Field v. Sheet Metal Workers' Nat'l Pension Fund ( 2023 )

United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 22-1824
DAVID A. FIELD,
Plaintiff, Appellant,
v.
SHEET METAL WORKERS' NATIONAL PENSION FUND,
Defendant, Appellee.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Indira Talwani, U.S. District Judge]
Before
Barron, Chief Judge,
Lynch and Howard, Circuit Judges.
Hudson Ellis, with whom Eric Buchanan & Associates, PLLC,
were on brief, for plaintiff, appellant.
Nicholas T. Christakos, with whom Peter E. Ball, Ryan M.
Cunningham, Fitch Law Partners, LLP, and Eversheds Sutherland (US)
LLP, were on brief, for defendant, appellee.
October 3, 2023
LYNCH, Circuit Judge. David A. Field appeals from the
decision of the Massachusetts U.S. District Court denying his
motion for summary judgment and granting the renewed motion for
summary judgment of the appellee, Sheet Metal Workers' National
Pension Fund ("the Fund"). Field v. Sheet Metal Workers' Nat'l
Pension Fund, No. 1:20-CV-11939-IT, 2022 WL 4626883 (D. Mass. Sept.
30, 2022). Field brought suit for plan benefits pursuant to ERISA
Section 502(a)(1)(B), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B), arguing that the
Fund wrongfully terminated his previously granted Disability
Benefit. The District Court held that the Appeals Committee of
the Board of Trustees of the Fund ("Appeals Committee") did not
abuse its discretion and was not arbitrary or capricious in
terminating his Disability Benefit payments based on the
Committee's findings that Field had engaged in Disqualifying
Employment in 2016 and also that he had not completed sufficient
hours of Covered Employment to become eligible for this benefit in
the first place. We need reach only the first of the Committee's
findings because it is dispositive.
Field argues that the Appeals Committee acted
arbitrarily and capriciously and abused its discretion in
determining that he had engaged in Disqualifying Employment in
2016 on the grounds that, in his view, the Committee failed to
meaningfully engage with the evidence he submitted.
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We affirm the district court's entry of summary judgment
for the Fund.
I.
A.
The Fund is a multiemployer pension plan falling under
29 U.S.C. § 1002(37)(A) administered by the Board of Trustees,
which is a plan "fiduciary" within the meaning of 29 U.S.C.
§ 1002(21)(A). Participants in the Fund's Plan ("Plan") are
eligible for benefits pursuant to the provisions of the Fund's
Plan Document ("Plan Document"). Under § 1.13 of the Plan
Document, an individual hired or rehired before July 1, 2001, who
performs work covered by a collective bargaining agreement for a
"Contributing Employer" can become eligible for Plan benefits as
a "Covered Employee." Section 1.10 of the Plan Document defines
a "Contributing Employer" as an industry employer who is party to
a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the SMWIA1, or any local
union ("Local") chartered by it, that requires periodic
contributions to the Fund and who participates in the Plan in
accordance with Article 2 of the Plan Document. Contributing
Employers report hours of service and contribute payments to the
1 Here, "SMWIA" means "the Sheet Metal Workers'
International Association, AFL-CIO, or the International
Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers,"
except its Transportation Division or any affiliate thereof,
according to § 1.36 of the Plan Document.
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Fund for "Covered Employment," meaning "work performed by an
Employee on behalf of one or more Contributing Employers in his
capacity as a Covered Employee" under § 1.14 of the Plan Document.
The Fund credits these employer-reported hours to its Covered
Employee participants to determine whether they are eligible for
pension benefits under the Plan.
Field became a member of SMART Local Union 17 in
Dorchester, Massachusetts, a Participating Local, in 1981 and
remains a retired member. As a member of a Participating Local,
he is a Plan Participant eligible for benefits should he meet the
Plan Document's requirements. Under § 16.03 of the Plan Document,
to become eligible for a Disability Benefit -- formerly known as
a Disability Pension2 -- a Plan Participant must accumulate at
least ten years of "Pension Credit" -- meaning Covered Employment
under the Plan either before or after their employer became a
Contributing Employer -- among other requirements.
2 The parties appear to use the terms "Disability
Pension" and "Disability Benefit" interchangeably. See, e.g., the
July 29, 1993, and February 7, 1995, letters from the Fund to Field
(referring to Field's "Disability Pension"); the October 12, 2011,
and July 11, 2019, letters (referring to his "Disability Benefit");
the September 20, 2019, letter from Field to the Fund (referring
to his "Disability Pension"). See also Def.'s Resp. to Pl.'s
Statement of Material Facts ¶ 19 (in which the Fund "dispute[d]
that Field satisfied the eligibility requirements to receive a
Disability Pension (or Disability Benefit as it was later called)
under the Plan Document.") (emphasis added). Thus, we do not
distinguish between these terms.
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If at any time a Disability Benefit recipient performs
any "Disqualifying Employment" -- defined under § 8.06(d)(1) of
the Plan Document as "(A) employment with any Contributing
Employer; (B) employment with any employer in the same or related
business as any Contributing Employer; (C) self-employment in the
same or related business as a Contributing Employer; (D) employment
or self-employment in any business which is under the jurisdiction
of the Union; or (E) employment in the Sheet Metal Industry that
is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the
Union and the employer" -- § 16.06(b)(3) of the Plan Document
dictates that their Disability Benefit will be terminated.
Section 8.02 of the Plan Document requires Plan
participants to "furnish the Fund Office with any information or
proof requested by it and reasonably required to administer the
Plan." If the claim or information provided is "materially
inaccurate," or the information provided is incomplete, "benefits
may be denied, suspended, or discontinued." Id. The Fund also
reserves "the right to recover any benefit payments made in
reliance on any materially inaccurate or incomplete statement,
information or proof." Id.
Section 8.03 of the Fund's Plan Document gives the
Trustees "the sole and absolute power, authority and discretion to
determine . . . the application and interpretation of the Plan
Document" and "entitlement to or amount of a pension." Pursuant
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to § 8.03(b) of the Plan Document, the Trustees have delegated
this power to an Appeals Committee. Under § 8.04 of the Plan
Document, the Appeals Committee's decision on matters within the
range of this delegated authority is "final and binding."
B.
In May 1993, Field applied for a Disability Pension,
asserting he was disabled due to electrocution, herniated discs,
and Crohn's disease and thus unable to work in the sheet metal
industry. In a July 29, 1993, letter, the Fund informed Field
that he was ineligible to receive a Disability Pension due to
insufficient Pension Credit. Field appealed this denial on
September 8, 1993, arguing that the Fund should credit him
additional hours of Covered Employment and stating that the last
time he was and would "ever be gainfully employed, due to [his]
medical and physical condition" was January 17, 1991, "due to a
serious electrocution suffered at the JFK Federal Building." In
a November 17, 1993, letter, the Fund denied Field's appeal because
he was still ineligible due to insufficient Pension Credit.
Field's father, Bud Field, owner of union contractor Field
Fabrication Corporation, then provided several letters attesting
that Field had worked additional hours at his company in 1982,
1987, 1990, and 1991 that had not been included or credited by the
Fund in his initial disability application and paid corresponding
pension contributions. Field reapplied for a Disability Pension
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on January 31, 1995. The Fund approved his application for a
Disability Pension in February 1995. The Fund repeatedly notified
Field over the following years that if he "return[ed] to any work
in Disqualifying Employment (paid or unpaid) [his disability]
benefit w[ould] be immediately terminated."
C.
In a July 11, 2019, letter, the Fund informed Field that
his Disability Benefit had been terminated as of August 1, 2008,
and he was required to reimburse the Plan for payments he had
received from the Fund since that date, because the Fund had
information that he had engaged in Disqualifying Employment. The
Fund wrote that Field held a Home Improvement Contractor license
in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and owned David Field
Construction, a company "advertised as a general contractor." It
had also "verified that [Field] w[as] responsible for" four
construction projects on August 13, 2008; May 14, 2010; February
19, 2016; and April 20, 2016. The Fund "determined that the work
[he] performed me[t] the Plan's definition of work in both the
Sheet Metal Industry and Disqualifying Employment."
The letter informed Field that he had the right to appeal
this decision to the Appeals Committee within 180 days of its
receipt and that "the Appeals Committee has full discretion to
interpret the Plan, and its decision is final and binding." The
letter also stated, "[i]t is your obligation in any appeal to
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provide the Appeals Committee with any and all evidence, or other
information, supporting your position" and "[r]efusing or failing
to provide any necessary information can result in the denial of
benefits."
Field appealed to the Appeals Committee on July 15, 2019,
arguing as to the Disqualifying Employment in 2008 and 2010 that
he was not responsible because these projects had been performed
by a different person. As to the Disqualifying Employment in 2016,
he asserted that the two projects were "NEVER PERFORMED AND 1OR
[sic] SUPERVISED BY ME." He stated that he had contacted Boston
Inspectional Services and was informed that a building permit had
been issued under his Construction Supervisor and Home Improvement
licenses and that his "LICENSED [sic] WAS USED BY JUA [sic] P
QUISHPILEMA OF 353 PLEASANT STREET, BROCKTON, MA 02301 PHONE #
508-588-5397 WHO PERFORMED THE WORK IN THE ABOVE 2 ISSUED PERMITS."
He also asserted that he had "RECEIVED NO INCOME AND/OR BENEFIT"
from Quishpilema's use of his license number and that he had
"INFORMED THE CITY OF BOSTON TO BLOCK ANY PERMITS UNDER [his]
LICENSE NUMBER AND OR NAME TO BE ISSUED [with]OUT [him] BEING THERE
IN PERSON," as well as "INSTRUCTED MR. J. QUISHPILEMA TO NEVER
AGAIN USE [his] INFORMATION." In addition, he stated he had not
even been present in Massachusetts when the 2016 projects were
performed because he had been in Florida recuperating from a
surgery on his right hand for carpal tunnel syndrome. He
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acknowledged that he had continued to maintain his Massachusetts
Construction Supervisor, Home Improvement Contractor, and Master
Sheet Metal licenses but claimed he did not produce any income or
benefits from them.3
On September 16, 2019, the Fund informed Field that it
had "verified . . . that [he] currently hold[s] or ha[s] held"
Massachusetts Master Sheet Metal, Construction Supervisor, and
Home Improvement licenses.4 The Fund asked him to "provide details
of the permits that have been issued to you and describe under
what circumstances would you be present to obtain a license" and
3 Field stated in a letter to the Fund on December 5, 2019,
that he maintained these three Massachusetts professional licenses
because he had been instructed to do so by Charles Geary, President
of Local union 17, and James Wool, Business Manager of Local union
17, "IN CASE I AM EVER HEALTHY ENOUGH TO RETURN TO MY UNION JOB I
HELD SINCE 1981."
4 In its September 16, 2019, letter, the Fund also stated
that Field had held State of Florida Standard Plans Examiner and
Standard Inspector (mechanical) licenses from May 4, 2000, through
November 30, 2005, and May 4, 1994, through November 30, 2005,
respectively. On September 20, 2019, Field denied having ever
held these licenses, stating he had only ever held "A 3 MONTH SNOW
BIRD LICENSE FOR A 2 TO 3 MONTH PERIOD IN 2005" and that "NO OTHER
LICENSES WHERE [sic] EVER HELD BY ME," and asked the Fund to
"PLEASE RE-INVESTIGATE THIS." On October 31, 2019, the Fund again
requested information from Field about "what is required to obtain
and maintain all of the above referenced licenses," referring to
a list which included the Florida licenses. On November 14, 2019,
the Fund, following up on a conversation with Field on November
12, 2019, acknowledged that these licenses belonged to "a different
David Field with a different birthdate."
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"information as to what is required to obtain and maintain all of
the above referenced licenses."
Field responded on September 20, 2019, "CLAIM[ing] A
DEFENSE OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS" to the Fund's first request.
In response to the Fund's second request, he listed his three
Massachusetts professional licenses and stated "A FEE OF $100 EVERY
2 YEARS FOR EACH OF THE ABOVE STATED LICENSE" before arguing that
having these licenses did not disqualify him from his benefits.
