Grady Roper and Robert L. Benton v. Pullman Standard

Plaintiffs Grady Roper and Robert Benton lost their jobs when defendant Pullman Standard, Inc. permanently closed its manufacturing plant in Bessemer, Alabama. At the end of their two year lay-off periods, plaintiffs applied for retirement benefits under the “70/80” provision of Pullman’s pension plan. Pullman denied plaintiffs’ retirement benefits because it found that they had not met the age/service requirements of the plan. Alleging that the 70/80 plan thus violated the provision 29 U.S.C.A. § 1056(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), plaintiffs filed suit against…