Dominick Bruno v. the Time Warner Pension Plan

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff-Appellant Dominick Bruno asks this court to reverse the district court’s judgment dismissing his pension-related claims as untimely. We AFFIRM.

1. Appellee The Time Warner Pension Plan (the TWP Plan) argues for the first time on appeal that we should apply the statute of repose found in 29 U.S.C. § 1118 . The appropriate time limit presents a pure question of law, and meaningful review of the district court’s judgment requires us to decide what time limit applies here. We therefore exercise our discretion to consider the TWP Plan’s argument even though it was not raised below. See MacDonald v. Grace Church Seattle, 457 F.3d 1079, 1086 (9th Cir.2006).

2. Section 1113 provides the statutes of limitations and repose for actions “with respect to a fiduciary’s breach of any responsibility, duty, or obligation under this part, or with respect to a violation of this part.” The “part” refers to ERISA Part 4, which describes fiduciary obligations. Under Mathews v. Chevron Corp., 362 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir.2004), “[t]o establish an action for equitable relief under ERISA section 502(a)(3), 29 U.S.C. § 1132 (a)(3), the defendant must be an ERISA fiduciary acting in…