|
THE LONGABERGER COMPANY, as Administrator of the Longaberger Family of Companies Group Medical Plan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JEFFREY A. KOLT, Defendant-Appellant. |
|
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland.
No. 05-00197—Lesley Brooks Wells, District Judge.
Argued: October 14, 2009
Decided and Filed: November 16, 2009
Before: BATCHELDER, Chief Judge; GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge; TARNOW,
District Judge.
GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge. Defendant Jeffrey A. Kolt appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for summary judgment and its grant of summary judgment for plaintiff The Longaberger Company (“Longaberger”), an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) governed, self-funded employee welfare benefit plan, which sought to enforce the terms of the Plan’s reimbursement provisions against attorney Kolt and his client Samuel Billiter. Kolt argues that Longaberger’s claims for monetary relief were barred by ERISA and principles of judicial estoppel, and were premised on an invalid lien which was subordinate to Kolt’s lien. We disagree and affirm. In doing so, we hold that the district court correctly granted Longaberger equitable restitution as authorized by § 502(a)(3) of ERISA.