Owen v. Soundview 401(K) And Profit Sharing Plan, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 4321 (2^nd Cir. Mar. 17, 2000) (unpublished)-When Owen resigned from employment with SoundView, the company proposed to reacquire the 120,000 shares of stock, that the plan held for his benefit in a Pooled Investment Fund, at the book value as of the "valuation date."  Owen sued, arguing that he deserved the fair market value for his shares as of the date of distribution.  This court affirmed the district court's holding for SoundView.

            Owen alleged that the SoundView plan violated ERISA's prohibited transaction rules, in that ERISA permits the acquisition or sale by a plan of qualifying employer securities only when the acquisition or sale is for "adequate consideration."  29 U.S.C. § 1108(e)(1).  This court concluded that the prohibited transaction rules were not before it on this appeal.  Owen had failed to state a breach of fiduciary duty claim because he did not request any relief to which he would be entitled under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(2).  Any recovery under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(2) cannot go to the individual beneficiary, but must inure to the benefit of the plan as a whole.

Owen's claim also failed when viewed as a claim for benefits under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B), which provides for suits by beneficiaries for breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the interpretation of plan documents and the payment of benefits.  It was in the trustees' discretion to use book valuation.  As for Owen's argument that the trustees used the wrong date for valuation, the plan documents unambiguously supported the trustees' interpretation.