Pearson v. Voith Paper Rolls, Inc.

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-pension plan’s motion for summary judgment in ERISA action alleging that defendant miscalculated some of plaintiff’s projected pension benefits, that said miscalculations induced plaintiff to settle his potential age discrimination claim with his employer, and that defendant’s actions estopped it from providing plaintiff with reduced benefits once defendant’s error in its calculations had been discovered. Plaintiff’s proffered evidence established only that defendant’s error was inadvertent mistake, as opposed to intentional misrepresentation that was required to establish estoppel claim. Moreover, plaintiff had failed to provide evidence of detrimental reliance where there was no showing that he would have done any better in his negotiations than deal he ultimately signed.