Gary Lee Eckelkamp v. Dennis J. Beste

MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

Gary Eckelkamp, an employee of Melton Machine and Control Company (Melton), and two former employees, Bradley Hoe-mann and Ronald Kampmann, brought this action against Melton, its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), and four Melton officers, alleging breach of fiduciary duty claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Missouri common law, and a retaliatory discharge claim under ERISA. The district court 1 dismissed the state law claim and granted summary judgment to the defendants on the ERISA claims. Plaintiffs appeal, and we affirm.

I

In 1986…