Award Service, Inc. v. Northern California Retail Clerks Unions and Food Employers Joint Pension Trust Fund, a Trust Fund

This action arises under section 302(e) of the Labor-Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 186 (e), and sections 403(c) and 502(e) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1103 (c) and 1132(e). It was brought by Award Service, an “employer” as defined in 29 U.S.C. § 1002 (5), against the Northern California Retail Clerks Unions and Food Employers Joint Pension Trust (Pension Trust), a multiemployer pension fund, for recovery of contributions allegedly made to the Pension Trust in violation of section 302(c) of the LMRA.

Award Service alleges that it made contributions to Pension Trust from September 1970 to March 1981 even though it was not a party to a collective bargaining agreement. On June 3, 1982, Award Service demanded a refund of these contributions on the ground that their payment had violated section 302(c)(5)(B) of the LMRA and that it was consequently illegal for Pension Trust to retain them. Pension Trust, however, refused to refund the allegedly illegal contributions, and this suit was commenced approximately one year later to recover them.

In the district court, Award Service asserted two grounds for restitution of the allegedly…