Producer-Writers Guild of American Pension Plan v. Adell CA2/4

Filed 11/4/15 Producer-Writers Guild of American Pension Plan v. Adell CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

PRODUCER-WRITERS GUILD OF B257309 AMERICA PENSION PLAN,

Plaintiff and Respondent (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No BD290216

v. ILUNGA ADELL et al.,

Defendants and Respondents;

TERRY WILLIAMS-ILUNGA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, B. Scott Silverman, Judge. Affirmed. Reich, Adell & Cvitan, Hirsch Adell, J. David Sackman and Neelam Chanda for Plaintiff and Respondent Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan. Ilunga Adell in pro. per. for Defendant and Respondent Ilunga Adell. Charles J. Fleishman for Defendant and Appellant Terry Williams-Ilunga.

The question presented by this appeal is whether a family law court has jurisdiction to hear an interpleader filed by a pension plan involuntarily joined to dissolution proceedings, where the plan is governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). We conclude that it does, at least under the unusual circumstances presented by this procedurally anomalous case. Although ERISA grants federal courts exclusive jurisdiction over most civil actions brought pursuant to its provisions (29 U.S.C. § 1132(e)(1)), the state law interpleader filed in this case was not an independent civil action instigated by the Plan but rather was an “appropriate responsive pleading” within the meaning of Family Code section 2063, subdivision (b). We accordingly affirm the judgment of the trial court. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND This appeal stems from the family court’s attempt to resolve competing claims to pension benefits. Ilunga Adell (“Ilunga”),1 his first wife, Rosalyn Willis Ilunga (“Rosalyn”), and his second wife, Terry Williams-Ilunga (“Terry”), all stake claim to retirement benefits Ilunga earned while participating in the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan (“the Plan”). Rosalyn was awarded one-half of the community interest in the retirement benefits in 2000, upon the dissolution of her marriage to Ilunga. Terry obtained an interest in the retirement benefits during her subsequent dissolution proceedings in 2002, when the court issued an order attaching Ilunga’s pension benefits “as and for child support and support arrearage for the parties[’] minor children.” In 2011,Terry obtained a judgment against Ilunga for pendente lite child support arrearages totaling $114,592.69. Rosalyn obtained an enforceable “qualified domestic relations order,” or “QDRO,” authorizing the Plan to pay her share of the retirement benefits in 2012. 2 Terry