CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margery H. BROWN, Et Al., Defendants-Appellees

The Montana Human Rights Commission (MHRC) found portions of Champion’s pension plan to be in violation of Montana’s age discrimination laws. Champion filed for relief, first with the federal district court and later with the Montana state court. They claimed that the applicable provision of the Montana age discrimination law had been preempted under section 514(a) of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1144 (a) (ERISA) and lacked original jurisdiction. Invoking Younger abstention, the federal district court dismissed. Champion appeals from that dismissal.

FACTS

Champion’s pension plan provides for no credited service for the time a retiree works after he reaches age 65. The plan is in compliance with ERISA provisions and the treasury regulations interpreting them. See 29 U.S.C. § 1054 (b)(1)(C), 29 U.S.C. § 1002 (24), 26 C.F.R. § 1.411 (b)(1), (b)(3)(ii)(C). A Champion retiree, who worked until he was 70, filed an action with the MHRC claiming age discrimination because he had received no credit for his service between ages 65 and 70.

The MHRC, rejecting Champion’s contention that it lacked jurisdiction because ERI-SA preempted the pension plan…