Totten

The Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California (Trust Fund) is an employee health and welfare benefit plan (Plan) subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.) (ERISA). In 2003, it paid out $167,767 in benefits for medical expenses incurred by one of its participants, defendant and respondent Jeanne L. Hill (Hill), who had suffered a punctured bowel during surgery. In 2004, Hill received a $230,000 settlement in the medical malpractice lawsuit she filed against her doctor for his alleged negligence. Upon learning of the settlement, the Trustees attempted to obtain reimbursement for the medical expenses paid by the Trust Fund pursuant to the terms of the Plan, but Hill refused. The Trustees then filed a breach of contract claim in state court alleging Hill’s failure to abide by the terms of the Plan. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Hill, and the Trustees appeal.

Preliminarily, we must decide whether the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to hear this claim. This, in turn, requires us to determine whether an ERISA fiduciary may sue in either state or federal court for…