The Fund wrote again on October 31, 2019, acknowledging
that the 2008 and 2010 projects had been performed by another
person5 but stating, "we continue to have questions concerning the
work performed on April 20, 2016 [that] remain[] unanswered." The
Fund reiterated that it had requested that Field "provide details
of the permits that have been issued to [him] and describe under
what circumstances would [he] be present to obtain a license."
The Fund stated that it was "reviewing [his] continued eligibility
due to the fact that [he] continue[s] to carry several licenses
. . . all of which, if utilized, would be work in Disqualifying
Employment" before noting that Field had "not provided the
requested information as to what is required to obtain and
5 The Appeals Committee did not consider these instances
in its determination that Field had engaged in Disqualifying
Employment.
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maintain" his professional licenses.6 On November 14, 2019, the
Fund again requested "additional information about [his]
Construction Supervisor and Home Improvement licenses and [his]
interaction with JQ Construction and Jua[n] P. Quishpilema" that
had been previously requested in its October 31, 2019, letter,
which Field had failed to provide.
On December 1, 2019, Field wrote that he did "NOT HAVE
ANY OTHER INFORMATION REGARDING THE [February and April 2016]
PERMITS" issued to Quishpilema. Then on December 5, 2019, Field
wrote a letter to the Fund in which he provided a statement that
he purported to be an "affidavit"7 from Quishpilema, which reads
as follows:
I JUAN P QUISHPILEMA OWNER OF JQ CONSTRUCTION
LOCATED AT 353 PLEASANT STREET, BROCKTON, MA.
02301 HEREBY STATE THAT ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY
19, 2016. [I] REPAIRED SECTION OF A ROOF
BOAJWING [sic] NOT DONE BY PREVIOUS
CONTRACTOR. MY CREW ALSO TOOK DOWN PART OF A
NONFUNCTIONAL CHIMNEY, INSTALLED A RIDGE VENT
6 The Fund also notified Field that it had discovered
evidence of two other possible instances of Field engaging in
Disqualifying Employment -- as suggested by litigation brought by
the Town of Whitman, Massachusetts, against him, and pictures
posted on Facebook showing him on location at different work sites
and venues -- and requested explanations of why these instances
did not constitute Disqualifying Employment. After additional
correspondence with Field the Appeals Committee did not rely on
these instances in its determination that Field had engaged in
Disqualifying Employment.
7 Although Field described this document as an
"affidavit," Field's counsel at oral argument admitted that this
statement, being unsworn and unnotarized, "would be more properly
termed a statement or a declaration than an affidavit."
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NOT DONE BY PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR, REMOVE &
REPLACE SOFFIT VENTS INSTALLED INCORRECTLY.
WE ALSO REPAIRED SOFFIT VENTS FOR CODE
UPGRADES. THIS WAS A ONE DAY REPAIR & CODE
UPGRADES. I USED DAVID A FIELD CONSTRUCTION
SUPERVISOR & HIC LICENSE TO OBTAIN A PERMIT
WITHOUT MR FIELD AUTHORIZATION & PERMISSION[.]
IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE WORK I ALSO WITHOUT
AUTHORIZATION & PERMISSION USED MR DAVID A
FIELD CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISOR & HIC LICENSE TO
OBTAIN A ROOFING PERMIT ON OR ABOUT APRIL 20,
2016[,] FOR REPLACEMENT OF A NEW SMALL 9 1/2
SQUARE ROOF AT 6 SAXTON STREET, BOSTON, MA[.]
[T]HIS WAS A ONE DAY INSTALLATION[.]
I HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY INSPECTIONAL SERVICES
& DAVID A FIELD TO NEVER AGAIN ATTEMPT TO USE
ANYONE[']S LICENSE[.]
THE ABOVE STATEMENT IS TRUE AND I HAVE SIGNED
FREELY BY MY OWN FREE WI[LL]. I PROMISE UNDER
THE PAINS AND PENAUTIES [sic] OF PERJURY TO
EVER [sic] AGAIN USE MR DAVID A FIELD
LICENSE[.]
