Gendreau

Appellant William O. Gendreau (“William”) appeals the grant of summary judgment in favor of appellee Colleen R. Gendreau (“Colleen”) by the United States Bankruptcy Court and the subsequent affirmance by the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (“BAP”) of the Ninth Circuit.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

William and Colleen were married in 1985. In 1992 they were divorced. The Family Court for Loudoun County, Virginia, issued a divorce decree, awarding Colleen a fifty percent interest in amounts William accrued in his two United Pilot’s pension plans during the years they were married. The Family Court did not award either party maintenance or spousal support.

In January, 1993, the Family Court entered an order entitled “Qualified Domestic Relations Order” (“QDRO”), which was intended to satisfy an exception to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (“ERISA”) prohibition against the alienation of pension plan funds. The order directed the plans’ administrator to pay Colleen directly her percentage of the pension funds. On May 17, 1993, the administrator determined that the payment order did not meet the specific criteria of a QDRO and refused to pay out funds to Colleen until…