United States Ninth Circuit

In a suit regarding the denial of distribution of pension benefits to a quasi-marital spouse, denial of the defendant's motion for reconsideration is affirmed where: 1) because of the quasi-marital relationship, the Superior Court's distribution order did in fact relate to "marital property rights"; 2) the spouse was an "Alternate Payee" under ERISA; and 3) the Superior Court's order qualified as a valid Qualified Domestic Relations Order.

Appellate Information

• Argued 08/06/2008
• Decided 01/12/2009
• Published 01/12/2009

Judges

• Before: HARRY PREGERSON, WILLIAM C. CANBY, JR., and JOHN T. NOONAN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jonathan P. Meier, Sirianni Youtz Meier & Spoonemore, Seattle, WA;  Molly Lawrence, Northwest Women's Law Center, Seattle, WA, for Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Bruce McKenzie, McKenzie, Rothwell, Barlow, & Korpi, P.S., Seattle, WA, for defendant/appellant Automotive Machinists Pension Trust., Les M. Coughran, McKenzie, Rothwell, Barlow, & Korpi, P.S., Seattle, WA, for defendant/appellant Automotive Machinists Pension Trust., Harry M. Reichenberg, Law Office of Harry M. Reichenberg, Federal Way, WA, for plaintiff/appellee Norma Owens.