John R. Stone v. The Travelers Corporation

I.

John Stone brought this action against his employer, The Travelers Corporation, alleging that Travelers’ manner of providing for Stone’s early retirement violated the Age Discrimination In Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 , et seq., and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 , et seq. Stone also asserted an age discrimination claim under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Cal. Gov’t Code § 12941, and a state-law breach of contract claim. The district court dismissed the ADEA count for failure to state a claim, and held that the ERISA claim was time-barred. It also held that the California FEHA claim was preempted by ERISA. Finally, the court dismissed the breach of contract claim as moot except for a dispute over interest, regarding which the court granted leave to amend. No amendment was made, and Stone appeals.

We affirm the district court’s judgment with regard to the ADEA claim, although on a somewhat narrower ground than that chosen by the district court. We affirm the dismissal of the California FEHA claim as preempted. Stone has failed on appeal to support his breach of contract claim, and we consider it…