Plan Board of Sunkist Retirement Plan v. Harding & Leggett, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Defendant-Appellant Harding & Leg-gett, Inc. (“H&L”) appeals the judgment of the district court. The court found in favor of Plaintiff-Appellee Plan Board of Sunkist Retirement Plan (the “Plan Board”) in regard to H&L’s liability as a result of its withdrawal from a multiple-employer pension plan. H&L argues that the Plan Board abused its discretion in calculating the withdrawal liability amount. H&L principally argues that the interest rate assumption utilized to calculate its withdrawal liability was unreasonably low and selected for the purpose of exaggerating its liability. In related arguments, H&L contends that the Plan Board improperly included a job elimination benefit in its calculation, as well as missing and deceased participants. We review the district court’s judgment for clear error, and we affirm.

The interest rate assumption used to calculate H&L’s withdrawal liability was not unreasonably low. The record supports the district court’s finding that in this case, the combination of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (“PBGC”) interest rate assumptions with its mortality rate assumptions approximates insurance annuity market pricing. The district…