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Rocco v. New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement Fund

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Argued: November 21, 2001

Appeal from a grant of summary judgment dismissing claims by pension benefit recipients as not actionable under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. � 1001, et seq., and cross appeal from denial of defendant’s motion for attorney’s fees, by the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Howard G. Munson, Senior Judge). We hold that the Amended Complaint failed to state a claim for breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA because the conduct of which plaintiffs complain occurred prior to the effective date of that statute or was an “inexorable consequence” of that conduct. Moreover, plaintiffs could not institute a civil action for review of their benefits denial because plaintiffs were not “participants” in the pension plan under whose terms they seek benefits.

Additionally, remand to the district court for consideration of plaintiffs’ “pendent” state law claims is not warranted, given that no federal claims remain. We further hold that denial of defendant’s motion for attorney’s fees under ERISA’s “fee shifting” provision was appropriate because ERISA was found inapplicable to plaintiffs’ claims. We therefore affirm.

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