Weaver v. Retirement Plan for Employees of Hanson Building Materials America, Inc.

**Weaver v. Retirement Plan for Employees of Hanson Building Materials** This case involved a dispute over pension benefits. Weaver, a former employee of Hanson Building Materials, was denied his pension by the company's retirement plan administrators. Weaver believed he was entitled to receive his pension benefits based on the plan's written terms, but the retirement plan refused to pay him. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Weaver's favor. The court found that the retirement plan administrators had "abused their discretion" when they denied Weaver's pension claim. Essentially, the court determined that the plan administrators misinterpreted their own plan's language in a way that went against what the words actually meant. The court sent the case back to a lower court to determine how much the retirement plan should pay in attorney fees and interest. This decision is important for workers because it shows that courts will protect employees when pension plan administrators wrongfully deny benefits. If your employer's retirement plan denies your pension claim based on a misreading of the plan documents, you may have grounds to challenge that decision in court and potentially recover your benefits.