Audrey Rogers v. Michele McKenzie-rogers

MEMORANDUM

E. & J. Gallo Winery filed this inter-pleader action to determine the designated beneficiary under the Key Executive Profit Sharing Retirement Plan (the “ERP”) belonging to Robert Rogers, a now-deceased former Gallo employee. The district court denied Michele Rogers’ motion for summary judgment, concluding that Mark Rogers was the proper beneficiary of the ERP benefits. Michele appeals. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

1. The parties dispute whether the documents governing the ERP are the 1988 letter confirming Robert’s ERP membership and accompanying beneficiary designation alone, or whether the terms of the Gallo Profit Sharing Retirement Plan (the “Gallo Qualified Plan”), an ERISA qualified plan, were incorporated into the ERP when certain of its terms were referenced in the 1988 letter. The district court correctly concluded that the 1988 letter, in which the terms of the ERP were de scribed, did not clearly and unequivocally incorporate by reference the entirety of the Gallo Qualified Plan. See Cariaga v. Local No. 1184 Laborers Int’l Union of N. Am., 154 F.3d 1072, 1074 (9th Cir.1998) (quoting Slaught v. Bencomo Roofing Co., 25…