Warren Johnson v. The Trustees of the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund, Thomas E. Farthing v. The Trustees of the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund

879 F.2d 651 11 Employee Benefits Ca 1919 Warren JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The TRUSTEES OF the WESTERN CONFERENCE OF TEAMSTERS PENSION TRUST FUND, Defendants-Appellees. Thomas E. FARTHING, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The TRUSTEES OF the WESTERN CONFERENCE OF TEAMSTERS PENSION TRUST FUND, Defendants-Appellees. Nos. 87-4347, 87-4355. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Jan. 10, 1989. Decided July 11, 1989. Hank McCurdy, Dobbins & McCurdy, Portland, Or., for plaintiff-appellant Warren Johnson. Bob Whittaker, Lodi, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant Thomas E. Farthing. Richard R. Carney and Stephen H. Buckley, Carney, Buckley, Kasameyer & Hays, Portland, Or., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Before SCHROEDER, POOLE and NELSON, Circuit Judges. SCHROEDER, Circuit Judge: 1 This appeal arises from a claim for refund of payments made on behalf of employees to an ERISA pension trust fund. The plaintiffs below were twenty-two owner/operator truck drivers who drove for Interstate Distributor, Inc. (Interstate). Between 1977 and September 1984, Interstate paid contributions into the Western…