conduct and ability to pay.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/07/2008
• Decided 10/23/2008
• Published 10/23/2008

Judges

• POSNER, Circuit Judge., Before BAUER, POSNER, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Jeffrey A. Ryva (argued), Husch Blackwell Sanders, Peoria, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant., Greg E. Roosevelt (argued), Edwardsville, IL, for Defendants-Appellants, Cross-Appellees.