272
White, J., dissenting
Rev. 1014, 1029-1030 (1986); see also D. Dobbs, Remedies § 3.9, pp. 211-212 (1973), a number of courts in more recent decades have drawn upon their "legal" powers to award punitive damages even in cases that historically could have been brought only in equity. While acknowledging the traditional bar against such relief in equity, these courts have concluded that the merger of law and equity authorizes modern courts to draw upon both legal and equitable powers in crafting an appropriate remedy for a breach of trust. See I. H. P. Corp. v. 210 Central Park South Corp., 16 App. Div. 2d 461, 464-466, 228 N. Y. S. 2d 883, 887-888 (1962), aff'd, 12 N. Y. 2d 329, 189 N. E. 2d 812 (1963); Gould v. Starr, 558 S. W. 2d 755, 771 (Mo. App. 1977), cert. denied, 436 U. S. 905 (1978); Citizens & Southern Nat. Bank v. Haskins, 254 Ga. 131, 136-137, 327 S. E. 2d 192, 199 (1985); see also New Jersey Division, Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Assn. v. New Jersey Racing Comm'n, 251 N. J. Super. 589, 605, 598 A. 2d 1243, 1251 (1991) (present-day Chancery Division can "afford the full range of equitable and legal remedies for breach of trust," including punitive damages); cf. Charles v. Epperson & Co., 137 N. W. 2d 605, 618 (Iowa 1965).
Because some forms of "legal" relief in trust cases were thus not available at equity, limiting the scope of relief under § 502(a)(3) to the sort of relief historically provided by the equity courts for a breach of trust provides a meaningful limitation and, if one is needed, a basis for distinguishing "equitable" from "legal" relief.6 Accordingly, the statutory
6 Not surprisingly, in light of this history, "the Courts of Appeals which have passed on [the question] have concluded that the statutory language and legislative history of section 502(a)(3) of ERISA prohibit recovery of punitive damages." Varhola v. Doe, 820 F. 2d 809, 817 (CA6 1987); see also Harsch v. Eisenberg, 956 F. 2d 651, 661 (CA7), cert. denied sub nom. Bihler v. Eisenberg, 506 U. S. 818 (1992); Drinkwater v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 846 F. 2d 821, 825 (CA1), cert. denied, 488 U. S. 909 (1988); Amos v. Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Alabama, 868 F. 2d 430, 431, n. 2 (CA11), cert. denied, 493 U. S. 855 (1989); Sommers Drug Stores Co. Employees Profit Sharing Trust v. Corrigan Enterprises, Inc., 793 F. 2d 1456, 1464-
Page: Index Previous 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007