National Bank of North America v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 3

OPINION OF THE COURT

The basic issue on appeal is whether the vested benefits payable to a judgment debtor from an employee pension fund governed by the Federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (US Code, tit 29, § 1001 et seq.) are exempt from the New York statutory procedures governing enforcement of money judgments (see, generally, CPLR art 52). We believe that the statutory rights of a judgment creditor, including the mechanisms of levy and garnishment, are neither in conflict with nor pre-empted by the provisions of ERISA and, therefore, such vested benefits are…