Case: Retirement Benefits/Benefits Denial (W.D.N.C.)

A federal district court in North Carolina granted EIDP Inc., Corteva Inc., the Pension and Retirement Plan, and the Benefit Plans Administrative Committee’s motion for judgment on the pleadings dismissing an employee’s ERISA action for wrongful denial of benefits, equitable relief, statutory damages, and attorneys’ fees, relating to his benefits decrease to cover the cost of a qualified joint and survivor annuity for his former spouse. According to the court, because the employee has an adequate remedy available under ERISA’s civil enforcement provision, his claim for equitable relief under ERISA is improper.