Local 144 Nursing Home Pension Fund v. Demisay, 508 U. S. 581 (1993)

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Cite as: 508 U. S. 581 (1993)

Opinion of the Court

II

Both the District Court and the Court of Appeals relied on the Second Circuit's earlier decision in Local 50, Bakery and Confectionery Workers Union, AFL-CIO v. Local 3, Bakery and Confectionery Workers Union, AFL-CIO, 733 F. 2d 229 (1984), which held that federal courts have " 'jurisdiction under [§ 302(e)] to enforce a trust fund's compliance with the statutory standards set forth in subsection (c)(5) by eliminating those offensive features in the structure or operation of the trust that would cause it to fail to qualify for a (c)(5) exception.' " Id., at 234 (quoting Associated Contractors of Essex Cty., Inc. v. Laborers Int'l Union of North America, 559 F. 2d 222, 225 (CA3 1977)). Local 50 and the decision below are among a large body of conflicting cases bearing upon federal courts' powers under § 302(e) to supervise the administration of § 302(c)(5) trust funds. A number of courts have held that § 302(e) confers broad supervisory powers. See, e. g., Ponce v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern California, 628 F. 2d 537, 541-542 (CA9 1980); Lewis v. Mill Ridge Coals, Inc., 298 F. 2d 552, 558 (CA6 1962). Others have held that it confers no supervisory powers at all. See, e. g., Ader v. Hughes, 570 F. 2d 303, 306 (CA10 1978); Bowers v. Ulpiano Casal, Inc., 393 F. 2d 421 (CA1 1968); Moses v. Ammond, 162 F. Supp. 866, 871-872 (SDNY 1958). Still others have acknowledged supervisory powers limited in various respects. See Riley v. MEBA Pension Trust, 570 F. 2d 406, 412-413 (CA2 1977); Knauss v. Gorman, 583 F. 2d 82, 86-87 (CA3 1978). Our most recent case in this area expressly reserved the question. See Mine Workers Health and Retirement Funds v. Robinson, 455 U. S. 562, 573, n. 12 (1982).

We hold today that § 302(e) does not provide authority for

a federal court to issue injunctions against a trust fund or its trustees requiring the trust funds to be administered in the manner described in § 302(c)(5). By its unmistakable

587

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