eBook details
- Title: Fugarino V. Hartford Life And Accident Insurance Co.
- Author : United States Court Of Appeals For The Sixth Circuit
- Release Date : January 08, 1992
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 72 KB
Description
MILBURN, Circuit Judge. Plaintiffs Richard Fugarino, Jo Marie Fugarino, and Marc A. Fugarino appeal the district court's dismissal of their complaint, which asserted various state law causes of action relating to an insurance policy purchased from defendant Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company. The dismissal was under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and based on the ground of preemption pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. § 1001, et seq. On appeal, the principal issues presented are: (1) whether the insurance plan in question is an employee welfare benefit plan as defined by ERISA, (2) whether the status of plaintiff Richard Fugarino as a self-employed sole proprietor affects the status of the insurance plan pursuant to ERISA, (3) whether the district court erred in dismissing the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), and (4) whether the district court's Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal is a grant of summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52 because the court considered matters outside the pleadings when deciding the motion for dismissal. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.