Rollins v. Dignity Health, No. 15-15351 (9th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff filed a putative class action against her former employer, Dignity Health, alleging that the company has not maintained its pension plan in compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. Although Dignity Health concedes it has not complied with ERISA, it contends that the plan qualifies for ERISA’s church-plan exemption. The district court awarded partial summary judgment to plaintiff, ruling that Dignity Health’s pension plan must comply with ERISA. The court agreed with its sister circuits and held that a church plan must be established by a church or by a convention or association of churches, and maintained either by a church or by a principal-purpose organization. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment and remanded for further proceedings.
Court Description: Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Affirming the district court’s partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff, the panel held that Dignity Health’s pension plan was subject to the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and did not qualify for ERISA’s church-plan exemption. Agreeing with other circuits, the panel held that a church plan must be established by a church or by a convention or association of churches and must be maintained either by a church or by a church-controlled or church-affiliated organization whose principal purpose or function is to provide benefits to church employees. The panel remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings. ROLLINS V. DIGNITY HEALTH 3
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.