Barbara A. Dytrt v. The Mountain State Telephone and Telegraph Company

Appellant Barbara Dytrt (“Dytrt”) sued her employer, appellee The Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company (“Mountain Bell”), alleging federal claims under §§ 404 and 510 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1104 , 1140, and a state law claim for the breach of the express and implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, pursuant to Mountain Bell’s disallowance of Dytrt’s attempted withdrawal of her decision to take early retirement. The district court granted summary judgment for Mountain Bell on the ERISA claims, dismissed the state law claim, and awarded Mountain Bell attorney’s fees. We reverse the summary judgment on the ERISA claims, affirm the dismissal of the state law claims, vacate the award of attorney’s fees, and remand.

A. Facts and Procedural Background

The facts of this case are undisputed. Appellant Barbara Dytrt worked for appel-lee Mountain Bell for thirty-one years in various management positions. In December 1986 she took the position of Facilities-Force Staff Manager in Mountain Bell’s Marketing/Products Operator Service segment in Tempe, Arizona. Lois Schmidt, Director of Marketing, told her shortly after…