CAPE GIRARDEAU – A pension dispute settled four years ago between participants and a pension plan was back in federal court to iron out various motions filed by both parties to bring it to conclusion.
In the case of Brian Knowlton, et al. vs. Anheuser-Busch Cos. LLC, et al. Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri’s Eastern Division denied plaintiffs' motion to compel and grant the defendants' motion to approval of form of judgment and to establish a timeframe to finalize it.
Knowlton and members of the class alleged they were owed enhanced retirement benefits via the Anheuser-Busch Cos. Pension Plan. The federal court sided with the class, and the Eighth Circuit backed the ruling but remanded to Limbaugh to re-evaluate the plaintiffs’ petitions for relief “to the extent requested and provable, calculate and award the benefits owed by plaintiffs” in the section of the plan in question, the ruling states.
Limbaugh denied Knowlton’s motion to compel the defendant to provide information relevant to determine benefits, stating that the defendants’ responded to the motion and that the plaintiff class never tried to resolve the issue without the court jumping in. Since the plaintiffs failed to reply, Limbaugh denied the motion.
As for the other motions, Limbaugh addressed the class in Group A (those who have elected plan benefits) and Group B (those who have not yet done so). The plaintiffs agreed with Anheuser-Busch Cos. LLC’s calculations for Group A. Limbaugh determined that the defendants would file a pay schedule and evidence to back it up, and the court would decide if it was proper.