Fairneny v. Savogran Co.

We transferred the case to this court on our own motion to decide whether the plaintiffs’ claims of wrong*470ful discharge and defamation2 are preempted by § 514 (a), 29 U.S.C. § 1144, of the Federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461 (1994).3 A judge in the Superior Court concluded that any connection between the plaintiffs’ claims and the provisions of ERISA was “too tenuous and peripheral to warrant a finding that the plaintiffs’ cause of action ‘relates to’ an employee benefit plan,” and denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter…