Elgen Long, Robert Bax, Oakley Smith John Keenan v. Flying Tiger Line, Inc. Fixed Pension Plan for Pilots the Flying Tiger Line, Inc.

Flying Tiger Line, Inc. (“Flying Tiger”) and the Flying Tiger pilots’ former union entered into a collectively bargained agreement regarding pilot pension benefits. Appellants, four former Flying Tiger pilots, seek enforcement of the terms of the summary plan description of the pension agreement pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1022 (a)(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).

The district court found that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over appellants’ claim because (1) a Railway Labor Act-mandated arbitration board had determined appellants’ rights under the pension plan, and (2) ERISA does not provide an independent statutory right to enforcement of the summary plan description. We affirm.

System Board of Adjustment Determination

The Railway Labor Act requires that an air carrier and its employees establish a system board of adjustment with jurisdiction over disputes “growing out of grievances, or out of the interpretation or application of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions.” 45 U.S.C. § 184 . “No federal or state court has jurisdiction over the merits of any employment dispute subject to determination by a system…