Howe v. Pacific Electric Railway Co.

Plaintiffs are more than 300 retired former employees of defendant railway company. They appeal from the judgment of the trial court dismissing “for want of jurisdiction” their action for declaratory relief and to recover pension benefits to which they claim to be entitled under the private pension plan maintained by defendant prior to enactment of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, hereinafter sometimes called “the Retirement Act.” (45 U.S.C.A. §§ 228a-228z-1.) We have concluded that the trial court correctly viewed plaintiffs’ claims as falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the…