IF I COU[LD] BE OF FURTHER ASSISTANCE PLEASE
FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME.
The Fund sent a letter addressed to Quishpilema on February 19,
2020, to the address provided in the statement notifying him that
the Fund had received the statement (which it enclosed in the
letter), stating "[w]e would like to ask you a few questions
concerning your use of [Field's] license," providing contact
information, and asking him to contact the Fund "to discuss your
availability to meet with us." The Fund never received a response
from Quishpilema.
On April 1, 2020, the Fund wrote to Field asking for
Quishpilema's contact information -- which it had previously
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"requested in our January and March correspondence[s]" -- in order
to "request additional information from [him]." Also on April 1,
2020, Field responded that he believed Quishpilema "may have
RELOCATED TO ECUADOR" and that he did not know how to contact him.
D.
On April 11, 2020, the Fund sent Field a letter informing
him that the Appeals Committee had determined that his Disability
Benefit should be terminated on the two independent grounds
described earlier: that Field had engaged in Disqualifying
Employment in 2016 and that he had not completed sufficient hours
of Covered Employment to become eligible for this benefit in the
first place. In this letter, the Fund wrote to Field:
The Committee reviewed the Fund Office's
termination of your Disab[i]lity Benefit based
on what it had identified as Disqualifying
Employment because it was work in the Sheet
Metal Industry as described in the SMART
Constitution & Ritual Sections 5(c), (d), and
(e) and work in a related building trade. The
Committee noted that you have not disputed
that the identified work was Disqualifying
Employment but rather have stated that you did
not perform such work. The Committee reviewed
the information that you provided concerning
the use of your Construction Supervisor
license in February and April 2016 and the
information concerning possible other work in
Disqualifying Employment. The Committee was
unpersuaded that your Construction
Supervisor's license was used without your
knowledge based on their knowledge of
licensing in the construction industry and
based on the information that you provided.
It noted that Section 8.02 of the Plan
Document states that a participant must
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provide information requested and reasonably
required to administer the Plan and that
benefits may be denied if a participant
furnishes "incomplete information or proof
relative to eligibility or continued
eligibility . . . [.]" Despite repeated
requests, however, you have failed to provide
any additional documentation beyond the single
statement from Juan Quishpilema. Therefore,
the Committee deemed that it was bound by the
terms of Section 8.02 of the Plan Document to
deny your appeal because (1) you have not
provided any credible documentation to support
your claim that your Construction Supervisor
license was twice used fraudulently and that
you had maintained eligibility to receive the
Disability Benefit, and (2) that your failure
to provide such documentation or other
credible evidence, despite repeated requests,
created an adverse inference suggesting that
you yourself used your Construction Supervisor
license or, at the least, that it was used
with your knowledge and consent, either of
which provides a sufficient basis to terminate
your Disability Benefit. Accordingly, the
Committee determined that you were no longer
entitled to receive the Disability Benefit
beginning in February 2016 as a result of the
Disqualifying Employment and that $33,809,
plus interest is due to the Fund for payments
made on and after March 1, 2016.
The letter also notified Field of his right to file an action under
ERISA Section 502(a) to challenge the Appeals Committee's decision
in a court of law.
II.
Field filed this suit under ERISA Section 502(a)(1)(B),
29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B) on October 28, 2020. Parties filed cross
motions for summary judgment on September 17, 2021. The district
court then ordered the Fund to submit a renewed motion for summary
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judgment to correct a mistake in the first motion, which the Fund
did on November 12, 2021. The district court heard oral argument
on June 29, 2022, and issued its twenty-six-page Memorandum and
Order ruling for the Fund on September 30, 2022. See Field, 2022
WL 4626883. Field filed a timely appeal.
We review de novo a district court's grant of summary
judgment on challenges to a benefit plan's denial of benefits under
ERISA Section 502(a)(1)(B), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B). See Arruda
v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 951 F.3d 12, 21 (1st Cir. 2020). Where,
as here, the plan administrator is given discretionary authority
to determine benefits eligibility and interpret plan provisions,
a court must defer to the plan administrator where its "decision
is reasonable and supported by substantial evidence on the record
as a whole." Id. (quoting McDonough v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 783
F.3d 374, 379 (1st Cir. 2015)).
