Bourgeois v. Pension Plan for the Employees of Santa Fe International Corporations

PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff appeals the dismissal of his employment benefits claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. We agree that the plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies, but find that the defendants’ actions require the recognition of a limited estoppel remedy. Consequently, we VACATE the dismissal and REMAND to the district court with instructions to refer the plaintiffs claim to the pension plans for an initial benefits determination on the merits, without consideration of limitations defenses.

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J. Michael Bourgeois began working for Santa…