Retirement Fund Trust of the Plumbing, Heating & Piping Industry v. Franchise Tax Board
Opinion
lead Opinion
Keller, J.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
This is an action for declaratory and injunctive relief instituted by several trust funds, their trustees, and an administrator (collectively “the Trustees”) against the Franchise Tax Board of the State of California (the Board), its officials, the Employment Development Department of the State of California (“EDD”), and its director. The Trustees contend that § 514 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1144 (a) (1982), preempts the right of the Board to levy on the accrued employee vacation benefits, held by the Trustees, for the purpose of collecting delinquent personal income taxes. This issue is presently being litigated in another case involving a different trust fund in the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles.
Defendant Franchise Tax Board is the state agency responsible for enforcing the personal income tax laws of the State of California. The EDD generally administers the reporting, collection, and refunding of monies withheld by employers.
The plaintiff Trusts are the Vacation and Holiday Benefit Fund of Southern California Pipe Trades Trust Fund, the Southern California…