Clement J. Sheeran v. General Electric Company, a New York Corporation

This is an appeal from an order dismissing an action instituted by Clement J. Sheeran and 1529 other plaintiffs seeking increased pension benefits from General Electric Company. The plaintiffs asserted, inter alia, a claim of equitable estoppel. The district court held that this cause of action is barred by the State of Washington’s three year statute of limitations. We affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

The appellants are former employees of General Electric at the Hanford Project near Richland, Washington. They left the employ of General Electric between 1965 and 1967 while the Atomic Energy Commission phased out its contract with General Electric. At the time his employment was terminated each appellant had sufficient service with General Electric to have acquired vested rights under the General Electric Pension Plan.

General Electric, by amendments to its Pension Plan in 1967 and 1971, granted pension increases to certain categories of beneficiaries. The amendments, however, specifically provided that the increases would not be granted to vestees, the category of beneficiaries which included appellants.

On April 26,1972, the appellants brought suit in the Superior…