Second Circuit Vacates and Remands Dismissal of ERISA Claims Against IBM

In a succinct and unpublished decision, Knight, et al. v. IBM Pers. Pension Plan, et al., No. 24-1281, 2025 WL 1009175 (2d Cir. Apr. 3, 2025), the Second Circuit vacated and remanded the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York’s decision that dismissed the Plaintiffs’ ERISA claims as untimely. Plaintiffs, IBM retirees, had appealed the district court’s ruling, which found their claims were filed too late, based on the dates of pension projection statements from IBM. The district court incorporated these statements by reference, even though the dates were not explicitly mentioned in the complaint. The Second Circuit noted that when a statutory bar, such as untimeliness, is claimed as an affirmative defense, a dismissal is only appropriate if the complaint clearly shows the claims are barred by law.

The Second Circuit concluded that the district court erred by relying on the projection statement dates without offering the parties a chance to present additional materials. The court emphasized that it is improper to accept the truth of a document’s contents at the motion to dismiss stage if the document was incorporated for a purpose other than verifying its truthfulness. The appellate court suggested that the district court should have converted the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment, allowing for further discovery and the submission of supplementary materials. As a result, the judgment was vacated, and the case was remanded for proceedings consistent with this order.