Bombardier Aerospace Employee Welfare Benefits Plan v. Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

43 federal appellate · 6 district · 4 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 95 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[T]he disputed funds are within the possession and control of the [the plan beneficiaries]. They received those funds in the California litigation and held them in their investment accounts pending resolution of this proceeding. In [Great- West], by contrast, the funds received from the tortfeasor were placed in a Special Needs Trust, outside the possession or control of the beneficiary. Thus, the action pursued by [the plan] ... is equitable in nature under § 502(a)(3).”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 784 F. Supp. 2d 694 - ACS Recovery Services, Inc. v. Griffin · 389 F. Supp. 2d 402 - Scholastic Corp. v. Najah Kassem & Casper & De Toledo LLC

2. “In [Great-West ], the funds had been placed in a Special Needs Trust, as mandated by California law, to provide for the beneficiary’s medical care, and the trustee was totally independent of the plan beneficiary.... Here, in stark contrast, the funds that the Plan is seeking to recover belong to the participant and are simply being held in a bank account in the name of the participant’s attorneys, who are indisputably his agent. Unlike the beneficiaries in [Great-West ] ..., the Plan’s participant, ... has ultimate control over, and thus constructive possession of, the disputed funds.... This crucial distinction is more than sufficient to warrant a finding that the Plan’s action is indeed “equitable” in nature.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 389 F. Supp. 2d 402 - Scholastic Corp. v. Najah Kassem & Casper & De Toledo LLC · Administrative Committee of the Wal-Mart Associates Health & Welfare Plan v. Willard

3. “(A) to enjoin any act or practice which violates any provision of this subchapter or the terms of the plan, or (B) to obtain other appropriate equitable relief (i) to redress such violations or (ii) to enforce any provisions of this subchapter or the terms of the plan.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. U.S. Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen · 133 S. Ct. 1537 - U.S. Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen