British Motor Car Distributors, Ltd. v. San Francisco Automotive Industries Welfare Fund

Plaintiff-Appellants British Motor Car Distributors, Ltd. and other automotive dealers (the “Employers”) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee San Francisco Automotive Industries Welfare Fund (the “Trust”) and intervenors-appellees Automotive Industries Welfare Trust, Northern California Motor Car Dealers Association Insurance Trust, and Bay Area Automotive Group Welfare Trust (the “Successor Trusts”). The Employers contend that the district court improperly interpreted section 403(c)(2)(A)(ii) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1103 (c)(2)(A)(ii) (1982), and section 302 of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 186 (1982). For the reasons stated below, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Trust.

BACKGROUND

The Trust was established in 1955 pursuant to collective bargaining agreements between a group of San Francisco automobile dealerships (i.e., the plaintiffs-appellants Employers) and several local unions. The Trust was designed to provide health and welfare benefits to employees of the dealerships. Under the Trust Agreement and the collective…