Equitable Relief Permitted Under ERISA.

An employee was seriously injured in a car accident involving a drunk driver.  Her past and future medical expenses, wages and pain and suffering totaled $1,757,943.08.  She recovered $376,906.84 from the tortfeasor. The employer’s benefit plan gave the employer a right to full reimbursement for medical expenses paid by a third party tortfeasor, regardless of whether the injured person was made whole by the recovery.  Even though she had only been partially compensated by the tortfeasor for her losses, the employer demanded full reimbursement for the medical expenses it paid.  The employee and her counsel declined to reimburse, placing the entire disputed amount in a trust.  The employer sued both its employee and her lawyer.  The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the lawyer, finding the plan’s reimbursement provision could not be enforced against the lawyer, but granted summary judgment in favor of the employer and against the employee for the full amount of medical expenses it paid.  The Ninth Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of counsel, but reversed summary judgment in favor of the employer, and remanded the matter back to the trial court to “apply traditional equitable principles including consideration of traditional equitable defenses.  The amount to which [the employer] is entitled to recover under [ERISA, 29 U.S.C. §1001] §502(a)(3) and the proportional amount of attorneys’ fees and costs for which [the employer] is responsible under §502 (a)(3) must be consistent with principles of equity and not merely contract.”  CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc. v. Rose   (Ninth Cir.; June 20, 2012.) (Case No. No. 11-35127).