Mead Corp. v. Tilley
| Mead Corp. v. Tilley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued February 22, 1989 Decided June 5, 1989 | |
| Full case name | Mead Corp. v. Tilley |
| Docket no. | 87-1868 |
| Citations | 490 U.S. 714 (more) 109 S. Ct. 2156; 104 L. Ed. 2d 796; 1989 U.S. LEXIS 2709 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Tilley v. Mead Corp., 815 F.2d 989 (4th Cir. 1987); cert. granted, 488 U.S. 815 (1988). |
| Subsequent | Tilley v. Mead Corp., 927 F.2d 756 (4th Cir. 1991); cert. denied, 505 U.S. 1212 (1992). |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Marshall, joined by Rehnquist, Brennan, White, Blackmun, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Laws applied | |
| Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. | |
Mead Corp. v. Tilley, 490 U.S. 714 (1989), is a US labor law case, concerning occupational pensions.[1]
Facts
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2017) |
Judgment
[edit]Justice Thurgood Marshall, writing for the Court, held that only after an employer has met PBGC conditions to fund plans can it recoup ‘excess’ funds that would not need to cover promised benefits.
Justice John P. Stevens dissented.
In my opinion the early retirement benefits that respondents seek are contingent liabilities that under both ERISA and the Plan must be satisfied before plan assets revert to the employer. Section 4044(d) of ERISA provides that residual assets of a plan may revert to the employer only if three conditions are satisfied, including that "all liabilities of the plan to participants and their beneficiaries have been satisfied" and "the plan provides for such a distribution in these circumstances." 29 U.S.C. § 1344(d). Under the Plan, "[a]ny surplus remaining in the Retirement Fund, due to actuarial error, after the satisfaction of all benefit rights or contingent rights accrued under the Plan, . . . shall . . . be returnable to [Mead]." App. 63 (Plan, Art. XIII, § 4(f)).[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Text of Mead Corp. v. Tilley, 490 U.S. 714 (1989) is available from: CourtListener Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)