Carpenters Health & Welfare Trust Fund v. Developers Insurance

In Carpenters So. Cal. Admin. Corp. v. El Capitan Development Co. (1991) 53 Cal.3d 1041 [ 282 Cal.Rptr. 277 , 811 P.2d 296 ] (cert. den. Nov. 12, 1991, _ U.S. _ [ 116 L.Ed.2d 450 , 112 S.Ct. 430 ]), our Supreme Court held that Civil Code section 31 ll , which creates liens on real property in favor of trust funds established pursuant to collective bargaining agreements, is preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ( 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.) The question before us is whether the same thing is true relative to stop notice statutes, as pertains to these same trust funds. (§3156 et seq. & § 3179 et seq. ) We hold that it is.

I

The named plaintiffs in this suit are: Carpenters Health and Welfare Trust Fund for California, Carpenters Vacation and Holiday Fund for Northern California, Carpenters Apprenticeship and Training Trust Fund for Northern California, and Carpenters Annuity Trust Fund for Northern California (Carpenters’ Trust Funds). These are multi-employer trust funds established under collective bargaining agreements and employee pension benefit plans or employee welfare benefit plans within the meaning of ERISA. (See 29 U.S.C. §…