III.
Field argues that the Fund's decision that he had engaged
in Disqualifying Employment was arbitrary and capricious because
the decision failed to "engage with the evidence that [he]
submitted in a meaningful way." We disagree. "Evidence is
substantial if it is reasonably sufficient to support a conclusion,
and the existence of contrary evidence does not, in itself, make
the administrator's decision arbitrary." Gannon v. Metro. Life
Ins. Co., 360 F.3d 211, 213 (1st Cir. 2004). "[I]n the presence
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of conflicting evidence, it is entirely appropriate for a reviewing
court to uphold the decision of the entity entitled to exercise
its discretion." Id. at 216. Section 8.03 of the Plan Document
grants the Appeals Committee this discretion to determine "the
application and interpretation of the Plan Document" and
"entitlement to or amount of a pension." Thus, the Committee's
determination that Field had engaged in Disqualifying Employment
after weighing the conflicting evidence in this case is not
arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.
Field argues that "the Fund did not generate any evidence
supporting its conclusion that [he] engaged in Disqualifying
Employment," claiming that "[t]he only evidence that exists in the
record about whether [he] performed Disqualifying Employment is
the evidence that [he] produced in the form of an affidavit." This
claim is false. The Administrative Record shows that Field's
Construction Supervisor and Home Improvement licenses were used to
obtain permits for two construction projects in February and April
2016, which the Fund determined constituted Disqualifying
Employment under the Plan Document. The Appeals Committee
considered this evidence alongside the single piece of evidence
Field presented to rebut this claim: a statement purporting to be
from Quishpilema asserting that he had used Field's license to
obtain permits for the February and April 2016 projects without
Field's permission. This statement was undated, unnotarized, and
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not written on the letterhead of any company, much less that of JQ
Construction, the company Quishpilema purportedly owned. Field
failed to provide additional evidence for why the use of his
licenses to obtain permits for the two 2016 construction projects
did not constitute Disqualifying Employment, despite the Fund's
repeated inquiries on September 16, 2019; October 31, 2019;
November 14, 2019; and April 1, 2020. This evidence is "reasonably
sufficient to support [the Appeals Committee's] conclusion,"
Gannon, 360 F.3d at 213, that Field engaged in Disqualifying
Employment.
Field also argues that the Fund "could have done its own
research" to develop evidence regarding the veracity of Field's
claim, but instead it "did not develop any new information during
its internal review process." This too is false. After its
repeated attempts to acquire additional information from Field,
the Fund tried to independently verify the statement Field had
provided by sending a letter requesting more information to
Quishpilema on February 19, 2020. When this letter went
unanswered, the Fund attempted three times -- in January, March,
and April 2020 -- to obtain contact information for Quishpilema
from Field "so that [it] could request additional information from
[Quishpilema]." Further, under § 8.02 of the Plan Document, Field
bore the responsibility for providing "any information or proof
requested by [the Fund] and reasonably required to administer the
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Plan." He was notified in the Fund's July 11, 2019, benefits
termination letter that "[i]t is [his] obligation in any appeal to
provide the Appeals Committee with any and all evidence, or other
information, supporting [his] position" and "[r]efusing or failing
to provide any necessary information can result in the denial of
benefits." Given the deficiencies of the Quishpilema statement,
Field's failure to provide additional evidence that he had not
engaged in Disqualifying Employment despite the Fund's repeated
requests and Field's obligation to do so under § 8.02 of the Plan
Document, and the Fund's inability to independently confirm the
veracity of Field's claim, we hold that the Committee acted
reasonably and with "support[] by substantial evidence on the
record as a whole," Arruda, 951 F.3d at 21 (quoting McDonough, 783
F.3d at 379), when it determined that Field had "not provided any
credible documentation to support [his] claim that [his]
Construction Supervisor license was twice used fraudulently and
that [he] had maintained eligibility to receive the Disability
Benefit."
IV.
We affirm the well-reasoned decision of the District
Court. Costs are awarded to the Fund.
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